Thompson, Rohde lead Seawolves men

Thompson's timely 3-pointers and Rohde's career-high 32 points carried the Seawolves to a come-from-behind 86-81 victory over a surprisingly pesky Simon Fraser team at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

Down 75-59 with six minutes to play against the last-place team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Seawolves started their rally with a 3-pointer by Thompson, a sophomore guard from Dimond High who got the ball right back with a steal and hit another trey to make it 75-65.

Then Rohde took over. The 6-foot-9 senior post scored 12 of his points down the stretch, including six in the final 63 seconds.

The victory put UAA (11-3 overall, 5-1 GNAC) back in the win column after last week's road loss to Seattle Pacific, which ended the Seawolves' 10-game winning streak.

Simon Fraser, which led 40-38 at the half, slipped to 5-9, 0-6, but the Clan didn't go away easily.

But once Thompson and Rohde breathed life into UAA, the Seawolves used their full-court press to keep Simon Fraser off-balance in the game's final minutes.

A layup by Rohde tied it 77-77 at the 1:03 mark and Colton Lauwers -- another Dimond grad -- gave the Seawolves their first lead of the second half with a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left.

Rohde scored another layup with 16 seconds left and sank two free throws with 12 seconds left for an 84-77 lead. Simon Fraser finally answered with a pair of free throws, but Kyle Fossman hit two for the Seawolves to keep it a seven-point game. Simon Fraser got a basket at the buzzer from Jordan Sergent for the final margin.

Rohde hit 12 of 20 field goals and 8 of 10 free throws to beat his previous career-best by a single point. He also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Thompson, who buried five of eight attempts from 3-point range, finished with 15 points and Fossman added 15. Fossman and Steve White each dished seven assists and Thompson had five to help UAA rack 26 assists on 32 baskets.

Simon Fraser outrebounded UAA 35-26, thanks to Ibrahim Appiah (10 rebounds) and Sergent (9). Justin Brown poured in a team-high 26 points, hitting 6 of 10 from 3-point range, and Sergent chipped in 23 points.

UAA returns to action Saturday against a more formidable opponent -- Western Washington, which beat UAF 101-81 Thursday to improve to 14-3 overall, 5-1 in the GNAC.

SIMON FRASER (81) -- Brown 9-17 2-2 26; Sergent 10-11 2-2 23; Lewis 4-9 4-4 15; Frehlick 3-7 2-2 9; Appiah 3-10 1-4 8; Evans 0-1 0-0 0; Bantock 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 29-60 11-14 81.

UAA (86) -- Rohde 12-20 8-10 32; Thompson 5-11 0-0 15; Fossman 4-9 2-2 13; Jackson 4-5 0-1 8; Lauwers 2-4 2-2 7; White 3-5 0-0 7; Demissie 1-1 0-0 2; Hearn 1-3 0-0 2; Gibcus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-58 12-15 86.

Simon Fraser 40 41 -- 81

UAA 38 48 -- 86

3-point goals -- Simon Fraser 12-27 (Brown 6-10; Lewis 3-4; Frehlick 1-4; Sergent 1-1; Appiah 1-3; Bantock 0-5), UAA 10-23 (Thompson 5-8; Fossman 3-8; Lauwers 1-3; White 1-3; Hearn 0-1). Fouled out -- Simon Fraser-None, UAA-None. Rebounds -- Simon Fraser 35 (Appiah 10), UAA 26 (Rohde 12). Assists -- Simon Fraser 17 (Brown 9), UAA 26 (Fossman 7; White 7). Turnovers -- Simon Fraser 16 (Brown 6); UAA 9 (Rohde 3). Blocks -- Simon Fraser 5 (Frehlick 2), UAA 1 (Hearn). Steals -- Simon Fraser 7 (Appiah 3), UAA 8 (Thompson 5). Total fouls -- Simon Fraser 17, UAA 10. Technical fouls -- Simon Fraser-None, UAA-TEAM. Attendance -- 464.