THIS WEEK IN ALASKA ANCHORAGE MEN'S BASKETBALL...
 
at NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships
Pioneer Gymnasium ­- Hayward, Calif.
(all times listed as ADT)
Friday, Mar. 13 – Quarterfinals
11 am: #6 Northwest Nazarene (18-10) vs #3 Point Loma (25-5)
1:30 pm: #7 Hawaii Pacific (17-11) vs #2 Saint Martin's (25-5)
4 pm: #5 Cal State Dominguez Hills (21-8) vs #4 Alaska Anchorage (21-10)
6:30 pm: #8 Cal Poly Humboldt (17-14) vs #1 Cal State East Bay (30-0)
Saturday, Mar. 14 – Semifinals
4 pm: NNU/PLNU winner vs HPU/SMU winner
6:30 pm: CPH/CSUEB winner vs CSUDH/UAA winner
Monday, Mar. 16 – Title Game (winner advances to Elite Eight in Pittsburgh, Pa.)
6 pm: Semifinal winners
 
LIVE VIDEO: All games free at ncaa.com/champs-pass (select 'Watch DII Championships' under Live/Upcoming)
 
LIVE STATS: eastbaypioneers.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
UAA TENTATIVE STARTERS (2025-26 stats)
G—Cole Johnson, 6-2, Jr. (6.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.5 apg, .829 FT)
G—Akok Machar, 6-7, Sr. (10.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.8 spg, .881 FT)
G—Hasaan Herrington, 6-3, Sr. (11.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.8 spg, .330 3FG, .828 FT)
F—Bishop Tosi, 6-6, Sr. (10.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, .534 FG, .754 FT)
F—Sylas Williams, 6-7, Jr. (13.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 0.9 bpg, .448 FG, .318 3FG)
 
BACK AT THE DANCE: The Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team makes its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three seasons this week, taking the No. 4 seed into the NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships in Hayward, Calif. ... making their program's 18th all-time NCAA appearance, the Seawolves face No. 5 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills in the first round Friday at 4 pm ADT ... the UAA/CSUDH winner plays the winner of Humboldt State and nationally 2nd-ranked Cal State East Bay in Saturday's semifinals ... Monday night's regional title-game victor advances to the NCAA Elite 8 in Pittsburgh for the national quarterfinals and semifinals.
 
TORO TALES: Defending NCAA D-II West Region champion Cal State Dominguez Hills finished runner-up in the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season, before suffering a 76-75 overtime loss to Cal Poly Humboldt in the CCAA semifinals last week ... the Toros, located in Carson, Calif. (LA), have shown a penchant for close games down the stretch, playing their last six within a six-point margin ... CSUDH is led by 6-2 Jr. G Jalen Brown (16.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.3 apg, .525 FG, .436 3FG) and 6-7 So. F Josiah Sanders (14.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.5 bpg, .524 FG).
 
THE SERIES...
vs CSUDH: CSUDH leads 3-2 overall; tied 1-1 on neutral courts
Last: CSUDH 81-78 (11/21/15 at UAA)
Streak: CSUDH 2
Notes: Friday's game will be just the third meeting between the programs since 1988 ... UAA won the only NCAA Tournament tilt, taking a 68-64 double-OT thriller in Billings, Mont., on Mar. 6, 1987 ... all five meetings have been played within a seven-point margin ... first meetings were Dec. 15-16, 1979, in Anchorage.
 
GNAC RUNNERS-UP: The Seawolves reprised their regular-season Great Northwest Athletic Conference finish with a runner-up showing at last week's GNAC Championships in Bellingham, Wash. ... UAA went 1-1 after earning a quarterfinal bye, defeating No. 6 seed Alaska Fairbanks 87-86 in double-OT on Friday, before falling 74-62 to No. 1 seed Saint Martin's in Saturday's title game ... in the semis, Jr. F Sylas Williams went for a career-high 30 points (11-18 FG, 5-8 3FG) and nabbed 11 rebounds to lift UAA in the first double-OT contest in 118 games against UAF ... Sr. F John McFadden recorded his first career double-double with 11 points (4-5 FG) and career-best 10 rebounds, Sr. G Hasaan Herrington had 16 points (8-9 FT), and Jr. G Cole Johnson tallied 12 points, including the game-winning trey with 12.9 seconds left in the second OT ... on Saturday, Saint Martin's overcame an early 14-9 deficit and pulled away early in the second half to earn its first GNAC tourney title ... UAA was led by 14 points (4-8 FG, 4-4 FT) and 6 rebounds from Sr. G Akok Machar, who joined Williams on the all-tournament team.
 
NCAA HISTORY: UAA is making its 18th all-time NCAA appearance since gaining NCAA Div. II membership in 1977-78 ... this is the seventh NCAA Tournament for head coach Rusty Osborne, who recently announced his retirement at season's end ... UAA made its first NCAA appearance in 1982 and earned its first victory in 1986, beating UC Riverside in Hayward, Calif. ... the Seawolves made their deepest run with a national runner-up finish in 1988, falling 75-72 to UMass-Lowell in the title game in Springfield, Mass. ... UAA also advanced to Elite Eight under Osborne in 2008 (also in Springfield), where they beat California-Pa. 56-53 in the quarterfinals and lost 56-50 to Augusta State in the semifinals ... UAA is 15-17 overall in NCAA play and 9-8 in openers ... the Seawolves are seeking their first NCAA victory since a 80-68 first-round win over MSU Billings in 2012.
 
TEAM NOTES: UAA finished 16-2 at home and missed its first unbeaten GNAC home slate since 2016-17 by one point, falling to SMU on a buzzer beater ... the Seawolves lead the GNAC stats in scoring defense (64.4 ppg), rebounds allowed per game (30.2) and assists per game (17.3), and are second in turnovers forced per game (14.7), rebound margin (+5.2), A/T ratio (1.42) and steals per game (8.8) ... in the NCAA Div. II national stats, UAA is 13th in scoring defense, 16th in assists and 22nd in A/T ratio  ... the Seawolves are 16-1 when leading at halftime, 9-0 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 also earned their 34th winning conference record in 44 years belonging to a league ... UAA has clinched 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, earning unanimous First Team All-GNAC and GNAC Defensive Player of the Year honors last week ... the GNAC Player of the Week for the first week of January, Herrington is No. 2 nationally in A/T ratio at 3.35-to-1, and he holds GNAC ranks of 4th in assists (4.6 apg) and 5th steals (1.8) – the only player in the GNAC top 10 in both categories ... the former East Anchorage High star is tied for 5th place on UAA's career steals list with 123, along with 12th in assists (255) ... back for his third year in Green & Gold, Sr. F/C Bishop Tosi captured his second consecutive honorable mention All-GNAC nod, having posted 10.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 1.9 apg ... 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 6th in FG% (.534), 3rd in offensive rebounding (2.4) and 15th in blocks (0.6), while making a team-high 92 free throws ... on UAA's career lists the local Bartlett High alum ranks 14th in both FG% (.552) and games started, starting in all of his 65 appearances ... UAA's career FG% list at .554 ... Jr. F Sylas Williams has made a major impact in his debut season, claiming  Second Team All-GNAC and GNAC Newcomer of the Year awards ... the Most Outstanding Player honors in the Alaska/Hawaii Challenge in November, Williams has emerged as the team's leading scorer (13.1 ppg) and the GNAC's leading rebounder (7.6 rpg) ... the 2024-25 NWAC Player of the Year at Skagit Valley (Wash.) College, Williams has posted 10 double-doubles, including nine in the last 21 games ... the Washington native holds GNAC ranks of 1st in rebounding and defensive rebounding (5.5 drpg), 16th in scoring, 9th in blocks (0.9) and 18th in minutes per game (30.8) ... a transfer from fellow D-II program Texas-Tyler, Sr. G Akok 'Cookie' Machar has emerged as another all-around threat, scoring double figures 18 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 10 of the last 12 games, including a UAA season-high five against Saint Martin's on Feb. 28 ... in the GNAC stats, Machar is top-20 in FT% (.881, made first 29 in a row), steals (3rd, 1.8 spg) and blocks (16th, 0.6) ... Jr. G Cole Johnson ranks 19th 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 nine times in his debut season, with 15 points (5-9 FG, 3-7 3FG) to key the victory over Hawaii Pacific, 17 points (4-6 FG, 2-2 3FG, 7-7 FT) to spur UAA past Billings on the road, and 12 points with the game-winning three-pointer in the GNAC Tourney semifinal win over UAF ... after logging no more than 23 minutes through the first 24 games, Jr. G Elijah Mobley stepped up down the stretch with at least 26 minutes in each of the last five regular-season contests ... the JC transfer and Chicago native scored a career-high 18 points to pace the win at MSU Billings, and shot .500-plus from the field in seven straight games (24-40, .600) from Feb. 5-28.
 
TRUST IN RUSTY: Concluding his 21st season (22nd year) at the helm, head coach Rusty Osborne (382-244) announced Feb. 23 that he will retire from coaching at the end of this season ... Osborne has now led the Seawolves to seven 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
First Team All-GNAC (unanimous)
GNAC Defensive Player of the Year
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
GNAC Championships All-Tournament Team
Sprite Tundra Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
LYMAN SIMMONS
GNAC All-Academic Team
JESSE STINES
GNAC All-Academic Team
BISHOP TOSI
Honorable Mention All-GNAC
GNAC All-Academic Team
GNAC Player of the Week, Feb. 2-8
Preseason All-GNAC Team
SYLAS WILLIAMS
GNAC Championships All-Tournament Team
Second Team All-GNAC
GNAC Newcomer of the Year
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge Most Outstanding Player