THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
Thu., Feb. 26 – 5:15 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
Western Oregon (9-16, 4-12 GNAC) at Alaska Anchorage (19-8, 11-5 GNAC)
&
Sat., Feb. 28 – 7:30 pm AST – Alaska Airlines Center – Anchorage, AK
#22 Saint Martin's (21-5, 13-3 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
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Cole Johnson, 6-2, Jr. (6.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, .306 3FG, .786 FT)
  or —Elijah Mobley, 6-1, Jr. (6.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, .504 FG)
G—Akok Machar, 6-7, Sr. (9.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.7 spg, .849 FT)
G—Hasaan Herrington, 6-3, Sr. (11.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.9 spg, .347 3FG, .821 FT)
F—Bishop Tosi, 6-6, Sr. (11.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, .546 FG, .757 FT)
F—Sylas Williams, 6-7, Jr. (13.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.9 bpg, .454 FG, .313 3FG)
 
LOTS ON THE LINE: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball concludes its regular-season schedule this week with games against Western Oregon (Thur., 5:15 pm) and league-leading Saint Martin's (Sat., 7:30 pm) at the Alaska Airlines Center ... having already clinched no lower than the No. 3 seed for the GNAC Tournament (Mar. 5-7 in Bellingham, Wash.), UAA could claim a share of the conference title with two wins and an SMU loss Thursday at UAF ... UAA enters the week one game ahead of Northwest Nazarene for the No. 2 seed and a quarterfinal bye; should UAA and NNU wind up tied, it would depend on other results around the league to determine the No. 2 seed.
 
SCOUTING REPORT: Western Oregon has lost three in a row and five of its last six, fighting to maintain ninth place in the final league standings ... led by former UAA assistant Ryan Orton, the Wolves feature 6-5 Sr. G/F Jadin Penigar (19.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .370 3FG, .874 FT) and 6-3 So. G Braydon Olson (11.8 ppg, .404 3FG) ... picked fourth in the preseason poll, Saint Martin's needs one victory to clinch the outright GNAC regular-season title as it preps for its game Thursday at UAF ... winners of four of their last five, the Saints are led by 6-2 So. G Kaden Hansen (20.2 ppg, 2.9 apg, .363 3FG, .893 FT) and 6-7 So. F Diego Trejo-Delgado (15.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, .493 FG).
 
THE SERIES...
vs WOU: UAA leads 26-24 overall, 15-8 in Anchorage
Streak: UAA 1
Last: UAA 64-56 (12/6/25 at WOU)
Notes: Teams have split the last two season series ... UAA is aiming for its first regular-season sweep since 2013-14 ... nine of the last 10 games have been decided by nine points of fewer, including two OT contests ... the Seawolves won 71-49 at home last season ... UAA leads 26-23 in GNAC regular-season meetings ... series is tied 5-5 at the Alaska Airlines Center (since 2014-15) ... first and only non-GNAC meeting was a 91-81 WOU victory in Monmouth, Jan. 28, 1999, when both programs were in the Pac West.
 
vs SMU: UAA leads 39-15 overall, 23-6 in Anchorage
Last: UAA 54-50 (1/22/26 at UAA)
Streak: SMU 1
Notes: UAA has won four of the last six and eight of the last 12 meetings ... SMU won 79-74 last season in Anchorage ...  ... SMU is seeking its first season sweep since 2022-23 ... series tied 5-5 at the Alaska Airlines Center ... UAA leads 31-16 in GNAC regular-season meetings ... teams met twice as members of the Pac West (in 1999 and 2001) and four times between 1977-80.
 
RIVALRY SPLIT: The Seawolves managed a road split against their third- and second-most common rivals last week, defeating Montana State Billings 82-75 on Thursday and falling 67-59 at Seattle Pacific on Saturday ... in the first game, Jr. G Elijah Mobley had career highs of 18 points (5-6 FG, 8-14 FT) and 8 rebounds, while Jr. G Cole Johnson matched his career-high 17 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 3FG, 7-7 FT) as UAA scored a season-best 56 points in the second half in Billings ... Jr. F Sylas Williams had his ninth double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Sr. F Bishop Tosi helped seal the win with 11 points (7-8 FT) ... two days later, the Seawolves could never get rolling against the Falcons, seeing their five-game win streak snapped ... Williams led the way with 13 points and 5 rebounds, but the Falcons shot an impressive .563 (27-48) and won 31-26 on the boards.
 
TEAM NOTES: Should the Seawolves earn a share of the GNAC title, it would be their first since taking the crown outright in 2008 ... UAA is aiming for its third unbeaten GNAC home slate in 25 years of league history and its first since 2016-17 ... the Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in scoring defense (63.7 ppg), rebounds allowed per game (29.7) and assists per game (17.6), and are second in turnovers forced per game (14.8), rebound margin (+5.9), A/T ratio (1.42) and steals per game (8.6) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, UAA is 9th in scoring defense, 16th in assists, and 25th in A/T ratio  ... the Seawolves are 15-1 when leading at halftime, 7-0 when scoring 80 points or more and 6-0 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 11.7 ppg (.450/.347/.821), 3.9 rpg, 4.8 apg and 1.9 spg ... the former East High star had averaged 13.2 ppg in the first 19 games against D-II foes this year, prior to leaving Thursday's game at MSUB with a lower-leg injury ... the GNAC Player of the Week for the first week of January, Herrington is No. 5 nationally in A/T ratio at 3.3-to-1, and he holds GNAC ranks of 4th in assists and 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 11.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 1.9 apg, increasing his scoring and rebounding to 15.5 ppg and 5.8 rpg over the last 13 games; since Dec. 4 ... 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 4th in FG% (.546), 20th in rebounding, 4th in offensive rebounding (2.4) and 12th in FT% (.757), making a team-high 87 free throws ... Tosi also ranks 12th on UAA's career FG% list at .557 ... 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 (13.4 ppg) and the GNAC's leading rebounder (7.8 rpg) ... the 2024-25 NWAC Player of the Year at Skagit Valley (Wash.) College, Williams has posted nine double-doubles, including eight in the last 17 games ... the Washington native holds GNAC ranks of 1st in rebounding and defensive rebounding (5.6 drpg), 16th in scoring, 7th in offensive rebounding (2.2), 9th in blocks (0.9) and 11th 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 has emerged as one of the GNAC's top defenders, snagging multiple steals in each of the last seven games (3.1 spg) ... in the GNAC stats, Machar is top-20 in steals (6th, 1.7 spg) and blocks (17th, 0.6) ... Jr. G Cole Johnson ranks 15th in the GNAC with 2.5 assists per game, dishing a career-high 8 dimes with no turnovers in the home win over SPU ... the Utah native has scored double figures seven times in his debut season, with 15 points (5-9 FG, 3-7 3FG) to key the victory over Hawaii Pacific and 17 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 3FG, 7-7 FT) to spur UAA past Billings on the road last week.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Concluding his 21st season (22nd year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (380-242) announced Monday that he will retire from coaching at the end of this season ... Osborne 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 winningest coach in UAA history (in any sport) and in the GNAC, 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 11 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