THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Feb. 22 – 6:30 pm AST – Marcus Pavilion – Lacey, Wash.
Alaska Anchorage (17-8, 7-7 GNAC) at #17 Saint Martin's (20-4, 10-4 GNAC)
&
Sat., Feb. 24 – 3:15 pm AST – New PE Building – Monmouth, Ore.
Alaska Anchorage at Western Oregon (5-17, 2-12 GNAC [Thu. vs UAF])
 
LIVE VIDEO: Thursday at youtube.com/SMUAthleticsYT
                       Saturday at youtube.com/wouwolves
LIVE STATS: Thursday at smusaints.com/sidearmstats/mbball
                      Saturday at wouwolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2023-24 stats)
G—Dathan Satchell, 6-3, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, .317 3FG, .808 FT)
G—Tyson Gilbert, 6-2, Sr. (15.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.9 spg, .369 3FG, .796 FT)
G—Dillon Barrientos, 6-1, Jr. (10.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.3 A/T)
F—Sawyer Storms, 6-7, Sr. (9.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.1 spg, .448 FG, .761 FT)
C—Sloan Lentfer, 6-7, Fr. (4.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.6 apg, .490 FG)
 
ROAD FINALES ON TAP: Sitting fifth in the GNAC standings with four games remaining, the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team plays its final regular-season road games this week, facing No. 17 Saint Martin's on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday ... the top six teams at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the GNAC Tournament, Mar. 7-9 in Ellensburg, Wash.
 
KNOW THE FOES: Ranked No. 17 in both national polls and with a GNAC Tournament berth secured, Saint Martin's enters the weekend looking to solidify its NCAA Tournament resume and improve on a 3-3 mark over its last six contests ... the Saints are led by Kyle Greeley (17.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, .798 FT) and Jade Nielsen-Skinner (8.5 ppg, 4.7 apg, 3.3 A/T ratio, .357 3FG, .857 FT) ... eliminated from postseason contention with six straight losses heading into Thursday's game against UAF, Western Oregon will be playing for pride in its home finale Saturday ... the Wolves are led by Kris Cook (14.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, .395 3FG, .773 FT) and Cameron Benzel (14.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg, .621 FG, .700 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs SMU: UAA leads 36-13 overall, 13-8 in Lacey
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 71-68 (1/27/24 at UAA)
Notes: The series has featured a season sweep (three by SMU/two by UAA) in each of the previous five campaigns ... SMU won 100-73 last year in Lacey ... UAA leads 29-14 in GNAC regular-season meetings ... teams met twice as members of the PacWest (in 1999 and 2001) and four times between 1977-80.
 
vs WOU: Tied 23-23 overall; WOU leads 13-9 in Monmouth
Streak: WOU 6
Last: WOU 55-53 (1/25/24 at UAA)
Notes: WOU's current win streak is its longest in the series ... the Wolves have won 11 of the last 13 meetings overall and eight straight in Monmouth ... 10 of the last 11 games have been decided by 10 points or less, including three overtime contests ... UAA leads 23-22 in GNAC meetings (since 2001-02) ... first and only non-GNAC meeting was a 91-81 WOU victory in Monmouth, Jan. 28, 1999, when both programs were in the Pac West.
 
TWO BY TWO: The Seawolves evened their GNAC record by pulling out critical victories last week at the Alaska Airlines Center, beating Simon Fraser 83-81 in double overtime and Western Washington 71-69 ... in the first game, Sr. G Tyson Gilbert had 25 points (7-14 FG, 9-11 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, helping UAA rally from a 51-33 deficit with 11 minutes remaining to beat the Red Leafs ... Fr. F Sloan Lentfer doubled his previous career high with 18 points (8-13 FG, 2-3 FT) – including the go-ahead free throws in the second OT – and Sr. F Sawyer Storms tallied 10 opints, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks as UAA swept the season series from SFU ... on Saturday, Storms tied his season high with 17 points (6-10 FG, 4-4 FT), along with 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, as UAA prevailed in a contest with 12 lead changes ... Sr. F Jaron Williams came off the bench with 14 points (3-5 FG, 7-10 FT) and career highs of 8 rebounds and 6 assists, while Lentfer and Jr. PG Dillon Barrientos had 9 points apiece ... Sr. G Caleb Larsen also delivered a key 6 points (2-2 3FG) in 14 minutes, helping UAA earn a split of the season series.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA's win over SFU last week clinched the program's 16th .500-or-better record in the past 17 seasons ... the Seawolves are top-25 in the nation in scoring defense (10th, 64.1 ppg), 3FG% defense (21st, .307), turnover margin (16th, +4.1) and assist/turnover ratio (19th, 1.45) ...  UAA paces the GNAC in scoring defense, assists per game (16.2), TO margin and 3FG% defense, and is top-3 in FG% defense (.428) and A/T ratio ... the 8-0 start was the best in program history, although many season-opening streaks were stopped by D-I opponents in the Great Alaska Shootout over the years ... UAA's .279 (12-43) opponent FG% against Hawaii Pacific was the best against a fellow D-II team since holding Simon Fraser to .273 (15-55) on Jan. 5, 2017 ... the 51-49 win over UT Tyler marked the third-fewest points scored by UAA in a victory, while the four turnovers at Hawaii Pacific were just one more than the program record (3, set twice) ... the Seawolves have to clinched the program's 37th winning record in 46 seasons of NCAA Div. II existence ... UAA is also aiming for its 33rd winning conference record in 42 years in belonging to a league.
 
TYSON TOUGH: The Seawolves' top scorer and 7th in the GNAC stats with 15.0 ppg, Sr. G Tyson Gilbert has excelled in his final season with double figures in 20 of 25 games, including a career-high 28 points (8-13 FG, 5-7 3FG, 7-7 FT) in the win over top-ranked Saint Martin's, 27 points (8-14 FG, 5-8 3FG, 6-6 FT) to power the 77-72 win over Chaminade, and his first career double-double (21 pts/10 rebs) in the win at Simon Fraser ... the MVP of the GNAC/PacWest Challenge, Gilbert also holds GNAC ranks of 2nd in steals (1.9 spg), 3rd in A/T ratio (2.8), 3rd in 3FGs per game (2.4), 11th in FT% (.796) and 17th in 3FG% (.369)  ... after two seasons on the sidelines due to an Achilles' injury and heart surgery and Covid, the CSU Pueblo transfer finished as UAA's leading scorer (10.4 ppg) in his 2022-23 comeback campaign, earning honorable mention All-GNAC recognition ... Gilbert reached a major milestone with his last basket against NNU on Jan. 13, surpassing 1,000 career points (now 1,167) in his collegiate career.
 
STORMS WARNING: Another returning honorable mention All-GNAC performer, Sr. F Sawyer Storms is again displaying his all-around skills with league ranks of 8th in assists (3.2 apg), 8th in rebounding (6.2 rpg), 17th in steals (1.1 spg) and 15th in FT% (.761) ... UAA's fourth-leading scorer (9.7 ppg), Storms has produced team season highs in blocks (3 vs CSUSB) and FTs made (9 at SPU), and snagged at least four rebounds in all but one game ... the Chaminade transfer dished 8 assists without a turnover to aid the 77-72 win over his former squad, and posted a season-high 17 points in the 83-67 win over Adams State.
 
'WOLF BITES: The Seawolves have shown impressive depth, getting at least 10 minutes per game from nine of their 12 active players ... Jr. G Dillon Barrientos ranks 4th in the GNAC with 3.7 assists per game, along with 8th in A/T ratio (2.3) and 17th in 3FGs per game (1.5) ... a transfer from College of the Canyons (Calif.), Barrientos has posted efforts of 19 points at UAF, 18 points (8-13 FG) at Simon Fraser and 15 points (3-4 3FG), 8 rebounds and 8 assists against Central Washington ... the most effective 'sixth man' in the GNAC this season, Sr. F Jaron Williams has scored double figures nine times, including seven of the last 12 contests ... the former East Anchorage HS star ranks 10th in the league in steals with 1.3 spg, along with 17th in both FT% (.721) and assists (2.2 apg) ... Williams's 11-of-13 FG (.846) performance at HPU tied for 13th on UAA's single-game accuracy list (min. 10 att.) and was the best since Jacob Lampkin shot 9 of 10 against UAF on Nov. 28, 2017 ... Williams was named the GNAC Player of the Week for his performance in Hawaii, which included his career- and UAA season-high 29 points against HPU ... a Preseason All-GNAC selection, Sr. G Dathan Satchell has snapped out of an early shooting slump to average 11.1 ppg over his last 10 games, including a career-high 24 points (8-11 FG, 6-8 3FG) in the 71-68 win over NNU ... Satchell ranks 9th in the GNAC with 1.8 3FGs per game.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: In his 19th season (20th year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (344-211) has now led the Seawolves to .500-plus records in 16 of the last 17 seasons, along with five NCAA Tournaments and a trip to the 2008 NCAA D-II Semifinals … the longest tenured coach in program history and in the GNAC, he became the first UAA coach in any sport to reach 300 career victories when the Seawolves beat Hawaii Pacific on Nov. 13, 2021 … Osborne captured his first career GNAC and NABC West District coach-of-the-year awards in 2008 after becoming the second coach to lead UAA to three consecutive NCAA berths (2006-08), and in 2011-12 his Seawolves posted a 24-10 record to equal the 2nd-most victories in program history; Osborne's 2007-08 club holds that record with a 29-6 mark … before taking over the head job in 2004-05, the Texas native previously served 13 seasons (1991-04) as a UAA assistant, including 11 years as the top assistant … the Seawolves have won over 60 percent of their games with Osborne on the staff, claiming four conference titles and eight trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament ... Osborne is assisted by associate head coach Ryan Orton (9th season/10th year) and Ryan Engebretsen (3rd season/4th year).
 
2023-24 Seawolf Individual Honors
JACK CHLUMAK
GNAC All-Academic Team
LUKE DEVINE
GNAC All-Academic Team
TYSON GILBERT
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC/PacWest Challenge MVP
GNAC Player of the Week, Oct. 30-Nov. 5
CALEB LARSEN
GNAC All-Academic Team
DATHAN SATCHELL
Preseason All-GNAC Team
SAWYER STORMS
GNAC All-Academic Team
BISHOP TOSI
GNAC/Pac West Challenge All-Tournament Team
JARON WILLIAMS
GNAC Player of the Week, Dec. 9-19
Hoops In Hawaii Classic All-Tournament Team