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UAA's Malcolm Campbell threw down a one-handed, alley-oop dunk in the final minutes of play, capping a late run that gave the Seawolves men's basketball team a hard-fought 80-66 victory at Hawaii Pacific on Tuesday.
The Seawolves (2-0) trailed 37-32 at the half, and the game remained close throughout the second half until UAA went on a 15-3 run to put the contest out of reach. "These kids can play, but they were getting in their own way," UAA coach Rusty Osborne said in a radio interview after the game. "We were playing really frantic, going a hundred miles an hour. It was affecting decision-making, affecting their shooting. "The message at halftime was poise, poise, poise. Calm down. Slow down." Campbell finished with a game-high 16 points to lead a balanced Seawolves attack. Donnie Lao, Nick Pacitti, Casey Robinson and Kevin White each added 11 points. Kevin White had the assist on the 6-foot-9 center's punctuation dunk. The game was physical from the start and both teams had players get into foul trouble early. "Our depth really got us through tonight," Osborne said. High humidity in Laie created several delays early, as the game had to be stopped frequently for moisture to be toweled off the floor. The temperature at tip-off was 85 degrees in Laie. Junior guard Drew Robinson drained a 3-pointer to give the Seawolves their largest lead of the first half at 19-14, but Hawaii Pacific roared back to take a 37-32 lead at the break. A 3-pointer by Casey Robinson gave Anchorage its first lead of the season half 46-43. The Seawolves held a 63-60 lead with just under six minutes to play, then went on a 15-3 run to take a 78-63 advantage on their way to the key Division II West Region road win. Hawaii Pacific went 9-17 last year, but legendary coach Tony Sellitto returned to lead the program this season. Sellitto compiled a 298-136 record in his first 14-year stint with the Sea Warriors, including an NAIA national title in 1993. He retired in 2002 because of health problems. The Sea Warriors defeated China 117-56 in an exhibition game on Friday. Hawaii Pacific closed out the first half on a 27-0 run and kept up the torrid pace in the second half opening with a 19-4 run. UAA defeated American Sports University 65-39 on Wednesday before falling to Long Beach State 86-65 on Saturday. The Seawolves make their home debut on Nov. 25 against Washington State in the opening round of the Great Alaska Shootout. UAF women edge Hilo Alexandra Melonson hit a free throw with 1.1 seconds remaining to lead the Nanooks to a 66-65 victory over Hawaii Hilo on Tuesday in Fairbanks. Lakeshia Levi and Jessica Harrison each scored 18 points to lead the Nanooks. Britany Anderson added 15 points.