HAYWARD, Calif. (Mar. 13) – Junior forward
Sylas Williams had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead a comeback for 4th-seeded Alaska Anchorage, but a late push by 5th-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills made the difference as the Toros moved on with a 69-58 victory over the Seawolves in the NCAA Div. II Men's Basketball West Regional Championships at Pioneer Gymnasium on Friday night.
UAA (21-11) also got 14 points and three assists from senior
Hasaan Herrington in the final game for retiring head coach
Rusty Osborne, while senior
Akok Machar delivered nine points, six rebounds and three steals.
CSUDH (23-8) was led by 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from DaSean Stevens, helping the California Collegiate Athletic Association squad earn a Saturday regional semifinal berth against the winner between 8th-seeded Cal Poly Humboldt and top-seeded Cal State East Bay.
"We got off to a little slow start. We were getting good shots and not making them," Osborne said in the
postgame press conference. "But one of the things we said was 'be relentless, be resilient,' and I thought we were. We fought back and took the lead, and just down the stretch there we missed some free throws and a layup that would've tied it or kept it close at the end. And that's the difference a lot of times. The score – 11 points – was not indicative of how close a game it really was. That was all free throws down the stretch."
Meeting CSUDH for just the sixth time ever and the first time in 10 years, UAA trailed 10-0 and 20-10 in the opening minutes before clawing back into contention. A First Team All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference performer, Herrington started the comeback with a traditional three-point play, and Williams added a late first-half tip-in and two free throws to draw within 33-30 at the break.
The Toros scored the first eight points of the second half to claim their largest lead, before the Seawolves' nationally 13th-ranked scoring defense began to lock down.
Bishop Tosi nailed a corner three-pointer and Williams added another to make it a 41-40 deficit, and Herrington fed
Jesse Stines for a layup to put the Seawolves ahead for the first time, 45-43, at the 10:39 mark.
UAA earned a pair of five-point advantages over the next three minutes, with Tosi sinking two free throws for a 50-45 lead, but the momentum would not last. Clinging to a 53-52 edge, the Seawolves saw Stevens make floater in the lane to flip the scoreboard with 3:50 remaining, and take a 60-54 lead with 1:24 left on a jumper by Josiah Sanders. The CCAA regular-season runners-up and defending West Region champions clinched the win with seven straight free throws down the stretch.
The GNAC Newcomer the Year, Williams shot 7 of 17 from the floor and added a pair of assists, recording his 11th double-double of the season. Tosi – an honorable mention All-GNAC pick from Anchorage's Bartlett High School – had eight points, four rebounds, two assists and no turnovers in his final game.
Herrington, who was also the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, had one steal Friday to finish alone at No. 5 on UAA's career list with 124 in his three seasons. The East Anchorage High alum also finished No. 12 in assists with 258, despite playing the starting point guard role for less than a full season.
Meanwhile, Osborne's 22 years and 21 seasons as head coach concluded with a 382-245 overall record. The Texas native, who came to UAA as an assistant in 1991 and took over head coaching duties in 2004, led UAA to .500-or-better records in 17 of the last 19 seasons, including a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in his final three campaigns. Among his seven NCAA Tournament squads, Osborne's 2007-08 team made the second-deepest run in program history, winning the West Region and advancing to the national semifinals. He also finished as the winningest coach in GNAC and Alaska collegiate history.
"He just believes in us, putting a lot of faith in us," Tosi said of his coach. "One of the things I learned from him was having a standard. He's held the program at a very high standard for years. I came from a juco, and coming (to UAA) it was a little bit of a different vibe. But I've learned a lot of lessons about keeping what needs to be done a priority and not taking shortcuts. It's been pretty helpful."
The only Seawolf player to appear in two NCAA Tournaments this decade, Herrington echoed the impact UAA has had on him as a player and person.
"There's nothing like home, not only from the (coaching) staff but also from the community," said Herrington, who transferred to UAA after spending his freshman season at Texas-Tyler. "The love, the connections you make, the relationships you build – it's family."
"There are so many (memories). It's like choosing the best of your kids – it's hard to do," Osborne said of his time at UAA. "We were a couple of shots from going to the national championship game (in 2008), but this year, you know, it was a special one. We changed our style early in the year and made the switch with moving Hasaan to the point in December, and when we did that we got really good because he's like the head of the snake. For us to turn it around and make a run, it was because of these two guys' leadership (Tosi and Herington) that the other guys bought in and stayed connected."
