No wonder a Wells Fargo Sports Complex crowd of 844 rose to its feet on four occasions Saturday night to cheer a UAA men's basketball team that has seen its share of adversity this season. No wonder sophomore guard Kevin White started applauding his team with 30 seconds left on the clock and didn't stop clapping until the buzzer sounded, finalizing UAA's biggest win of the season.
Poise and pinpoint shooting carried the Seawolves to a 90-79 triumph over Central Washington, the preseason favorite in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The victory was the salve the Seawolves needed to ease the pain of Thursday's 90-78 homecourt loss to Northwest Nazarene in their conference opener. It improved the team to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in the GNAC, and it showed that the Seawolves can withstand a late run by an opponent as well as survive with a bench made short by injuries.
"Beating the No. 1 team in the conference is something special," White said. "It was nice to come out after Thursday and put on a good performance for Anchorage."
No one put on a better show than White, a 6-3 sharpshooter who poured in a career-high 21 points and played with impressive composure after picking up his fourth foul with 12 minutes left in the game. White ignored the foul trouble and scored 12 of UAA's final 17 points, including two 3-pointers that derailed a big comeback by the Wildcats.
Behind White's 5 of 6 showing from 3-point range, UAA nailed 76.5 percent of its 3-pointers, an accuracy that established a new team record. The 13 of 17 effort beat the previous team-best for 3-pointers, a 75 percent performance (9 of 12) in the 1999-2000 season.
With 6-9 center Jeremiah Trueman back after missing Thursday's game with a sprained ankle, UAA played its best half of the season to take a 49-32 halftime lead.
It was a remarkable 20 minutes. The Seawolves limited Central Washington to five rebounds and shot 65 percent from the floor (and 70 percent from 3-point range).
UAA coach Rusty Osborne wasn't happy that the Wildcats shot 50 percent -- 60 percent from long-range -- but he couldn't complain about much else. Central Washington didn't manage a single offensive rebound in the first half, while the Seawolves ran their motion offense like clockwork, collecting 13 assists on 19 baskets.
The big lead didn't last long. The Wildcats came out on fire in the second half and quickly closed the gap.
They opened with a lob that 6-9 sophomore Chris Sprinker converted into a dunk and went on to outscore UAA 15-5 to make it a seven point game, 54-47. After being invisible the first half, Sprinker piled up 13 points in less than six minutes to spark the Wildcats.
"We didn't settle for the first open look like we did in the first half," Central Washington coach Greg Sparling said. "Anytime we saw the rim in the first half, we took a shot. In the second half when we made our run, we ran our offense."
Central Washington (7-3 overall, 1-1 in the GNAC) got a 26-point effort from hot-shooting Brandon Foote and placed three others in double figures, but the Wildcats played without one of their top players, 6-8 forward Jake Beitinger, who missed the trip to Alaska with a broken thumb.
"He's a difference-maker," Sparling said.
It was a two-point game midway through the second half, and UAA was clinging to a four-point lead when White returned with less than seven minutes left, having sat on the bench for about five minutes with four fouls.
He quickly hit a 3 from the top of the key. Kenny Barker added a free throw for UAA that Central Washington answered with a driving bucket by Foote, and then White hit another three. His wide-open shot made it 80-71, giving UAA a bit of breathing room, prompting Central Washington to call a timeout and inspiring the crowd to a standing ovation.
"In the past it's been a bit hard when teams made a run on us," White said, noting that UAA is a relatively young team, with just two seniors and a bunch of guys who didn't play much last season.
This time, UAA kept its poise. Having Trueman back helped; even though he only took three shots in the second half, he gave UAA an inside presence it lacked against Northwest Nazarene and he worked tirelessly on defense. He gave the Seawolves 12 points in 29 minutes despite an ankle that White described as swollen and purple
Barker added 22 points for the Seawolves, nine of them on 3-pointers, and Brandon Walker racked up his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Find sports editor Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4335.
Central Washington 32 47 -- 79
UAA 49 41 -- 90
CENTRAL WASHINGTON -- Foote 8-14 7-7 26; Penoncello 5-11 5-5 16; Sprinker 5-9 1-1 13; Woods 3-5 2-4 11; Clift 2-2 0-0 6; Spevak 2-5 0-0 5; Sivak 1-1 0-0 2; Nelson 0-0 0-0 0; Scott 0-0 0-0 0; Monti 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-49 15-17 79.
UAA -- Barker 8-15 3-4 22; White 5-6 6-6 21; Walker 4-9 3-4 13; Trueman 5-8 2-2 12; Nye 3-4 0-1 8; Ridgeway 3-3 1-1 7; White 2-2 0-0 5; Doerr 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 31-49 15-18 90.
3-point goals- Central Washington 12-24 (Woods 3-4; Foote 3-5; Clift 2-2; Sprinker 2-2; Spevak 1-4; Penoncello 1-5; Monti 0-2), UAA 13-17 (White 5-6; Barker 3-5; Walker 2-3; Nye 2-2; White 1-1). Fouled out- Central Washington-Woods, UAA-None. Rebounds- Central Washington 16 (Spevak 5), UAA 28 (Walker 10). Assists- Central Washington 19 (Spevak 6), UAA 23 (Barker 6). Total fouls- Central Washington 21, UAA 17. Technical fouls- Central Washington-None, UAA-None. A-844.
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