THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Jan. 22 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Seattle Pacific (8-6, 3-4 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (12-6, 4-3 GNAC)
&
Sat., Jan. 24 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, Alaska
Montana State Billings (15-5, 4-3 GNAC [Thu. @UAF]) at Alaska Anchorage
 
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: GoSeawolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
TICKETS: GoSeawolves.com
 
PROMOTIONS: Saturday's game is another Alumni Night, sponsored by Premera and the UAA College of Health ... UAA alumni get in free with code 'ALUMNI' at online checkout, plus up to three $5 guest tickets.
 
HOME FOR THE HALFWAY POINT: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team returns to the Alaska Airlines Center this week to host traditional rivals Seattle Pacific (Thur., 7:30 pm) and Montana State Billings (Sat., 7:30 pm) as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference finishes the first half of its round-robin schedule ... the Seawolves begin the week tied for third place, with seven of their final 11 regular-season games at home.
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Cole Johnson, 6-2, Jr. (6.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.6 apg)
G—Akok Machar, 6-7, Sr. (10.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.4 spg, .925 FT)
G—Hasaan Herrington, 6-3, Sr. (10.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.1 spg)
F—Bishop Tosi, 6-6, Sr. (10.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, .521 FG, .789 FT)
F—Sylas Williams, 6-7, Jr. (12.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.8 bpg)
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Picked seventh in the GNAC preseason coaches' poll, Seattle Pacific has shown a penchant for close games this year, playing nine games within seven points and twice going to overtime ... the Falcons are led by 5-11 Jr. G Julian Mora (13.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, .413 3FG, .933 FT) and 6-9 Sr. F Trace Evans (13.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, .510 FG) ... picked third in the preseason poll, Montana State Billings won six straight from Dec. 6-Jan. 1 before losing three of its last five ... the Yellowjackets are led by 6-3 Sr. G Mason Landdeck (20.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.8 apg, .852 FT) and Miles Gurske (14.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 spg).
 
THE SERIES...
vs SPU: SPU leads 48-42 overall; UAA leads 29-17 in Anch.
Streak: SPU 6
Last: SPU 83-74 (2/22/25 at UAA)
Notes: SPU's current win streak has come by an average of just 3.8 points per game, including a pair of one-point contests ... SPU leads 7-2 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... the road team has won 15 of the last 24 meetings ... 14 of the last 22 games have been decided by five points or fewer, including two OT contests ... 29 of the last 39 games have been decided by 11 points or fewer … SPU leads 32-14 in GNAC regular-season meetings, with six games going to OT … SPU is UAA's 2nd-most common opponent ... series started in UAA's first year of Div. II competition in 1977-78.
 
vs MSUB: UAA leads 51-37 overall, 34-8 in Anchorage
Streak: MSUB 2
Last: MSUB 66-60 (2/20/25 at UAA)
Notes: The last eight games (post-pandemic) have been decided by 7 points or fewer ... UAA leads 7-3 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA leads 22-12 in GNAC regular-season meetings since MSUB joined the league in 2007-08 ... MSUB is UAA's 3rd-most common opponent … teams met at least twice per season each year between 1981-82 and 2000-01 as members of the Great Northwest and Pac West conferences ... first meeting was in 1977-78 ... in 19 games from 1994-2001, teams combined to score 90-plus a total of 31 times ... in 34 games since the series resumed in 2008, neither has scored more than 90 points.
 
NO LUCK UP NORTH: The Seawolves lost 91-76 at Alaska Fairbanks in their lone game last week, despite career highs from Jr. G Cole Johnson (17 pts, 3-7 3FG, 8-10 FT) and Jr. G Elijah Mobley (15 pts, 5-6 FG, 5-7 FT) ... Sr. F Bishop Tosi also had 17 points (4-5 FG, 9-10 FT), but the Seawolves were outshot .560 (14-25) to .208 (5-24) from three-point range in a game that featured 47 total fouls and 69 free throws.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in scoring defense (63.4 ppg) and rebound defense (29.9 rpg allowed), and are second in rebound margin (+6.0), turnovers forced (15.9) and assists per game (17.8) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, UAA is 14th in scoring defense, 16th in assists, 42nd in rebound margin and 44th in A/T ratio (1.32)  ... 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 Hasaan Herrington has blossomed into one of the GNAC's most well-rounded players over his three seasons at UAA, improving his numbers to 10.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.3 apg and 2.1 spg ... the former East High star averaged 12.7 ppg in the first 12 games against D-II foes this year, 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 ... Herrington is No. 2 nationally  in A/T ratio at 3.7-to-1, and he also holds GNAC ranks of 4th in assists and 3rd in steals – the only player in the top 5 in both categories ... Herrington moved into 10th place on UAA's career steals list last week at 110, needing just one more to catch Tyrone Jones (1983-86) for ninth ... 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 10.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 1.8 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 6th in offensive rebounding (2.4), 10th in FT% (.789) and 7th in FG% (.521) ... Tosi also ranks 14th on UAA's career FG% list at .552 ... 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 (12.1 ppg) and the GNAC's leading rebounder (6.9 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 eight games ... the Washington native holds GNAC ranks of 1st in rebounding, 20th in scoring, 7th in offensive rebounding (2.1), 9th in blocks (0.8) and 19th in minutes per game (29.1) ... 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 11 D-II games ... originally from South Sudan and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Machar is second in the GNAC with a .925 FT%, making his first 29 attempts ... Machar is also top-20 in blocks (20th, 0.6) and steals (12th, 1.4) ... Jr. G Cole Johnson ranks 13th in the GNAC with 2.6 assists per game.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: In his 21st season (22nd year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (373-240) 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