THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Sat., Jan. 17 – 3 pm AST – Patty Center – Fairbanks, Alaska
Alaska Anchorage (12-5, 4-2 GNAC) at Alaska Fairbanks (8-7, 3-3 GNAC)
 
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: alaskananooks.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Cole Johnson, 6-2, Jr. (5.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.7 apg)
G—Akok Machar, 6-7, Sr. (10.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.5 spg, .917 FT)
G—Hasaan Herrington, 6-3, Sr. (11.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, .468 FG, .339 3FG, .796 FT)
F—Bishop Tosi, 6-6, Sr. (9.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, .509 FG, .770 FT)
F—Sylas Williams, 6-7, Jr. (12.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 0.9 bpg, .468 FG, .320 3FG)
 
ROAD HEADS NORTH: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team concludes a three-game road swing this week when it makes the annual journey north to face arch-rival Alaska Fairbanks (Sat., 3 pm) ... UAA enters the week third in the GNAC standings, one game ahead of the fifth-place Nanooks.
 
A LOOK AT THE 'NOOKS: Picked eighth in the GNAC preseason coaches' poll, Alaska Fairbanks has gone 4-7 against fellow D-II foes, winning its GNAC home openers against WWU and SFU before falling at CWU at NNU last week ... the Nanooks are led by Mike Miller (15.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, .375 3FG) and Tyriq Luke (14.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, .820 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs UAF: UAA leads 87-28 overall, 37-20 in Fairbanks
Streak: UAF 3
Last: UAF 70-63 (2/15/25 at UAF)
Notes: UAF has won three straight for the first time since a 4-game winning streak from Nov. 24, 1979 to Nov. 21, 1980 ... UAA's last win was a 64-58 OT decision, Jan. 6, 2024 in Fairbanks ... 14 of the last 26 games have been decided by seven points or less, or in overtime … UAA leads 34-11 in GNAC regular-season meetings (since 2001-02) … teams have met at least twice each year (with the exception of 2020-21, when neither played) since both became NCAA Div. II programs in 1977-78.
 
SOLID SPLIT: The Seawolves came through one of the league's toughest road trips with a 1-1 record last week, falling 60-54 at Northwest Nazarene and winning 69-55 at Central Washington ... in Nampa, Sr. F Bishop Tosi had 15 points and 7 rebounds as UAA took the Nighthawks into the final minute tied 53-53 ... Sr. G Hasaan Herrington tallied 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Jr. G Cole Johnson added 10 points and career highs of 5 rebounds and 3 steals ... two days later, Jr. F Sylas Williams collected 14 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists to power UAA to its largest win in Ellensburg since 2012 ... Tosi had 14 points and 7 rebounds, Herrington had 13 points, 8 assists and just one turnover, and UAA's bench outscored CWU 23-10 behind Sr. F Jesse Stines (8 pts, 3-3 FG) and Jr. G Elijah Mobley (6 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts, 0 TO).
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in scoring defense (61.8 ppg), rebound defense (29.9 rpg allowed) and assists per game (18.3) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, UAA is 8th in scoring defense, 10th in assists, 35th in A/T ratio (1.33) and 36th in TO forced per game (16.5) ... 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: Sr. G/F Hasaan Herrington has blossomed into one of the GNAC's most well-rounded players over his three seasons at UAA, improving his numbers to 11.1 ppg (.468/.339/.796), 4.4 rpg, 4.4 apg and 2.1 spg ... the former East High star has averaged 12.7 ppg in the 12 games against D-II foes, including a 17-point (6-9 FG) effort to boost the win over Chaminade, 19 points (8-12 FG) against SFU and 16 points/10 assists against WWU, claiming GNAC Player of the Week honors for the Jan. 1-3 games ... after dishing 11 assists with five turnovers last week, Herrington continues to leads the nation in A/T ratio at 4.6-to-1 ... he also holds GNAC ranks of 4th in assists and 3rd in steals – the only player in the top 5 in both categories ... currently in 11th on UAA's career list with 107 steals, Herrington needs just one more to reach the top 10 ... 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 made an impact again with 9.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 2.0 apg, making game-winning baskets against Chaminade and Northwest, along with late heroics in the win at Western Oregon ... in the GNAC stats, Tosi ranks 5th in offensive rebounding (2.5), 14th in FT% (.770) and 12th in FG% (.509) ... Tosi ranks 15th on UAA's career FG% list at .549 ... Jr. F Sylas Williams has made a major impact in his debut season, claiming Most Outstanding Player honors in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge and emerging as the team's leading scorer (12.6 ppg) and rebounder (7.1 rpg) ... the 2024-25 NWAC Player of the Year at Skagit Valley (Wash.) College, Williams has posted five double-doubles, including four in the last seven games ... the Washington native holds GNAC ranks of 2nd in rebounding, 20th in scoring, 8th in offensive rebounding (2.1), 9th in blocks (0.9) and 20th in 3FGs per game (1.7) ... a transfer from fellow D-II program Texas-Tyler, Sr. G Akok 'Cookie' Machar has emerged as another all-around threat, scoring double figures 12 times, including nine of the 10 D-II games ... originally from South Sudan and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Machar leads the GNAC with a .917 FT%, making his first 29 attempts ... Machar is also top-20 in blocks (18th, 0.6) and steals (9th, 1.5) ... Jr. G Cole Johnson ranks 12th in the GNAC with 2.7 assists per game.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: In his 21st season (22nd year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (373-239) 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
GNAC Player of the Week, Dec. 29-Jan. 4
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