THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
at NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships
University Gymnasium ­- Los Angeles, Calif.
(all times listed as ADT)
Friday, Mar. 15 – Quarterfinals
11 am: #6 Chico State (20-8) vs #3 Montana State Billings (20-9)
1:30 pm: #7 Alaska Anchorage (22-10) vs #2 Cal St. San Bernardino (23-7)
4 pm: #5 Central Washington (21-9) vs #4 Cal State Dominguez Hills (22-7)
6:30 pm: #8 Azusa Pacific (14-16) vs #1 Cal State Los Angeles (24-7)
Saturday, Mar. 16 – Semifinals
4 pm: UAA/CSUSB winner vs Chico/MSUB winner
6:30 pm: CWU/CSUDH winner vs APU/CSULA winner
Sunday, Mar. 18 – Title Game (winner advances to Elite 8, Mar. 26-30 in Evansville, Ind.)
6 pm: Semifinal winners
 
LIVE VIDEO: The NCAA has gone to a pay-per-view model for the Div. II Tournament this year ... fans can purchase single games or choose a Championships Pass to stream all games ... here are direct links:
  First Rd. vs CSUSB: ncaa.com/game/6285197?cid=cp_schools_d2mbb
  Championships Pass: ncaa.com/champs-pass?cid=cp_schools_d2mbb
 
LIVE STATS: https://lagoldeneagles.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
 
UAA PROBABLE STARTERS (2023-24 stats)
G—Dathan Satchell, 6-3, Sr. (8.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, .320 3FG, .800 FT)
G—Tyson Gilbert, 6-2, Sr. (15.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.9 spg, 2.1 A/T, .387 3FG, .780 FT)
G—Dillon Barrientos, 6-1, Jr. (11.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.4 A/T, .333 3FG, .654 FT)
F—Sawyer Storms, 6-7, Sr. (9.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.9 apg, 0.7 bpg, .470 FG, .333 3FG, .707 FT)
C—Sloan Lentfer, 6-7, Fr. (5.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.8 apg, .515 FG)
 
BACK IN THE DANCE: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team makes its NCAA Tournament return this week, taking the No. 7 seed into the NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships in Los Angeles ... making their program's 17th all-time NCAA appearance and first since 2012, the Seawolves face No. 2 seed and nationally 20th-ranked (NABC poll) Cal State San Bernardino in the first round Friday at 1:30 p.m. ADT ... the UAA/CSUSB winner will play the winner of Chico State/Montana State Billings in Saturday's semifinals ... Monday night's regional title-game victor advances to the NCAA Elite 8, Mar. 26-30 in Evansville, Ind., for a shot at the national  championship.
 
'YOTES NOTES: The reigning regional champion, Cal State San Bernardino (23-7) shared the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season title with a 17-5 mark, and claimed the No. 2 seed for the regional after falling 73-62 to Cal State LA in the CCAA Tourney title game Saturday ... ranked No. 20 in the NABC and No. 16 in the D2CSC national polls, the Coyotes are led by All-CCAA First Team performers Christopher Mitchell (16.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, .496 FG, .459 3FG, .735 FT) and Robby Robinson (14.7 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.5 apg, .782 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs CSUSB: CSUSB leads 1-0
Last: CSUSB 70-64 (12/18/23 at HPU)
Notes: Shockingly, the Seawolves and Coyotes had never met before their clash at the Hoops In Hawaii Classic in Honolulu this season ... Sr. Dathan Satchell led UAA with 16 points and Sr. G Tyson Gilbert had 12 points and 3 steals as  the Seawolves lost despite outshooting the Coyotes .469 (23 of 49) to .421 (24-57) ... CSUSB was led by 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting from reserve Lean drew Knight, who snapped a 64-64 tie on a layup with 54 seconds remaining.
 
GNAC TOURNEY RECAP: The Seawolves played their way into the NCAA Tournament with the West Region's final at-large bid by advancing to last week's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships title game in Ellensburg, Wash. ... in the first game, UAA dealt a fatal blow to the region's 6th-ranked squad as Sr. F Jaron Williams tallied 23 points (7-13 FG, 4-6 3FG, 5-5 FT) and Sr. G Tyson Gilbert had 19 points (3-6 3FG) in an 81-75 quarterfinal win over Saint Martin's ... Sr. G Dathan Satchell had 15 points and Sr. F Sawyer Storms nabbed 8 rebounds to propel UAA to the three-game series sweep of the Saints ... in the semis, Gilbert scored 14 points and Storms had all 12 of his points in the second half as UAA beat regionally 8th-ranked Northwest Nazarene 64-63 ... Jr. G Dillon Barrientos had 12 points, 3 assists and no turnovers in 38 minutes, and Fr. C Sloan Lentfer grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to help UAA rally from another double-digit deficit ... on Saturday, Gilbert scored 24 points and Lentfer had 14 points (6-9 FG), but 4th-seeded and host Central Washington  fended off a second-half UAA comeback to take the title, 78-69 ... Storms had 10 points and 7 rebounds in the loss, while Barrientos had 9 points.
 
 
FANTASTIC FINISHES: The Seawolves have earned a reputation as comeback kids, rebounding from a 3-game February losing skid to win seven of their last nine outings ... four of those seven victories have included double-digit comebacks, beginning with a 51-33 hole with 11 minutes left in the Feb. 15 OT win over Simon Fraser ... UAA trailed 50-38 with 16 minutes left and 79-72 with 2:30 remaining in the road win over Saint Martin's, 70-59 with 7 minutes left in the home win over MSU Billings, and 31-21 with 3 minutes left in first half against Northwest Nazarene at the GNAC Tourney ... the Seawolves also erased a 19-3 deficit four minutes into the MSUB game, rallying to take a 22-21 lead at the 11:38 mark.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA has earned the program's 16th .500-or-better record in the past 17 seasons, and its 37th winning record in 46 seasons of NCAA Div. II existence ... the Seawolves claimed their 33rd winning conference record in 42 years in belonging to a league ... this marks the 17th 20-win season for UAA since becoming an NCAA Div. II program in 1977-78 ... the Seawolves are top-20 in the nation in scoring defense (12th, 65.4 ppg), turnover margin (14th, +4.1), assist/turnover ratio (17th, 1.48), plus 31st in assists per game (16.3) and 34th in turnovers forced per game (15.3) ... UAA paces the GNAC in scoring defense, assists, TO margin, and A/T ratio, and is top-3 in steals (7.7 spg) and 3FG% defense (.320) ... UAA's 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).
 
TYSON TOUGH: The Seawolves' top scorer and 8th in the GNAC stats with 15.3 ppg, Sr. G Tyson Gilbert has excelled in his final season, earning First Team All-GNAC honors ... the Colorado native has scored double figures in 27 of 32 games, including a career-high 28 points (8-13 FG, 5-7 3FG, 7-7 FT) in the win over then-No. 1 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 3rd in steals (1.9 spg), 18th in assists (2.1 apg), 4th in A/T ratio (2.6), 2nd in 3FGs per game (2.6), 12th in FT% (.780) and 12th in 3FG% (.387)  ... 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 1,288) in his collegiate career.
 
STORMS WARNING: An honorable mention All-GNAC performer for the second straight season, Sr. F Sawyer Storms has again displayed his all-around skills with league ranks of 8th in assists (2.9 apg), 7th in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and 19th in FT% (.707) ... UAA's fourth-leading scorer (9.9 ppg), Storms has produced double figures 14 times, along with team season highs in blocks (3 vs CSUSB) and FTs made (9 at SPU), and has snagged at least four rebounds in all but one game (7.1 rpg during current 7-2 stretch) ... the Chaminade transfer dished 8 assists without a turnover to aid the 77-72 win over his former squad, and posted season highs of 17 points in the 83-67 win over Adams State and the 71-69 win over WWU ... Storms's career average of 2.9 assists per game is 19th on the program's all-time list and No. 1 for a non-guard.
 
'WOLF BITES: The Seawolves have shown impressive depth, getting at least 10 minutes per game from nine of their 12 active players ... Jr. PG Dillon Barrientos has been a steady force as a dual scoring and passing threat, producing double-figure points in 19 of 32 games and eight games with five-plus assists ... the College of the Canyons transfer ranks 4th in the GNAC with 3.6 assists per game, along with 6th in A/T ratio (2.4) and 13th in 3FGs per game (1.6) ... in addition to his GNAC Player of the Week honor for Feb. 19-25, 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 in the win over Central Washington ... the most effective 'sixth man' in the GNAC this season, Sr. F Jaron Williams has scored double figures 13 times, including 11 of the last 18 contests ... the former East Anchorage HS star ranks 9th in the league with  1.3 steals per game, along with 15th in assists (2.3 apg) and A/T ratio (1.7) ... 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 for a Seawolf since 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, and he powered the GNAC Tourney win over Saint Martin's with his second-best scoring output of 23 points (7-13 FG, 4-6 3FG, 5-5 FT) ... Sr. G Dathan Satchell snapped out of an early shooting slump to average 9.0 ppg in GNAC contests, boosted by a career-high 24 points (8-11 FG, 6-8 3FG) in the 71-68 win over NNU ... with 12 double-figure scoring efforts this season, Satchell ranks 9th in the GNAC with 1.8 3FGs per game ... UAA's late surge has been aided by the development of Fr. F/C Sloan Lentfer, who has averaged 8.3 ppg on .576 (34-59) shooting, 4.8 rpg and 1.6 apg since Feb. 15 ... the second generation Seawolf posted his first two double-figure efforts with 18 points (8-13 FG) and 3 assists to propel the comeback against SFU and 10 points (5-9 FG) in the win at WOU, and he aided a second-half rally against CWU in the GNAC title game with 14 points (6-9 FG), 2 assists, 2 blocks and no turnovers.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: In his 19th season (20th year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (349-213) has now led the Seawolves to six NCAA Tournament bids, including advancement to the 2008 NCAA Div. II Semifinals, and 16 records of .500-or-better in the last 17 seasons … 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 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
DILLON BARRIENTOS
GNAC Player of the Week, Feb. 19-25
JACK CHLUMAK
GNAC All-Academic Team
LUKE DEVINE
GNAC All-Academic Team
TYSON GILBERT
First Team All-GNAC
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
Honorable Mention All-GNAC
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