LACEY, Wash. (Feb. 22) – Senior guard Tyson Gilbert scored 14 points, including the game-winning free throw with two seconds remaining Thursday, lifting Alaska Anchorage to an 80-79 men's basketball victory over No. 17 Saint Martin's at Marcus Pavilion.

The Seawolves (18-8, 8-7 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) were led by a host of heroes in the comeback, getting 14 points and five assists from junior guard Dillon Barrientos, 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds from senior forward Jaron Williams, and nine points and three steals from sophomore guard Hasaan Herrington.

The Saints (20-5, 10-5) – who were attempting to avenge a 71-68 loss in Anchorage last month – were led by 17 points from forward Tyke Thompson, plus 12 points and five assists from guard Jaden Nielsen-Skinner.

"We just love the resilience of this group – they stayed in the fight for 40 minutes," said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne, whose team has erased two double-digit second-half deficits in a three-game win streak. "We got great contributions from our bench when three starters went out with 12 minutes left with four fouls. We kept battling, and our defense and execution in the last four minutes was excellent."

Despite getting outscored 46-22 in the paint and facing a 50-38 deficit with 16 minutes remaining, the Seawolves continued to chip away behind big seconds halves from Barrientos and Williams, along with a key seven points, five rebounds, two assists and no turnovers from freshman center Sloan Lentfer.

UAA still trailed 74-66 after two free throws by Shakeem Alcindor, and the Saints big man scored down low to make it 78-71 with 2:27 left, but that would be the Saints' final field goal.

After sitting for much of the second half with four fouls, UAA senior Sawyer Storms nailed back-to-back three-pointers to force a Saints timeout, and the Seawolves stole the ball from Nielsen-Skinner on the ensuing possession on a nice double-team by Lentfer and Gilbert.

With the shot clock running down, Gilbert then banked home a step-back jumper from 12 feet to give UAA its first lead since the early going with 39 seconds left.

After Thompson was fouled and made one of two free throws to knot it with 19.1 seconds showing, UAA got the ball to Williams, who drove hard to the basket and missed. His attempt was rebounded and a foul drawn by Gilbert, however, sending the 1,000-point career scorer to the line for two shots.

Gilbert missed the first shot off the back rim before redeeming himself with a swish, and the Saints got an open look for Marcel Stevens from the wing at the buzzer, which bounced high and wide as time expired.

"We are so happy for Tyson to experience that moment after all his physical challenges (torn Achilles'/open-heart surgery)," Osborne added. "What a wonderful young man and role model."

Gilbert added six rebounds and two assists, while Storms had eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists in just 19 minutes.

Still in fifth place with three games left, the Seawolves head south for their final road game of the regular season Saturday (3:15 pm AST) at Western Oregon. Find live video and stats links at GoSeawolves.com, as well as tickets for UAA's home finales Feb. 29 against Seattle Pacific and Mar. 2 against Montana State Billings.