Anchorage Daily News

Senior Night is really tonight for the Seawolves. Unlike the ceremonial sendoff starters Carl Arts, Luke Cooper, McCade Olsen and Chris Bryant got in the regular-season finale, this will be the last time they'll play at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex for the UAA men's basketball team.

And they couldn't pick a better way to go out than beating BYU-Hawaii.

Regional host UAA -- ranked No. 4 nationally and No. 1 in the West Region -- faces the upstart seventh-seed Seasiders tonight at 7 in the championship game of the NCAA Division II West Regional. The winner will advance to the Elite Eight; the loser will only dream about it.

The Seawolves (27-5) are 17-0 at home this season and have won 25 of 27 games since the Great Alaska Shootout. They beat BYU-Hawaii 95-90 in double overtime three months ago on the Islands in a game that featured game-tying, buzzer-beating jumpers at the end of regulation and again in overtime.

The potential for more fireworks is why tonight's game will be a sellout, with the standing-room only crowd giving UAA an overwhelming home-court advantage and proving a grade-A playoff atmosphere for two teams deserving of reaching the Sweet 16.

"We've got a tough team coming in here to play," Olsen said. "We have to be ready for them. We know what we have to do."

So far, UAA has lived up to its top-seeded billing, crushing eighth-seeded UC San Diego 80-60 in the first round Friday before escaping fifth-seed Seattle Pacific 56-55 on a pair of late free throws by Olsen in Saturday's regional semifinal.

Olsen, a 6-foot-8 all-conference forward, has keyed both victories -- pouring in a career-high 28 points against UC San Diego and then beating Seattle Pacific with two foul shots with 1.7 seconds left and his team's playoff lives dependent on his accuracy.

His scoring average has increased from 15 in the regular season to 25 in two playoff games. Not only that, but Olsen has played with more fight and fire in the regional tournament, especially on the defensive end of the court where he has traditionally been soft.

UAA's other big gun is Arts, a 6-6 all-conference, all-region forward, who is averaging 20 points a game in the playoffs. In his last two games against BYU-Hawaii, the Valdez product has delivered 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

The Seasiders (20-7) of Laie, Hawaii, have won nine of their last 10 games, including consecutive upsets over nationally ranked teams in the West Regional here. First they beat second-seeded and 13th-ranked Cal State San Bernardino 67-63 and then they knocked off third-seeded and 25th-ranked Chaminade 83-62 to reach tonight's title game.

"The last month we've been playing really well," said coach Ken Wagner. "In our only loss, Chaminade beat us at the buzzer. Most of our games we were winning by 25 or 30, so I felt for the last five, six weeks if we could just get in the regional that maybe we could do some damage."

They are about the scariest seventh-seed in tournament history, given the team is playing its best basketball under Wagner, who has 323 wins during his 17 seasons at the school. The Seasiders are led by Pacific West Conference MVP Lucas Alves, a 6-9 sophomore.

Alves hung 33 points and 11 rebounds on UAA earlier this season, including 14 of 22 free throws. The all-region pick is a beast in the paint, where he can use an arsenal of power moves and touch shots. It was his 3-pointer right before the regulation buzzer that sent the game against the Seawolves into overtime.

BYU-Hawaii also includes 5-9 senior Paul Peterson, who is averaging 11 points and 5.5 assists in the playoffs. Peterson, an Air Force brat, was born in Anchorage and lived here for several years before moving out of state. He returns often and plays in local summer leagues.

If there's something both UAA and BYU-Hawaii have in common it's that both teams are playing championship defense. UAA has given up only 60 and 55 points in the regional and BYU-Hawaii has yielded 63 and 62.

"We take a lot of pride in our defense," Wagner said. "All our kids play hard and get after it. I felt we did a tremendous job (in the first two rounds) defensively."

The same goes for the Seawolves, even though Olsen was critical of his team's execution at the end of the Seattle Pacific game, allowing the Falcons to break off a 5-0 run inside the final two minutes before his free throws bailed out UAA.

"We took a couple defensive possessions off when we shouldn't have," he said. "But we got fortunate."

Find assistant sports editor Van Williams online at adn.com/contact/vwilliams or call 257-4335.

ON AIR

TONIGHT: The West Region title game between BYU-Hawaii and UAA will air at 7 p.m. on KCFT (Channel 19) and either AM-1020 or AM-1080.

A few tickets remain

Approximately 75 general admission tickets for today's 7 p.m. championship game of the NCAA Division II West Regional men's basketball tournament between UAA and BYU-Hawaii will go on sale at noon today, the school announced Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex for $10 each and will be limited to two per customer on a first-come, first-served basis. Phone orders will not be accepted. Tickets can be obtained via check, cash, Visa or MasterCard.

NCAA Division II West Regional

Championship game

Wells Fargo Sports Complex

7 p.m. tonight

No. 7 BYU-Hawaii vs. No. 1 UAA

20-7 Record 27-5

83.9 Points for 74.4

71.5 Points against 60.2

51.1 FG percentage 49.7

72.0 FT percentage 75.6

34.4 Rebounds 32.5

18.2 Assists 17.5

15.7 Turnovers 11.9

ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP

BYU-Hawaii: Beat No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino 67-63 in first round, beat No. 3 Chaminade 83-62 in regional semifinal. UAA: Beat No. 8 UC San Diego 80-60 in first round, beat No. 5 Seattle Pacific 56-55 in regional semifinal.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BYU-Hawaii: Lucas Alves, a 6-9 sophomore who brings an above-the-rim game and a 25-point career scoring average against the Seawolves into tonight's game. UAA: McCade Olsen, a 6-8 senior who is playing out of his mind right now, getting it done on defense and averaging 25 points in two playoff games on 18-27 shooting from the field and 11-of-11 shooting from the foul line.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: UAA leads the all-time series 13-5, including a 95-90 double overtime victory three months ago to the day.

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