ANCHORAGE (Feb. 28) – Alaska Anchorage senior guard Akok Machar scored 12 points, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 3.6 seconds remaining, but Saint Martin's guard Dae'Kwon Watson answered with a buzzer-beater from 40 feet to give the Saints a 57-56 men's basketball victory Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The regionally 5th-ranked Seawolves (20-9, 12-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 10 points and two assists from junior guard Elijah Mobley as they finished in a second-place tie with Northwest Nazarene, but still claimed the No. 2 seed and a quarterfinal bye for next week's GNAC Championships.

Ranked No. 22 nationally and No. 3 in the West Region, Saint Martin's was led by 16 points and 10 rebounds from forward Pablo Navarro, along with 14 points from guard Kaden Hansen. The Saints will be the No. 1 seed for the GNAC Championships, which begin Thursday in Bellingham, Wash., with quarterfinal action.

"That was an amazing game with big plays and shots on both sides, and unfortunately luck wasn't on our side with that last shot," said UAA's Rusty Osborne, who was coaching his final home game in 22 years at the helm. "Even though we lost tonight, we got huge minutes up and down our lineup and key efforts from guys like Lyman Simmons and Jaren Miller, which shows the overall depth of our team. Hopefully we'll get a little healthier with an extra day off next week and be ready for the challenge at GNACs."

Despite struggling offensively in the first half and facing deficits of 29-18 at the break and 34-22 at the 16-minute mark, UAA began chipping away at the Saints.

Machar's defense helped to turn the tide as the Australian nabbed a career-high five steals and sliced it to 37-32 with four straight free throws midway through the second half. Miller delivered a go-ahead three-pointer to put UAA up 39-37 at the 9:09 mark, and fed Machar for a layup and three-point play that made it 43-39.

Parker Kroon made two free throws to give the Seawolves their largest lead at 49-43 with 4:14 left, before Saints tied it with the next six points.

UAA took an apparent 52-49 lead when Cole Johnson hit a long jumper with 54 seconds on the clock, but an official review showed his foot on the line for a two-pointer instead of a three.

Hansen answered 13 seconds later when he came off a screen and drilled a top-of-the-key three for a 52-21 Saints lead, and the teams exchanged go-ahead baskets on the ensuing possessions. Trailing 54-53 and with the clock winding down, Mobley found Machar for a three-pointer in the corner that swished through with 3.6 seconds showing. The Saints inbounded the ball quickly, however, and Watson took a pair of dribbles over midcourt before pulling up and swishing the game winner as time expired.

Machar finished 7 of 7 from the free-throw  line and tied John McFadden with a team-high six rebounds, while McFadden also had six points, three assists and three steals.

Johnson had a career-high four steals, and senior Jesse Stines added five points, two assists and a block in his final home game.

The Seawolves will face the winner between 6th-seeded Alaska Fairbanks and 3rd-seeded Northwest Nazarene on Friday at 4:15 p.m. AST in the GNAC Championships semifinals. Find live links at GoSeawolves.com or gnacsports.com.