NAMPA, Idaho (Feb. 8) – Tyson Gilbert scored 18 points and fellow senior Sawyer Storms had 17 points, but the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team could not complete a late comeback attempt Thursday in an 80-74 loss to Northwest Nazarene at the Johnson Sports Center.

The Seawolves (15-7, 5-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) got also got eight points and three assists from junior point guard Dillon Barrientos as they lost despite shooting 51 percent from the field.

The Nighthawks (12-8, 8-4) got game highs of 21 points and seven rebounds from center Gabe Murphy, while guard Tru Allen had 20 points (12-15 FT) and four assists. NNU shot 55 percent from the floor and outrebounded the visitors 31-20.

After pulling out a 71-68 win in a back-and-forth affair last month in Anchorage, UAA found itself in a similar rematch that saw six ties and nine lead changes.

Gilbert scored 14 points in the opening half to help UAA stay within 39-33 at the break, and the Seawolves pulled ahead 52-50 on two free throws by Storms midway through the second stanza.

NNU would answer with the next nine points, getting consecutive inside buckets from Murphy to cap the surge. The Nighthawks pushed it to a 68-57 advantage with 4:20 left before the Seawolves made one last push.

Jaron Williams and Trey Evans hit three-pointers just 15 seconds apart to slice it to 73-69 with a minute remaining, and Storms answered an NNU free throw with a driving layup to make it a one-possession game with 38 seconds left.

Allen made a pair of free throws seconds later, however, and the Seawolves could not convert again from the field.

Gilbert shot 6 of 11 from the field, while Storms – an Idaho Falls native – shot 6 of 10 and had five rebounds and two assists in this final game in his home state.

Evans had a career-high seven points, while Williams and senior guard Dathan Satchell also tallied seven points apiece.

The Seawolves travel to Ellensburg, Wash., for a Saturday, 5:15 pm AST tip against Central Washington. Find live video and stats links at GoSeawolves.com.