ANCHORAGE (Feb. 14) – Junior forward Sylas Williams had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team used another stellar defensive effort Saturday to forge a 70-54 victory over arch-rival Alaska Fairbanks at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (18-7, 10-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 17 points and five assists from senior guard Hasaan Herrington as they pulled within one game of Saint Martin's for the GNAC lead with four contests remaining for each team.

The Nanooks (11-12, 6-8) got a game-high 21 points from wing Davis Crilly, but were outrebounded 40-28 and hurt by 15 turnovers.

"We did a great job of never letting Fairbanks feel comfortable offensively, and we were able to turn some blocks and steals into points at the other end," said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne, whose team held UAF to its second-lowest point total of the season. "Any time you control the boards like we did and allow your opponent only five offensive rebounds, you are generally going to have success like we did tonight."

Aiming to avenge last month's 91-76 loss in Fairbanks, the Seawolves led for more than 35 minutes in the rematch, although the Nanooks stayed within striking distance most of the way.

UAA led 28-20 late in the first half before the visitors peeled off an 8-0 run, tying it 28 seconds into the second stanza. Herrington responded with back-to-back three-pointers to retake the lead, however, and the Nanooks could not make it a one-possession affair again.

The game stayed within a five- to eight-point margin for a long stretch of the second half until UAA senior Akok Machar took over. The Australian stole a pass and sailed in for a dunk to make it 52-42 with 10:08 remaining, then converted on the fast break 23 seconds later.

The Seawolves led by double figures for all but 22 seconds the rest of the way, getting timely midrange jumpers from Jeremiah Coleman and Elijah Mobley, along with 7-of-7 free-throw shooting by Bishop Tosi.

Williams shot 7 of 17 from the floor and nabbed three steals as the Bothell, Wash., product claimed his eighth double-double, while Tosi had 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Machar had 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, connecting on 6 of 12 shots and logging the full 40 minutes for the first time in his NCAA career.

Herrington shot 6 of 14 from the field (3-7 3FG), and Mobley had four points (2-4 FG), three rebounds and three assists in his first starting assignment since Nov. 8.

Needing just one more win or one more loss by Seattle Pacific or UAF to clinch a GNAC Tournament berth, UAA hits the road next week to face Montana State Billings (Thur., 5:30 pm AST) and SPU (Sat., 3:15 pm AST). Find live video and stats links at GoSeawolves.com.