THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Dec. 4 – 6:30 pm AST – Marcus Pavilion – Lacey, Wash.
Alaska Anchorage (7-3, 0-0 GNAC) at Saint Martin's (5-2, 0-0 GNAC)
&
Sat., Dec. 6 – 3:15 pm AST – New P.E. Building – Monmouth, Ore.
Alaska Anchorage at Western Oregon (3-3, 0-0 GNAC [Thu. vs UAF])
 
LIVE VIDEO: All UAA home contests and GNAC road contests are streamed through the GNAC Network portal at Hudl – gnacnetwork.com/uaaseawolves ... fans can choose between a single event ($12), a 30-day subscription ($25) or a yearly subscription ($120).
 
LIVE STATS: Thursday at smusaints.com/sidearmstats/mbball
                       Saturday at wouwolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Cole Johnson, 6-2, Jr. (6.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 3.3 apg)
G—Akok Machar, 6-7, Sr. (11.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.8 spg, 1.0 bpg, 23-23 FT)
G—Hasaan Herrington, 6-3, Sr. (10.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, .493 FG, .406 3FG)
F—Bishop Tosi, 6-6, Sr. (9.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, .453 FG, .825 FT)
F—Sylas Williams, 6-7, Jr. (11.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.3 bpg, .455 FG)
 
GNAC ON TAP: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team plays its annual early-season Great Northwest Athletic Conference openers this week, visiting Saint Martin's on Thursday (6:30 pm AST) and Western Oregon on Saturday (3:15 pm) ... this begins the 18-game, round-robin GNAC schedule, with the top six teams at the end of the regular season qualifying for the GNAC Championships tournament in March.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Picked fourth in the GNAC preseason poll, Saint Martin's has started with a 5-2 mark, including games against common opponents Westmont (W, 96-88) and Hawaii Pacific (L, 88-75) ... the Saints are led by Diego Trejo-Delgado (16.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .545 FG, .813 FT) and Kaden Hansen (16.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .408 3FG) ... picked last in the preseason poll, Western Oregon has rotated losses and wins in its first six games, earning a 74-70 victory over Cal State LA in its most recent contest ... now coached by former UAA assistant Ryan Orton, the Wolves are led by Jadin Penigar (22.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, .348 3FG, .931 FT) and Carson Frincke (8.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, .325 3FG).
 
THE SERIES...
vs SMU: UAA leads 39-14 overall, 15-8 in Lacey/Olympia
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 69-48 (3/1/25 at SMU)
Notes: UAA has won four of the last five, including the last two meetings in Lacey ... last year marked the first season split since 2016-17 ... UAA leads 31-14 in GNAC regular-season meetings ... teams met twice as members of the Pac West (in 1999 and 2001) and four times between 1977-80..
 
vs WOU: UAA leads 25-24 overall, trails 14-10 in Monmouth
Streak: WOU 1
Last: WOU 69-68 (2/27/25 at WOU)
Notes: Teams have split the last two season series ... eight of the last 10 games have been decided by nine points or fewer, including two OT contests ... UAA leads 25-23 in GNAC regular-season meetings ... 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.
 
SPRITE SPLIT: The Seawolves earned a split of their home games last week in the Sprite Tundra Tip-Off, beating Cal Poly Humboldt 63-50 on Friday and falling 64-58 to Westmont on Saturday ... in the first contest, Jr. F Sylas Williams had 13 points (5-10 FG, 3-6 3FG), 8 rebounds, 4 assists and no turnovers as UAA outscored Humboldt 30-16 in the paint and 20-6 in points off turnovers ... Sr. F Bishop Tosi and Sr. G Akok Machar combined for 25 points, while Sr. G Hasaan Herrington had 7 points, 6 assists and just one turnover ... on Saturday, Machar had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, but the Warriors took advantage of 16 turnovers and 15 offensive rebounds to earn the road win ... Herrington had 12 points and Sr. F Jesse Stines tied career highs with 11 points and 7 rebounds as UAA's seven-game win streak was snapped.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the early GNAC stats in blocks per game (4.7), scoring defense (62.3 ppg) and rebounding defense (30.8), and rank 2nd in assists per game (17.5) and fewest turnovers per game (16.1) ... after ranking 11th nationally in scoring defense last year, the Seawolves are off to a strong start at No. 13 in 2025-26 ... UAA has earned .500-or-better records in 16 of the past 18 seasons, and 37 winning records in 47 seasons of NCAA Div. II existence ... the Seawolves have claimed winning conference records in 33 of 43 years belonging to a league ... UAA has 17 20-win seasons since becoming an NCAA Div. II program in 1977-78.
 
'WOLF BITES: Back for his third year in Green & Gold, Sr. F/C Bishop Tosi was the Seawolves' representative on the Preseason All-GNAC Team ... an honorable mention all-league performer as a junior, the former Bartlett High star has already made a huge impact this season with game-winning baskets against both Chaminade and Northwest ... in the early GNAC stats, Tosi ranks 9th in offensive rebounding (2.1), 16th in blocks (0.7), 7th in FT% (.825) and 2nd in FTs made (33) ... Sr. G/F Hasaan Herrington has blossomed into one of the GNAC's most well-rounded players over his three seasons at UAA, already improving his numbers to 10.0 ppg (.493 FG/.406 3FG), 4.0 rpg, 3.3 apg and 1.9 spg ... the former East High star has averaged 11.5 ppg in the six games against D-II foes, including a 17-point (6-9 FG) effort to boost the win over Chaminade ... Herrington leads the GNAC and ranks 18th nationally with a 4.7 assist/TO ratio, along with league ranks of 10th in assists, 4th in steals and 19th in 3FG% ... a transfer from fellow D-II program Texas-Tyler, Sr. G Akok 'Cookie' Machar has emerged as another all-around threat, scoring double figures seven times ... originally from South Sudan and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Machar leads the GNAC with 23-of-23 FT shooting and ranks top 10 in blocks (8th, 1.0) and steals (8th, 1.8) ... Jr. F Sylas Williams returned to the lineup after a 3.5-game injury absence to claim Most Outstanding Player honors in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge, and has emerged as the team's leading scorer (11.9 ppg) and rebounder (5.7 rpg) ... the 2024-25 NWAC Player of the Year at Skagit Valley (Wash.) College, Williams has made multiple three-pointers in five of his first seven games ... along with a double-double against Northwest and a 22-point, 8-rebound effort against Chaminade, Williams holds GNAC ranks of 8th in rebounding and 17th in 3FGs per game (1.9) ... Jr. G Cole Johnson ranks 9th in the GNAC with 3.3 assists per game, while Jr. G Jeremiah Coleman is 18th in steals (1.3).
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: In his 21st season (22nd year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (368-237) has 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 18 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 Ashton Pomrehn (1st season) and Ryan Engebretsen (5th season/6th year).
 
2025-26 Seawolf Individual Honors
HASAAN HERRINGTON
Sprite Tundra Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
AKOK MACHAR
Sprite Tundra Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
BISHOP TOSI
Preseason All-GNAC Team
SYLAS WILLIAMS
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge Most Outstanding Player