THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Dec. 11 – 5 pm AST – Hamilton Gymnasium – Denver, Colo.
Alaska Anchorage (8-4) at Denver (3-6 [Tue. vs CCU]))
&
Mon., Dec. 15 – 7 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
West Coast Baptist (0-0 [3 games pending]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
LIVE VIDEO: Thursday's game is available via pay-per-view on The Summit League Network – shorturl.at/QSwBH ... 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 AUDIO: Thursday at tuner.bonneville.com/live/KKFN-HD3
 
LIVE STATS: Thursday at denverpioneers.com/sidearmstats/mbball
                       Monday at goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Cole Johnson, 6-2, Jr. (6.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 3.3 apg)
G—Akok Machar, 6-7, Sr. (11.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.8 bpg, 29-29 FT)
G—Hasaan Herrington, 6-3, Sr. (10.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, .472 FG, .372 3FG)
F—Bishop Tosi, 6-6, Sr. (8.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, .486 FG, .795 FT)
F—Sylas Williams, 6-7, Jr. (12.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.0 bpg, .445 FG)
 
WACKY WEEK: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team closes its non-conference slate with a non-traditional pair of games, playing a discretionary exhibition against Div. I Denver on Thursday in Colorado, and returning home for a Monday night tilt against NCCAA foe West Coast Baptist ... the Denver game will not count on the Seawolves' overall record, but will count for the Pioneers.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Denver has opened with a 3-6 record as it heads preps for Div. II opponents Colorado Christian (Tue., 12/9) and UAA this week ... the Pioneers have played four one- or two-possession games so far, led by 6-1 G Carson Johnson (17.9 ppg, 2.4 apg, .377 3FG, .833 FT) and 6-7 F Jeremiah Burke (14.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, .375 3FG) ... just getting set to start its season tonight against fellow Life Pacific, West Coast Baptist will play two games at Alaska Fairbanks before stopping off in Anchorage ... the Eagles are a National Christian College Athletic Association program from Lancaster, Calif.
 
THE SERIES: UAA and Denver have played just once, with the Pioneers winning 78-71 in the 7th-place game of the Great Alaska Shootout, Nov. 30, 2014 at Sullivan Arena ... UAA and West Coast Baptist have never faced off in any sport.
 
GNAC ROAD SPLIT: The Seawolves earned a split of their Great Northwest Athletic Conference openers last week, falling 78-63 at Saint Martin's and winning 64-56 at Western Oregon ... in the first game, Jr. F Sylas Williams had 14 points and 11 rebounds, but UAA could not overcome an early deficit despite outrebounding SMU 40-38 ... Sr. G Hasaan Herrington had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and no turnovers in the loss, while Sr. G Akok Machar had 11 points ... two days later, Williams went for 18 points (8-15 FG), 11 rebounds and 3 assists, while sparking a game-ending 13-3 run against the Wolves ... Herrington, Machar and Jr. G Cole Johnson tallied 11 points apiece, and Herrington led the way with 5 assists, 4 steals and just one turnover ... Sr. F Bishop Tosi also keyed the game-winning run with 7 points and 8 rebounds.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC stats and rank 17th in NCAA Div. II in scoring defense (63.1 ppg), along with league ranks of 2nd in FG% defense (.420), rebounds allowed per game (30.8), TO forced per game (16.1) and steals per game (9.3) ... 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 an impact this season with game-winning baskets against both Chaminade and Northwest, along with late heroics in the win at Western Oregon ... in the GNAC stats, Tosi ranks 8th in offensive rebounding (2.3), 19th in blocks (0.6), 9th in FT% (.795) and 6th in FTs made (35) ... 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 10.3 ppg (.472 FG/.372 3FG/.767 FT), 4.0 rpg, 3.5 apg and 2.2 spg ... the former East High star has averaged 11.5 ppg in the eight 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 3rd nationally with a 5.3 assist/TO ratio, along with league ranks of 6th in assists and 4th in steals ... a transfer from fellow D-II program Texas-Tyler, Sr. G Akok 'Cookie' Machar has emerged as another all-around threat, scoring double figures nine times, including seven of the eight D-II games ... originally from South Sudan and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Machar leads the GNAC with 29-of-29 FT shooting and ranks top-12 in blocks (12th, 0.8) and steals (8th, 1.7) ... Jr. F Sylas Williams has made an immediate impact in his first month as a Seawolf, claiming Most Outstanding Player honors in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge and emerging as the team's leading scorer (12.8 ppg) and rebounder (6.9 rpg) ... the 2024-25 NWAC Player of the Year at Skagit Valley (Wash.) College, Williams has posted three double-doubles and made multiple three-pointers in six of his first eight games ... the Washington native holds GNAC ranks of 4th in rebounding, 19th in scoring, 2nd in offensive rebounding (2.6), 19th in 3FGs per game (1.7) and 17th in minutes per game (28.7) ... Jr. G Cole Johnson ranks 8th in the GNAC with 3.3 assists per game, while Sr. F John McFadden is 20th in steals (1.2).
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: In his 21st season (22nd year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (369-238) 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