ANCHORAGE (Feb. 7) – Junior forward Sylas Williams scored 16 points and collected a career-best 13 rebounds Saturday, helping the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team pull away for a 71-53 victory over Northwest Nazarene at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (17-7, 9-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 14 points from senior forward Bishop Tosi, along with 11 points and seven assists from senior guard Hasaan Herrington, as they remained tied for second in the GNAC standings with five games left.

Senior forward Akok Machar added 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals, while committing just one turnover in 35 minutes.

The Nighthawks (13-8, 7-5) were led by 10 points and five assists from guard Garrett Hawkes, but the visitors from Idaho were outshot .491 to .396 and outrebounded 38-24.

The GNAC's top defensive club, UAA kept NNU 28 points under its season average and held league-leading scorer Easton Reagan (22.3 ppg) to a season-low six points on 2-of-9 shooting, with one assist and two turnovers.

"That was another terrific defensive effort by our guys and among our most complete performances of the season," said UAA coach Rusty Osborne, whose team allowed just five offensive rebounds. "We did a great job terminating possessions and getting the boards, and we continued to share the ball well on the offensive end. Hasaan did a great job defensively on Reagan and I thought Cookie (Machar) had his best all-around game with us, doing any especially great job of disrupting their passing lanes."

A one-year transfer from Texas-Tyler, Machar was the primary defender on NNU second-leading scorer Jaden Byers, who managed just six points on 3-of-9 shooting and no rebounds.

Looking to avenge last month's 60-54 road loss to the Nighthawks, the Seawolves began to get some separation midway through the first half. Cole Johnson (8 points, 2 assists, no turnovers) sparked the run with a pair of jumpers to grab a 24-16 advantage, and Herrington and Johnson stopped an NNU run with back-to-back treys that made it 37-28 with 3:03 showing.

The Nighthawks sliced into a 39-28 halftime deficit with the first four points of the second half, but could get no closer. Junior guard Elijah Mobley provided a lift off the bench with a key offensive rebound and layup, and he stole the ball and drove for another score to make it 49-38 with 13:17 remaining. UAA would lead by double digits the rest of the way, stretching its largest lead to 65-45 with 4:48 left.

Mobley finished with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, three steals and no turnovers.

Williams shot 6 of 13 from the field and recorded his seventh double-double, increasing his GNAC-best rebounding average to 7.7 rpg. He also had four assists, two steals and a block, becoming the first Seawolf this year to log all 40 minutes.

Tosi shot 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 6 at the charity stripe, coming off a career-high 30 points in Thursday's win over Central Washington.

The Seawolves remain home to host Alaska Fairbanks for a 7:30 p.m. Valentine's Day tip. The game is part of UAA's 'Bounce Back For Charity' doubleheader with the Seawolf women (5:15 vs Simon Fraser), featuring free admission for patrons who donate 'soft items' such as hats, socks, mittens, coats and toilet paper.