BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Mar. 6) – Junior forward
Sylas Williams scored a career-high 30 points and senior forward
John McFadden posted his first career double-double to help No. 2 seed Alaska Anchorage to an 87-86 double-overtime victory over No. 6 seed Alaska Fairbanks in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships semifinals Friday at Carver Gymnasium.
Ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Div. II West Region, the Seawolves (21-9) also got 16 points from senior guard
Hasaan Herrington and 12 points from junior guard
Cole Johnson, who combined for the assist and make on the game-winning three-pointer with 12.9 seconds left.
The Nanooks (15-14) were led by 32 points and eight rebounds from guard Tyriq Luke and 20 points from four assists from Davis Crilly as their season came to an end.
"We weren't at our best defensively, but we had so many guys step up and play big roles, like
John McFadden (11 points/10 rebounds) tonight," said UAA head coach
Rusty Osborne, whose team split the regular-season series with their arch rivals. "We take this as a really good win. Some people might say, 'Well, Fairbanks was (just) .500,' but they're a much better team than they were earlier in the year."
After beating UAF 70-54 on Valentine's Day in Anchorage, the Seawolves overcame a brief early deficit and took command with a 26-12 lead when Herrington swished a long jumper midway through the first half.
The Nanooks would rally within 34-27 at the break, however, and sliced it to a one-possession game just 70 seconds into the second half. Williams answered that surge with one of his five three-pointers and put UAA ahead 48-39 on a driving, twisting layup at the 15-minute mark.
UAF would take advantage of a long scoreless drought by the Seawolves, however, regaining the lead at 52-50 on a trey by Luke with 10 minutes left.
The game stayed within two possessions for the final 12 minutes of regulation and the duration of both overtimes, with the Nanooks earning their largest edge at 66-61 with only 3:19 remaining.
Herrington went 4 of 4 from the foul stripe in the final 3:03, including a pair to tie it 67-67 with 43 seconds left. UAF committed a turnover on its final possession of regulation and Johnson missed a three-pointer to send it to the first OT.
UAA seemed in command when McFadden's putback layup made it 79-75 with 45 seconds showing, but Luke made one of his four treys and Tariq Weiser scored with 12 seconds left to make it 80-80. Herrington drove the length of the floor for an unsuccessful layup, and UAF missed a desperation three as the teams continued into the night.
Despite losing Williams on his fifth foul with 3:31 left in double overtime, the Seawolves claimed an 84-82 lead on two free throws from senior
Akok Machar. The Nanooks tied it with 1:18 left on a driving layup by Luke and gained an 86-84 lead when Crilly scored inside with 28 seconds to go.
UAA called timeout and executed perfectly on the winning play as Johnson – who was 1 of 8 on threes at that point – came off a screen and swished the game winner. UAF got a pair of looks in the final seconds, but Mike Miller missed a three-pointer and Machar blocked Crilly's short jumper in the lane as time expired.
"At the timeout, coach drew up the play and he looked at me straight in the eyes and he said 'You're gonna make this," Johnson said in the postgame press conference. "And as soon as I caught it, I was like, 'I'm making this.' I just want to thank Coach Oz – he trusted me to make the shot and that's what happened."
The 2024-25 NWAC Player of the Year at nearby Skagit Valley College and this year's GNAC Newcomer of the Year, Williams shot 11 of 18 (5-8 3FG) from the field and nabbed 11 rebounds to record his 10th double-double.
"We knew it was going to be a fight," Williams said. "I fouled out, but I trusted my teammates and knew we were going to win after I went to the bench."
Fighting through an ankle injury sustained Feb. 19 in UAA's win at MSU Billings, Herrington shot 4 of 15 from the field but made 8 of 9 free throws. The First Team All-GNAC performer and Defensive Player of the Year also had three assists with just one turnover in 38 minutes, on pace with his nationally No. 3-ranked 3.3-to-1 A/T ratio.
McFadden was 4 of 5 from the field and 3 of 4 at the foul stripe to score his most career points against a fellow D-II program, while his 10 rebounds were an outright career high.
Machar finished with eight points (3-6 FG), six rebounds, two assists and two steals, scoring half his points in the overtime sessions.
The Seawolves play top-seeded and nationally 21st-ranked Saint Martin's in Saturday's 6:30 p.m. title game, with the winner earning the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Find live video (PPV) and stats links at GoSeawolves.com.
