THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Feb. 19 – 5:30 pm AST – Alterowitz Gymnasium – Billings, Mont.
Alaska Anchorage (18-7, 10-4 GNAC) at Montana State Billings (20-8, 9-6 GNAC)
&
Sat., Feb. 21 – 3:15 pm AST – Royal Brougham Pavilion – Seattle, Wash.
Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific (12-10, 7-8 GNAC [Thu. vs UAF])
 
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: Thursday at msubsports.com/sidearmstats/mbball
                       Saturday at spufalcons.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Cole Johnson, 6-2, Jr. (5.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 2.6 apg)
  or —Elijah Mobley, 6-1, Jr. (5.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, .480 FG, .712 FT)
G—Akok Machar, 6-7, Sr. (9.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.7 spg, .913 FT)
G—Hasaan Herrington, 6-3, Sr. (12.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.9 spg, .358 3FG, .821 FT)
F—Bishop Tosi, 6-6, Sr. (11.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, .556 FG, .760 FT)
F—Sylas Williams, 6-7, Jr. (13.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 bpg, .456 FG)
 
CRUCIAL ROAD FINALES: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball concludes its regular-season road schedule this week with games at longtime rivals Montana State Billings (Thur., 5:30 pm AST) and Seattle Pacific (Sat., 3:15 pm AST) ... the Seawolves currently one game behind Saint Martin's for the GNAC lead with four games remaining for each club ... UAA needs one win or one loss by either SPU or Central Washington to officially qualify for the GNAC Tournament; the top six teams in the final standings advance to the GNAC Tournament, Mar. 5-7 in Bellingham, Wash., with the top two teams earning byes into the semifinals.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Montana State Billings suffered back-to-back losses last week for just the second time this season, falling by one possession at Central Washington (77-75) and Northwest Nazarene (68-65) ... aiming to improve their fourth-place standing, the Yellowjackets are led by 6-3 Sr. G Mason Landdeck (19.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.0 apg, .827 FT) and 6-1 Jr. G Miles Gurske (14.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.0 spg, .331 3FG, .807 FT) ... Seattle Pacific was also swept last week at CWU (67-64) and NNU (86-60), leaving the Falcons clinging to sixth place by half a game over their Thursday opponent, UAF ... SPU is led by 6-9 Sr. F Trace Evans (13.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, .504 FG) and 5-11 Jr. G Julian Mora (12.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, .390 3FG, .917 FT).
 
THE SERIES...
vs MSUB: UAA leads 52-37 overall; MSUB leads 27-16 in Billings
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 84-70 (1/24/26 at UAA)
Notes: UAA is aiming for its first season sweep since 2021-22 ... UAA leads 23-12 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 37 games since the series resumed in 2008, neither has scored more than 90 points.
 
vs SPU: SPU leads 48-43 overall, 30-13 in Seattle
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 54-50 (1/22/26 at UAA)
Notes: UAA is aiming for its first season sweep since 2016-17 ... the last seven games have been decided by an average of 3.9 points, with no margin larger than nine ... the road team has won 15 of the last 25 meetings, although SPU won 64-60 last season in Seattle ... 15 of the last 23 games have been decided by five points or fewer, including two OT contests ... 30 of the last 40 games have been decided by 11 points or fewer … SPU leads 32-15 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.
 
SAFE AT HOME: The Seawolves swept their three-game homestand and improved to 15-1 at the Alaska Airlines Center with a 70-54 victory over Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday ... Jr. F Sylas Williams led the way with 19 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 3 steals as UAA held UAF to its second-lowest point total of the season ... Sr. G Hasaan Herrington had 17 points (3-7 3FG) and 5 assists, Sr. F Bishop Tosi added 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, and Sr. G Akok Machar helped seal the win with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
 
TEAM NOTES: The Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in scoring defense (63.1 ppg), rebounds allowed per game (29.3) and assists per game (18.2), and are second in turnovers forced per game (15.1), rebound margin (+6.5), A/T ratio (1.46) and steals per game (8.8) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, UAA is 7th in scoring defense, 12th in assists, 19th in A/T ratio and 24th in rebound margin  ... the Seawolves are 15-0 when leading at halftime, 6-0 when scoring 80 points or more and 7-0 when shooting .500 or better ... UAA has clinched its 17th .500-or-better record in the past 19 seasons and its 38th winning record in 48 seasons of NCAA Div. II existence ... the Seawolves have also earned their 34th winning conference record in 44 years belonging to a league ... UAA is aiming for its 18th 20-win season 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 12.1 ppg (.455/.358/.821), 4.0 rpg, 5.0 apg and 1.9 spg ... the former East High star has averaged 13.2 ppg in the 19 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. 3 nationally  in A/T ratio at 3.4-to-1, and he holds GNAC ranks of 3rd in assists and 4th in steals – the only player in the top 5 in both categories ... Herrington is tied for 7th place on UAA's career steals list with 120, needing just three more to reach the top 5 ... 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 11.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 1.9 apg, increasing his scoring and rebounding to 15.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg over the last 11 games; since Dec. 4, Tosi has shot .608 (76-125) from the field, with only three sub-.500 efforts in those 15 games ... Tosi has made game-winning baskets against Chaminade, Northwest and SPU, along with late heroics in the wins over WOU and NNU ... in the GNAC stats, Tosi ranks 3rd in FG% (.556), 19th in rebounding, 3rd in offensive rebounding (2.5) and 14th in FT% (.760), making a team-high 79 free throws ... Tosi also ranks 9th on UAA's career FG% list at .561 ... Jr. F Sylas Williams has made a major impact in his debut season, claiming Most Outstanding Player honors in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge in November and emerging as the team's leading scorer (13.5 ppg) and the GNAC's leading rebounder (7.9 rpg) ... the 2024-25 NWAC Player of the Year at Skagit Valley (Wash.) College, Williams has posted eight double-doubles, including seven in the last 15 games ... the Washington native holds GNAC ranks of 1st in rebounding and defensive rebounding (5.6 drpg), 17th in scoring, 6th in offensive rebounding (2.2), 8th in blocks (1.0) and 12th in minutes per game (31.3) ... a transfer from fellow D-II program Texas-Tyler, Sr. G Akok 'Cookie' Machar has emerged as another all-around threat, scoring double figures 15 times ... originally from South Sudan and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Machar is paces the GNAC with a .913 FT%, making his first 29 attempts; he is also top-20 in steals (7th, 1.7 spg) and blocks (18th, 0.6) ... Machar is trying to become just the fourth Seawolf to shoot .900 or better from the FT line in a season ... Jr. G Cole Johnson ranks 16th in the GNAC with 2.6 assists per game, dishing a career-high 8 dimes with no turnovers in the win over SPU ... Johnson has committed just 14 turnovers over his last 16 games (329 minutes), while dishing 31 assists and nabbing 12 steals.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: In his 21st season (22nd year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (379-241) 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 All-Academic Team
GNAC Player of the Week, Dec. 29-Jan. 4
Sprite Tundra Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge All-Tournament Team
ZACH IBBETSON
GNAC All-Academic Team
LUKE JOHNSTON
GNAC All-Academic Team
AKOK MACHAR
Sprite Tundra Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
LYMAN SIMMONS
GNAC All-Academic Team
JESSE STINES
GNAC All-Academic Team
BISHOP TOSI
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC Player of the Week, Feb. 2-8
Preseason All-GNAC Team
SYLAS WILLIAMS
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge Most Outstanding Player