Box Score    |    Final Stats

SEATTLE – Sekou Wiggs amassed 34 points and teammate Diante Mitchell converted a three-point play with 4.8 seconds left in overtime Saturday, lifting Alaska Anchorage to an 83-81 win over Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball battle at Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons (9-11) went to extra time for the second straight game, but saw their league record fall to 5-7. They were 72-69 overtime victors over Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday.
 
SPU trailed 34-24 at halftime and rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit, forcing overtime on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the left corner by freshman Sharif Khan (Bellevue HS).
 
"It was two different halves for us," first-year SPU coach Grant Leep described. "In the second half we executed what we wanted to do both offensively and defensively.
 
That's a credit to our guys. They didn't quit. They showed a lot of toughness and perseverance and they were able to execute some things down the stretch."
 
Coleman Wooten and Joe Rasmussen each nailed a trey early in overtime to provide a 79-75 edge for the Falcons. Mitchell responded with his first three-point play, getting a layup and free throw with 1:51 on the clock. Wiggs followed with a jumper to put Anchorage ahead 80-79.
 
Freshman Gavin Long (Wenatchee HS) converted two free throws with 11.8 seconds left to put SPU back in front, 81-80. Mitchell then was fouled on a successful driving layup and hit the subsequent free throw to set the final score.
 
The Falcons nearly forced a second overtime when senior Olivier-Paul Betu dribbled the length of the floor all the way to the basket, but his game-tying layup attempt at the final horn rimmed off.

 

Freshman Tony Miller (Woodinville HS) registered his league-leading 10th double-double for the Falcons before fouling out with 16 seconds remaining in regulation. He compiled 29 points and 16 rebounds.
 
"We challenged Tony tonight. (Corey) Hammell, the kid for Anchorage, has been a monster all year, especially on the offensive glass," Leep explained. "We really challenged Tony to step up in that area and he aced it. He did a great job.
 
"And then when he gets rolling on offense he can score in so many different ways. Tony hurts you in so many ways and when he gets it going it's fun to watch him."
 
Miller sparked the second-half rally, accumulating 23 points and 10 rebounds during the second half alone.
 
Wooten added 14 points for SPU, which also got 13 from Long and 10 from Khan.
 
Wiggs, a graduate of Seattle's O'Dea High School, made 13 of 27 shots from the field en route to his ninth career 30-point performance.
 
Mitchell contributed 16 points for the Seawolves (15-5) and Spencer Svejcar had 15. Their record improved to 9-3 in GNAC games.
 
SPU shot 59 percent after halftime (19 of 32) to wind up at 48 percent for the game (28 of 58). Anchorage countered with 45-percent shooting (29 of 65).
 
The outcome was in stark contrast to this season's first meeting when the Seawolves dealt SPU its most lopsided loss, 85-49, on Dec. 29 in Anchorage. They raced out to a 39-10 lead and never looked back.
 
On Saturday in Seattle the Falcons fell behind by 10 points midway through the first half, but never lost contact.
 
After missing its first shot, Anchorage converted its next five shots to surge ahead, 11-4. Wiggs tallied seven points during that game-opening spurt.
 
The Falcons managed to draw within 14-11, on back-to-back baskets by Rasmussen, before UAA scored seven straight points to claim its first double-digit advantage.
 
The Seawolves maintained that differential up to halftime, leading 34-24. They held the hosts to 35-percent shooting (9 of 26) while producing 44-percent accuracy (14-32). UAA forced eight turnovers and limited the Falcons to just 2-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers.
 
Miller surpassed his six-point first-half total in the opening three minutes of the second half. He scored eight straight SPU points and Wooten made a fastbreak layup to draw the Falcons within 38-34 with 16:26 left to play. They nailed 4 of 5 shots to start the period while holding Anchorage to one field goal in six tries.
 
SPU found itself down 11 points with 12 minutes left in regulation before rallying.
 
Eventually SPU utilized a 9-3 run to lead for the first time, at 59-58, with 3:47 left in the second half.

 

With UAA up 69-66, Wooten had a potential game-tying 3-pointer rim out. But Rasmussen grabbed the offensive rebound and put it back to move the Falcons within 69-68. They quickly fouled and Mitchell made two free throws with 6.9 seconds showing on the clock.
 
SPU called timeout and drew up the game-tying trey. Wooten drove around some screens down the eight flank toward the baseline and fired a pass over to Khan in the left corner. The freshman's high-arching shot, released just before the buzzer sounded, swished through to force the five-minute overtime.
 
"Sharif is a better shooter than what his percentages tell. We have a lot of faith in his ability to knock down threes," said Leep, who credited the other four players on the floor for their role in the dramatic, game-tying effort.
 
"Joe (Rasmussen), Gavin (Long) and Nate (Streufert) set as good of screens as you can set in our game. They did a good job executing that and then Coleman delivered a perfect pass.
 
"Everybody notices the shot that went in, but without those guys doing their jobs, executing what we were trying to accomplish, then that moment doesn't happen. Credit to all of those guys for executing the play and obviously to Sharif for knocking the shot down."
 
The SPU men hit the road for two games next week. They visit Portland on Thursday for a 7 p.m. clash with Concordia. On Saturday the Falcons visit defending GNAC champion Western Oregon on Saturday at 5 p.m. That game will be televised live on ROOT Sports.
 
"The depth in our conference this year has been something that has just really impressed me. The GNAC is such a great basketball conference and there's no night where you can relax," Leep said. "Two big games on the road for us this week. We'll have our guys ready to go and ready to play hard."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Alaska Anchorage 83, at Seattle Pacific 81 (ot)
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (15-5, 9-3 GNAC)
Hammell 2-4 1-2 5, Devine 3-5 1-3 7, Wiggs 13-27 6-8 34, Mitchell 4-12 8-8 16, Svejcar 5-9 2-2 15, Fulp 1-1 0-0 3, Parrish 1-2 1-2 3, Berg 0-2 0-0 0, Simmers 0-2 0-0 0, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Pomrehn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 19-25 83.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (9-11, 5-7 GNAC)
Wooten 6-14 0-4 14, Miller 9-16 11-13 29, Rasmussen 4-4 0-0 9, Betu 1-6 0-0 3, Long,Gavin 5-9 3-3 13, Khan 3-7 2-2 10, Streufert 0-1 3-4 3, Eisenhower 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 19-26 81.
 
Alaska Anchorage......34   37   12  --  83
Seattle Pacific.......24   47   10  --  81
 
3-point goals--UAA 6-12 (Svejcar 3-5, Wiggs 2-5, Fulp 1-1, Mitchell 0-1), SPU 6-19 (Wooten 2-5, Khan 2-4, Rasmussen 1-1, Betu 1-3, Eisenhower 0-1, Streufert 0-1, Miller 0-4). Fouled out--UAA-None, SPU-Wooten, Miller. Rebounds--UAA 35 (Hammell 11), SPU 37 (Miller 16). Assists--UAA 11 (Mitchell 5), SPU 12 (Betu 4). Total fouls--UAA SPU Pacific-None. A-506.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Concordia (Ore.)
Thursday, Feb. 2, 7:00 p.m. PST
Cavalier Court / Portland, Ore.