Scoreboard

'Wolves edge Vikings 87-84 for 7th straight win

Men's Basketball UAA Media Relations

'Wolves edge Vikings 87-84 for 7th straight win

ANCHORAGE – Junior swingman Spencer Svejcar scored 18 points to spearhead a balanced offensive attack Saturday as the Alaska Anchorage men's basketball team held on for its seventh straight win, knocking off Western Washington 87-84 at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (13-4, 6-0 GNAC) also got 21 points, six assists and two blocks from junior guard Suki Wiggs to fend off a late rally by the visitors and remain unbeaten in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

The Vikings (9-6, 3-3) were led by forward Kyle Impero's game-highs of 24 points and nine rebounds, while forward Jeffrey Parker finished with 21 points.

UAA led nearly the entire game, earning a 43-35 advantage on the strength of Svejcar's 10 first-half points. The Seawolves extended their largest advantage to 50-37 with 16:19 remaining when Brian McGill found Svejcar for one of his seven assists.

The Vikings refused to fold, however, continuing to chip away at their deficit. Parker converted an inside feed from Colby Mitchell to cap an 8-0 run and forge a 75-75 tie with 6:28 left. Still tied two minutes later, junior Corey Hammell tipped an offensive rebound to Svejcar, who delivered the go-ahead basket on a short jumper in the lane.

After McGill made it 83-79 with a driving layup, Parker converted a short jumper with 72 seconds left. Wiggs followed by missing a three-pointer, but the GNAC's leading scorer made amends on the other end by drawing a charge on Parker at the 29-second mark.

The Vikings then fouled junior Diante Mitchell – a 90 percent free-throw shooter – who missed the second of two shots, leaving the lead at 84-81. Impero missed a three-pointer from the top of the key and Parker grabbed the offensive rebound and launched a trey of his own, which bounced into the hands of Wiggs.

Wiggs split a pair of charities with 6 seconds on the clock to make it 85-81, and Impero answered with a three-pointer that swished through with 0.7 showing. Wiggs made two more free throws for the final margin and Brett Kingma's desperation trey attempt was not close at the buzzer.

Mitchell tallied 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while McGill added 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and five rebounds. UAA outshot the GNAC preseason coaches' poll favorites 51 percent (30 of 59) to 42 percent (30 of 71) and sank 86 percent (19 of 22) at the free-throw line.

Senior forward Christian Leckband added eight points, six rebounds, two assists and no turnovers off the bench, while providing solid defense in the post, and Hammell added seven points and nine rebounds.

The Seawolves – now riding their longest streak since winning 10 straight early in the 2011-12 season – return to the Alaska Airlines Center for the third time in six days when they host Montana State Billings on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Call 907-786-1562 or visit GoSeawolves.com for complete ticket information.

NOTES: The Seawolves moved to 6-0 in GNAC play for just the second time in the 15-year history of the league, along with the 2007-08 Final Four club that started 11-0 … Wiggs barely extended his UAA school record by scoring at least 20 points in 17 straight games, hitting the mark on his free throws in the final second … McGill moved up two spots to No. 4 on UAA's career assists list (345), passing Steve White (341, 2008-12) and former teammate Travis Thompson (342, 2010-15) … McGill also surpassed 900 career points, moving into 26th place on UAA's all-time list with 906 … Leckband played in his 100th career game (No. 17 all-time) and sank his 100th career three-pointer, drawing within five treys of UAA's career top 20.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

F
6' 5"
Freshman
Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Corey Hammell

#25 Corey Hammell

F
6' 6"
Junior
Diante Mitchell

#11 Diante Mitchell

G
6' 1"
Junior
Spencer Svejcar

#20 Spencer Svejcar

G
6' 4"
Junior
Sekou

#2 Sekou 'Suki' Wiggs

G
6' 4"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Travis Thompson

#11 Travis Thompson

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Christian Leckband

#1 Christian Leckband

6' 5"
Freshman
F
Brian McGill

#RS Brian McGill

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Corey Hammell

#25 Corey Hammell

6' 6"
Junior
F
Diante Mitchell

#11 Diante Mitchell

6' 1"
Junior
G
Spencer Svejcar

#20 Spencer Svejcar

6' 4"
Junior
G
Sekou

#2 Sekou 'Suki' Wiggs

6' 4"
Junior
G