2007-08 UAA MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON REVIEW
BRIEF SEASON RECAP: Sparked by an 18-game midseason win streak, the Seawolf men went on to a program-best 29-6 record and advanced to the NCAA Div. II Semifinals for the first time since 1988. UAA won its first GNAC title with a 16-2 record ? the best in the league's 7-year history ? and went 18-0 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex. The Seawolves beat BYU-Hawaii in the West Regional title game at the WFSC, then overcame No. 9 California (Pa.) at the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass. UAA was No. 4 in the final NABC top 25 poll and was No. 1 in the West Region rankings throughout the season. Seniors Luke Cooper and Carl Arts combined for multiple All-America honors, while Cooper also captured GNAC Player of the Year accolades and head coach Rusty Osborne was GNAC Coach of the Year.
2007-08 UAA STARTERS
PG?Luke Cooper, 6-0, Sr (7.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 8.9 apg, 1.1 spg, .387 FG, 36.3 mpg)
SG?Chris Bryant, 6-4, Sr (13.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, .472 FG, .443 3FG, .800 FT)
SF?Cameron Burney, 6-7, Jr (5.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, .450 FG, .429 3FG, .774 FT)
PF?Carl Arts, 6-6, Sr (18.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.3 spg, .497 FG, .407 3FG, .791 FT)
C?McCade Olsen, 6-8, Sr (15.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.1 spg, .540 FG, .383 3FG, .826 FT)
ELITE EIGHT RECAP: The Seawolves returned 20 years later to the site of their first NCAA Div. II Semifinals appearance when they traveled to Springfield, Mass., for the 2008 Elite Eight, Mar. 26 and 27 ... in the quarterfinal game, UAA recovered from a slow start and a late second-half deficit to knock off 9th-ranked California (Pa.) 55-52, getting 17 points (6-12 FG, 4-4 FT) and 8 rebounds from Sr. F Carl Arts and the go-ahead jumper from Sr. F McCade Olsen with 27 seconds remaining. Sr. G Chris Bryant tallied 11 points (4-8 FG, 2-5 3FG), 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Sr. PG Luke Cooper had 12 points (3-8 FG, 6-8 FT) and 4 assists, and Jr. C Jeremiah Trueman had 7 points (3-3 FG) and 3 rebounds. After falling behind 14-5 after 8 minutes, the Seawolves rallied and a putback layup by Arts gave them a 25-23 lead going into halftime. The Vulcans, the East Regional champs, took a 44-37 lead with 9:23 remaining before UAA fought back with another tough defensive effort, holding Cal scoreless over the next five minutes and finally taking the lead on Olsen's big shot. Cal's best three-point shooter got a good look from about 35 feet, but his desperation shot hit glass and rimmed off at the buzzer. UAA earned the win largely at the free-throw stripe, going 14 of 17 to Cal's 3 of 4. The Seawolves also did a tremendous defensive job on Vulcan star center Ron Banks, who was held to just 4 points (2-7 FG) ... the next day, UAA was not as lucky in recovering from an early offensive drought, losing 56-50 to 10th-ranked Augusta (Ga.) State to fall just one win shy of the national championship game. Arts scored 19 points and Olsen had 12 of his 14 points in a furious second-half comeback, but it was not enough to rescue UAA from a 28-11 halftime deficit. UAA got 9 points from Bryant and 8 points from Jr. F Cameron Burney as it completed the second-longest playoff run in school history. Cooper had seven assists to push his season total to 310, the fourth-highest number in 52 years of D-II history. The Jaguars, the South Atlantic Regional champs, were led by 18 points and nine rebounds from All-America F A.J. Bowman, while 6-11 C Garret Siler dropped in 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
NCAA Division II Elite Eight ? MassMutual Center ? Springfield, Mass.
Quarterfinals ? Wed., Mar. 26
#10 Augusta State 106, #21 Central Oklahoma 104, 2ot
#4 Alaska Anchorage 55, #9 California, Pa. 52
#3 Winona State 67, #1 Grand Valley State 54
#1 Bentley 102, #17 North Alabama 92
Semifinals ? Thur., Mar. 27
Augusta State 56, Alaska Anchorage 50
Winona State 86, Bentley 75
Finals ? Sat., Mar. 29
Winona State 87, Augusta State 76
NCAA HISTORY: This year marked the 14th time in program history that the Seawolves qualified for the NCAA Tournament ... after going 4-1 this March, UAA now has an all-time NCAA record of 13-14 ... it is the second time (1986, '87, '88) that UAA has made the NCAA field in three consecutive seasons ... UAA's furthest advancement was a trip to the 1988 National Finals where it lost 75-72 to UMass-Lowell in Springfield, Mass. ... the Seawolves snapped a 5-game losing streak in opening-round games with their win over UC San Diego; the Seawolves hadn't won an opener since beating Seattle Pacific 83-77 in a 1994 West Regional ?Play-In' game in Anchorage ... 14 of UAA's 27 NCAA matchups have come against schools from the state of California.
SEAWOLVES BEST IN WEST: UAA captured the second West Region title in school history (1988) ? and its first since the format expanded past 32 teams ? with home wins against UC San Diego (80-60), Seattle Pacific (56-55) and BYU-Hawaii (73-67), Mar. 14, 15 and 17 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex ... in the first game, UAA opened the game with an 18-4 run and was never seriously threatened by UCSD, getting 28 points (10-12 FG, 7-7 FT), 7 rebounds and a career-high 4 assists from Sr. F/C McCade Olsen, plus 21 points (10-14 FG) from Sr. F Carl Arts. Sr. G Chris Bryant had 14 points (4-6 3FG) and Sr. PG Luke Cooper neared double-double territory with 9 points and 9 assists against the Tritons ... the next night was high drama against GNAC foe Seattle Pacific, one of just three D-II teams to beat UAA this season. Trailing 55-54 with 3.7 seconds left, Olsen was fouled on the arm after taking an inbounds pass, then calmly sank the winning free throws with 1.7 ticks showing. Olsen finished with 22 points (8-15 FG, 2-3 3FG, 4-4 FT), while Arts tallied 19 points (8-17 FG, 2-4 3FG), 5 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals in 40 minutes. Only four Seawolves scored in the victory as Cooper had 9 points and reserve Fr. G Kevin White had 6 points (2-2 FG) ... the Regional Final was a rematch of UAA's 95-90 win at BYU-Hawaii three months later to the day. The Seasiders hung tough all night, but UAA held onto its lead through the entire second half and came up with a big defensive stop in the last 20 seconds to seal the victory. Olsen again led the way with 19 points (6-14 FG, 6-6 FT), including the game-clinching FTs, while Arts had 13 points and 10 boards. Bryant, who was shut out against SPU, came back with 14 points (3-6 FG, 7-7 FT), while Cooper dished 11 assists and grabbed 3 steals. Reserve Jr. C Jeremiah Trueman played a spirited 19 minutes before fouling out, finishing with 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-3 FT) and a pair of blocks.
SURMISING THE STREAK(S): After staring the year 2-3 (with all losses to D-I teams), UAA went on an 18-game winning streak from Dec. 7 through Feb. 14, setting a plethora of records ... the 18 bettered the previous school (14) and GNAC (15) records for longest win streak, and the 9 straight road wins were also school and league records ... the 20 straight wins over Div. II teams also crushed the previous school record (12) in that category ... the Seawolves became the first team in the 7-year history of the GNAC to complete the first half of league play with a 9-0 record, going on to the best final record in league history at 16-2.
MORE WINNING WAYS: Among the 30 school records broken by the 2007-08 Seawolves was the mark for season victories, previously held by the 1987-88 NCAA runner-up squad that went 24-10 ... this was the 12th 20-win season in program history (since 1977-78) and the first since 2003-04 (20-10) ... UAA's 16 league wins were the most for UAA in any of its three conference affiliations (GNAC, Pac West, Great Northwest), and the 16-2 mark was the best record in GNAC history (since 2001-02) ... UAA's 10 road wins were two better than the previous record (8, 1985-86), while the 29 Div. II victories were a whopping 10 more than the previous record (19, 1985-86 & 1992-93).
MORE TEAM NOTES: UAA smashed its own school and GNAC record for scoring defense (65.6, 2006-07), allowing just 60.1 points per game ... UAA's 60.7 ppg allowed in conference games crushed the former GNAC mark as well (68.8 by Seattle, 2006-07) ... excluding their three D-I games in the Shootout, the Seawolves allowed just 59.3 ppg to their D-II brethren ... UAA had not allowed more than 76 points in regulation (at BYUH, Dec. 17) until it gave up 83 to Saint Martin's in the final week of the regular season ... UAA's scoring defense ranked 4th-best in NCAA Div. II; the Seawolves also ranked 5th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.43), 5th in fewest turnovers (12.0), 5th in 3FG% (.413), 8th in FT% (.762) and 10th in scoring margin (+13.0) ... the wins over UCSD and BYUH in the West Regionals made UAA 21-1 when scoring 70 or more points and 11-0 when tallying 80 or more ... UAA went 23-0 when out-rebounding its opponent ... prior to SPU's 90-34 win over MSU Billings on Feb. 7, the Seawolves had broken the previous GNAC record for points allowed in a league game three times, giving up just 42 (at SMU), 38 (at SU) and 43 (MSUB); the final two totals also represent the fewest ever allowed by a UAA team in back-to-back contests ... in the program's first 30 seasons, the Seawolves held a total of 10 opponents to 45 points or less; this year's Seawolves accomplished that five times ... UAA was ranked No. 4 for three total weeks in the NABC poll, its highest rating since Dec. 17, 1996 (No. 3) ... the Seattle game Jan. 24 broke multiple records, including school marks for fewest points combined (previously 87 in a 52-35 win at Western New Mexico, Feb. 1999) and fewest points scored by UAA in a victory (52-35 at WNMU, Feb. 1999; 52-51 vs Seattle, Jan. 2004)... the 38 points allowed at SU were the 4th-fewest in program history and the 2nd-fewest against a D-II opponent ... UAA's 4 turnovers against MSUB broke the school record of 5, set three times previously, as well as the GNAC mark ... MSUB's 17 rebounds in the same game were the second-fewest ever allowed by a Seawolf team.
GNAC FAVORITES: UAA made good on the predictions of the league's 10 head coaches after they were picked to win for the first time in the 7-year history of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's preseason poll:
Pl Team (1st place votes) 06-07 Records Pts Actual Finish
1. Alaska Anchorage (7) 19-9, 10-6 104 1
2. Seattle Pacific (1) 18-10, 11-5 87 3
3. Seattle (2) 20-9, 11-5 84 4*
4. Western Washington 11-15, 5-11 62 6-T
Central Washington 15-12, 10-6 62 2
6. Saint Martin's 10-17, 7-9 52 6-T
7. Northwest Nazarene 10-17, 5-11 40 5
8. Western Oregon 10-17, 5-11 35 6-T
9. Montana State Billings 6-21, 4-8* 18 10
10. Alaska Fairbanks 17-13, 8-8 16 9
*Official placing was 8th due to forfeits
TOP 25 RANKINGS: UAA finished No. 4 in the final National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II top 25 poll, released after the last week of the regular season. The Seawolves were the highest-ranked West Region team, followed by CCAA regular-season co-champ Cal State San Bernardino (14th) and Pac West champ Chaminade (25th). The poll was conducted by eight members of the NABC Division II Congress, one representing each of the eight NCAA Division II regions. Here is an abbreviated look at the final rankings (full poll at nabc.com):
NABC/Division II Men's Basketball Poll
Mar. 10, 2008 (final poll)
(UAA opponents in bold)
Rk Team Record* Pts Last Wk
1. Bentley (4) 30-0 196 1
Grand Valley State (4) 33-0 196 2
3. Winona State 32-1 184 3
4. ALASKA ANCHORAGE 25-5 166 11
5. Northern State 27-3 163 4
6. South Carolina-Aiken 27-3 158 5
7. Findlay 26-4 154 6
8. Benedict 26-4 126 12
9. California, Pa. 25-5 123 17
10. Augusta State 22-6 107 10
14. Cal St. San Bernardino 22-7 79 14
25. Chaminade 20-7 23 NR
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: 34) Central Washington 5
*prior to NCAA Tournament
SENIOR RECAPS
(complete final bios at GoSeawolves.com)
CARL ARTS * Forward * 6-6 * Valdez, Alaska
2007-08 Stats: 18.5 ppg * 7.9 rpg * 1.9 apg * 1.3 spg
? NABC/State Farm All-American
? Honorable Mention All-American, Division II Bulletin
? First Team All-West Region (Daktronics & NABC)
? GNAC All-Conference First Team
? West Regional All-Tournament Team
? 3-time GNAC Player of the Week
? Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team
? Team MVP
Sr. F Carl Arts led the Seawolves in scoring (18.5), rebounding (7.9), steals (1.3) and blocks (0.5) ... the All-GNAC First Team selection led the league in rebounding and ranked 3rd in scoring ... the Valdez product posted a league-high 10 double-doubles and ranked 2nd in minutes per game (35.2), 9th in 3FG% (.407) and 8th in steals (1.3) ... finished with NCAA ranks of 47th in scoring and 83rd in rebounding ... the 3-time GNAC Player of the Week scored in double digits in 32 of 35 games, including 18 outings of 20 or more ... in conference games only, Arts finished second behind Saint Martin's Jake Linton (19.6) with 19.4 ppg ... with 1,544 points and 762 rebounds he finished No. 3 on both UAA career lists; in all, Arts ranked in the top 10 in 12 UAA career categories, including 3FG% (5th, .439), blocks (5th, 70), FT% (10th, .824), games started (t-4th, 90), games played (t-2nd, 121) and double-doubles (6th, 16) ... finished 6th in rebounds (278) and 7th in points (646) on UAA all-time season lists, plus 14th in points per game (18.5), 10th in FG made (232) and attempted (467), 7th in FT made (136), 10th in FT attempted (172), 6th in minutes per game (35.2) and 8th in double-doubles (10) ... set UAA season records for most games played (35, along with six teammates) and most games started (35, along with three teammates) in a season, while his 1,233 total minutes was second only to Cooper on all-time school list ... along with teammate Luke Cooper, became fifth and sixth Seawolves ever to play on three straight NCAA Tournament teams ... the 6-6, 210-pounder was UAA's selection to the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team for the second straight year after leading the event in rebounding (career-high 16 boards vs. Texas Tech), also for the second straight time.
CHRIS BRYANT * Guard * 6-4 * Metlakatla, Alaska
2007-08 Stats: 13.3 ppg * 3.9 rpg * 1.5 apg * 1.0 spg
Sr. G Chris Bryant drew All-GNAC Honorable Mention accolades after finishing as UAA's 3rd-leading scorer (13.3 ppg) and among the top three-point marksmen in the league ... he ranked 13th nationally in 3FG% (.443) and 55th in 3FGs per game (2.66) ... in the GNAC stats, Bryant ranked 2nd in 3FGs per game, 5th in 3FG% and 13th in scoring ... with 93 three-pointers, Bryant finished No. 3 on UAA's single-season list behind only Kemmy Burgess' totals of 95 and 100 ... Bryant's final average of 2.66 treys per game ranked 9th-best all-time at UAA on the single-season list ... the Metlakatla native made at least one three-pointer in all but two games, and his streak of 22 straight games with a trey (Dec. 21-Mar. 14) tied for 4th-longest such string in UAA history ... Bryant drained 3 or more treys in 18 games, including six games with 5, and he made 30 of his last 33 free throws, including a 7-of-7 effort against BYU-Hawaii in NCAA West Regional title-game win ... the Div. I transfer (Drake) scored in double figures 25 of 35 games, including seven outings with 20 or more, and grabbed 5 or more rebounds 11 times ... set UAA season records for most games played (35, along with six teammates) and most games started (35, along with three teammates) in a season.
LUKE COOPER * Point Guard * 6-0 * Melbourne, Australia
2007-08 Stats: 7.7 ppg * 1.5 rpg * 8.9 apg * 1.1 spg
? First Team All-American, Division II Bulletin
? Second Team All-American, Basketball Times
? First Team All-West Region (Daktronics & NABC)
? GNAC Player of the Year
? GNAC All-Conference First Team (2-time)
? West Regional All-Tournament Team
? Bob Cousy Award finalist
? 2-time GNAC Player of the Week
? UAA Athlete of the Year
Sr. PG Luke Cooper left his name indelibly written on the UAA, GNAC and NCAA assist charts with 310 assists for the season and 880 for his 4-year career; both totals rank No. 4 on their respective NCAA Div. II all-time lists ... Cooper was also picked to the West Regional All-Tournament squad after averaging 7.3 ppg and 8.3 apg in 37.7 minutes per contest as UAA knocked off UCSD, SPU and BYU-Hawaii ... the previous week, Cooper became the first Seawolf to capture Player of the Year honors in the 7-year-old GNAC ... the Aussie was the ninth different UAA men's player to win a league MVP trophy and the first since Ed Kirk in 2000-01 (Pac West) ... Cooper was the NCAA leader with 8.9 assists per game and ranked No. 2 in D-II with a 3.74 assist-to-turnover ratio ... in terms of per game average, Cooper finished No. 11 (7.3 apg) on the all-time D-II list ... after tying the UAA and GNAC single-game assist record twice with 16, Cooper finally got that mark all to himself Feb. 21 when he dished 17 assists in just 25 minutes against MSU Billings ... in the second-to-last game of the regular season, Cooper again broke the mark with 18 dishes in an OT win against Saint Martin's (16 in regulation) ... a two-time GNAC Player of the Week, Cooper's SMU showing was his 7th double-double of the season ... Cooper led the GNAC more than 4 assists per game over WOU's Dane Johnson, and his 36.3 minutes per game also topped the league ... in GNAC games only, Cooper's numbers were slightly more impressive with 9.6 apg, a 4.41 assist-turnover ratio and 36.4 mpg ... Cooper played entire game 12 times ? including OT at CWU ? and sat for just 2 minutes in UAA's 2OT win at BYU-Hawaii ... he ranked in UAA's career top 10 in assists, assists per game, steals (3rd, 156), games started (3rd, 96) and games played (t-2nd, 120) ... in the last SPU game, he broke the school record for total minutes played in a season, finishing with 1,271 ... ... set UAA season records for most games played (35, along with six teammates) and most games started (35, along with three teammates) in a season ... Cooper's 11 assists against BYUH in the NCAA Tourney was his 32nd career double-digit assist showing and his 15th of the year, both also school records ... on Feb. 28, he became just the second Seawolf ever to post at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game when he delivered 31 and 10 at NNU; former All-American Rick Stafford had identical numbers in a 90-82 win at Chaminade, Jan. 27, 1996 ... along with teammate Carl Arts, Cooper became the fifth and sixth Seawolves ever to play on three straight NCAA Tournament teams.
NCAA Div. II Career Assists Leaders
Rk Player, School Years Games Asst.
1. Demetri Beekman, Assumption 1989-93 119 1044
2. Adam Kaufman, Edinboro 1997-01 116 936
3. Rob Paternostro, S. New Hampshire 1991-95 129 919
4. Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage 2004-08 121 880
NCAA Div. II Career Assists Leaders (Per Game)
Rk Player, School Years Gms Asst Avg
1. Steve Ray, Bridgeport 1988-90 65 785 12.1
10. Jamie Stevens, MSU Billings 1995-99 110 805 7.3
11. Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage 2004-08 121 880 7.3
12. Craig Lottie, Alabama A&M 1991-95 93 673 7.2
NCAA Div. II Single-Season Assists Leaders
Rk Player, School Year Games Asst.
1. Steve Ray, Bridgeport 1988-89 32 400
2. Steve Ray, Bridgeport 1989-90 33 385
3. Tony Smith, Pfeiffer 1991-92 35 349
4. Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage 2007-08 35 310
5. Rob Paternostro, S. New Hampshire 1994-95 33 309
Jim Ferrer, Bentley 1988-89 31 309
NCAA Single-Season Assists Leaders (All Divisions)
Rk Player, School (Division) Year Games Asst.
1. Mark Wade, UNLV (I) 1986-87 38 406
11. Tennyson Whitted, Ramapo (III) 2001-02 29 319
12. Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage (II) 2007-08 35 310
Greg Anthony, UNLV (I) 1990-91 35 310
Sam Crawford, New Mexico State (I) 1992-93 34 310
NCAA Career Assists Leaders (All Divisions)
Rk Player, School (Division) Last Year Games Asst.
1. Bobby Hurley, Duke (I) 1992-93 140 1,076
22. Frank Smith, Old Dominion (I) 1987-88 120 883
23. Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage 2007-08 121 880
JARED KETTLER * Center * 6-6 * Dana Point, Calif.
2007-08 Stats: 0.4 ppg * 0.3 rpg * .750 FT
Sr. C Jared Kettler played in eight games, tallying 3 points, 3 blocks and 2 rebounds in his fifth and final season with the program ... the walk-on got his first-ever start in UAA's ?senior night' victory over Western Oregon, playing a career-high 15 minutes while tallying 2 blocks and 2 points (2-2 FT) ... he also cracked the scoring column in the Dec. 7 win over Texas-Permian Basin and saw 2 minutes in NCAA Tourney first-round win over UC San Diego and 1 minute in NCAA semifinals against Augusta State, grabbing 1 rebound ... Kettler earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference All-Academic Team honors for second time in career, as well as the team's Academic Achievement Award for the 2nd straight year with overall GPA of 3.75.
McCADE OLSEN * Forward/Center * 6-8 * Riverton, Utah
2007-08 Stats: 15.4 ppg * 5.4 rpg * 1.1 spg * .540 FG * .826 FT
? West Regional Tournament Most Outstanding Player
? GNAC All-Conference Second Team
? 2-time GNAC Player of the Week
? AT&T Alascom All-Jamboree Team
? Team Most Improved Player
Sr. F/C McCade Olsen was named the West Regional's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 23.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.7 spg in the three wins ... Olsen shot .585 (24 of 41) from the field, including 4-of-7 from long range, and was perfect on 17 free throws at Regionals ... the All-GNAC Second Team selection scored in double digits in 29 of the 35 games, including seven times with 20 or more ... Olsen ranked as the GNAC's 4th-leading scorer (15.4 ppg) and was also in the top 20 in rebounding (16th, 5.4), FG% (9th, .540), FT% (7th, .826) and steals (14th, 1.1) ... Olsen ranked No. 5 on UAA's career FG% list at .564, No. 13 in FT% (.799), No. 18 in scoring average (13.7 ppg), No. 25 in points (794) and No. 32 in rebounds (288) ... set UAA season records for most games played (35, along with six teammates) and most games started (35, along with three teammates) in a season.
MORE PLAYER NOTES: Jr. F Cameron Burney ranks 6th in the GNAC's 3FG% stats at .429 ... in 56 career games, the Colorado native is shooting .462 (48-104), second-best all-time at UAA ... Burney started every game but ?senior night' this season and was the team's 3rd-leading rebounder (4.3) ... although he did not have enough attempts to rank among the GNAC leaders, Jr. C Jeremiah Trueman led the Seawolves with a .618 FG% (84-136); that percentage ranked No. 4 on UAA's single-season list and would have been 3rd-best in the GNAC if he met the statistical minimum of 2.8 made per game ... Chris Bryant (5th), Burney (6th) and Carl Arts (9th) gave UAA three players in the GNAC's top 10 in 3FG%, and that doesn't include Fr. G Kevin White (.427, 32-75), who fell three makes short of the statistical minimum ... White, a redshirt transfer from NAIA San Diego Christian, nearly broke Trenton Millar's UAA freshman record of .436 3FG% from last year, finishing No. 2 ... the Aussie's 32 treys were third-best for a Seawolf rookie.
MORE PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: UAA was recognized with a top-20 ranking in four preseason polls ? No. 9 by Basketball Times; No. 10 by The Sporting News; No. 13 by Division II Bulletin, and No. 16 in the NABC poll.
INJURY REPORT: The Seawolves suffered their only significant injury of the regular season when Fr. C Colin Voreis was lost for the year with a torn ACL in practice Feb. 22.
SHOOTOUT RECAP: The Seawolves suffered their first winless Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout since 2001 with losses to Texas Tech (74-47), Western Kentucky (71-67) and Eastern Washington (64-62), Nov. 22-24 ... in the opener, streamed on ESPN360, Sr. F Carl Arts scored 9 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, but UAA fell into an early hole and could not dig out against the Red Raiders ... against WKU, the Seawolves got 20 points and 9 boards from Arts, 17 points (7-12 FG) from Sr. F McCade Olsen and 11 points (3-3 3FG) from Sr. G Chris Bryant. Sr. PG Luke Cooper dished 10 assists as well, however UAA's late comeback attempt fell short against the Hilltoppers ... on the final day, UAA took an early lead against EWU, getting a game-high 21 points (8-12 FG, 4-4 FT) from Arts, but Olsen's three-point attempt in the final seconds fell short. Olsen scored 14 points and Jr. F Cameron Burney led the Seawolves with 6 rebounds.
EXHIBITION SPLIT: The Seawolves forged a 1-1 record in this year's exhibition schedule against Div. I teams. UAA knocked off Cal State Bakersfield, 80-69, on Nov. 3, marking the Seawolf program's first-ever win against a D-I team on its home court, exhibition or regular season. Sr. F Carl Arts scored 26 points and Sr. F McCade Olsen had 14 points as UAA led virtually the entire game, pulling away thanks to red-hot 62.1 percent (36 of 58) shooting. Fr. G Lonnie Ridgeway was impressive in his collegiate debut, scoring 12 points (5-8 FG). Olsen nailed 7-of-8 shots and grabbed six rebounds, while Sr. PG Luke Cooper dished a game-high eight assists ... against Pacific the next night in Stockton, Calif., the Seawolves hung tight early but ultimately couldn't keep pace with the Tigers in a 72-50 loss. Olsen scored a game-high 21 points (9-15 FG).
RADIO: All games were aired live in Anchorage on AM-1080 KUDO via the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network, with Kelly Thompson on the play-by-play.
TV: All regular-season UAA games from the Wells Fargo Sports Complex were aired on a tape-delayed basis by KCFT Ch. 35 (GCI cable 19), while the same local station showed the entire NCAA West Regional Tournament live ... UAA's NCAA Semifinal game against Augusta State was live nationally on CBS College Sports Television (formerly CSTV) and was picked up live in Anchorage on KCFT ... UAA did not appear live nationally on ESPN2 during the Shootout for the first time since 2000, however the opener against Texas Tech was featured live on ESPN360.com.
INTERNET: Live statistics, live video and live audio of all non-Shootout UAA games were available through GoSeawolves.com.
