ANCHORAGE (Nov. 7) – Senior guard
Mack Keighran scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team used another monster double-double from
Sylas Williams to earn an 88-72 win over Evergreen State on Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Seawolves (2-0) got 13 points and 17 rebounds from Williams, who made 3 of 6 three-pointers and tied the 11th-best single-game rebounding mark in program history. Senior guard
Tarrance Warren also sparked the late surge with 12 points, four assists and no turnovers.
The Geoducks were led by 16 points on 4-of-8 three-point accuracy from guard Cody Whitmer, but the NAIA visitors could not overcome a 45-26 disadvantage on the boards.
"It's always tough to get up for a game against the same team so quickly, but fortunately we were able to wear them down somewhat and get the job done," said UAA head coach
Cameron Turner, whose team earned a 94-65 win over the same opponent Friday. "
Lyman Simmons (6 points, 2-2 FG, 6 rebounds, 2 steals),
Will Kuykendall (9 points, 3-5 FG) and
Joseph Mayberry (5 assists) gave us a big shot in the arm with nice contributions off the bench, which is a good sign that our depth can pay major dividends throughout the season."
After a dominant opening half Friday, the Seawolves found themselves in a dog fight for most of the rematch. The first half featured three ties and five lead changes before UAA finally claimed the lead for good, 31-30, on a corner three-pointer from Williams at the 1:44 mark.
The Seawolves stretched to a 38-30 edge on
Karim Elgizawy's trey to open the second half, but the Geoducks would slice it to a one-possession game five times over the next 10 minutes. Holding on to a 62-57 lead at the 8-minute mark, UAA finally got some breathing room when Warren drove for consecutive layups and Keighran swished a 17-footer.
Kuykendall extended to a 75-59 advantage on a fastbreak layup with 4:21 left, and UAA pushed its largest lead to 88-67 with 1:25 on the clock.
A transfer from Chadron State, Keighran shot 6 of 10 overall, 4 of 7 on threes and 5 of 6 at the foul stripe, along with three assists and just one turnover in 31 minutes.
Elgizawy finished with 10 points (3-5 FG), four assists and five rebounds, while starting center
Walker Timme chipped in eight points (4-5 FG) and four rebounds.
The Seawolves begin the NCAA Div. II portion of their schedule next week with games in Honolulu against Chaminade (Nov. 13, 8 pm AST) and Hawaii Pacific (Nov. 14, 4 pm). Find live video and stats links at GoSeawolves.com.
