The UAA basketball teams are doing a pretty good job at educating fans so far in the young season.

First the women traveled to Duke to help demonstrate the difference between an NCAA Division I power and a Division II power, and now the men are in California showing the difference between a solid Division II team and a fledgling NAIA team.

The difference, in both cases, turns out to be enormous.

The UAA men opened the season Wednesday night with a 64-39 rout of American Sports University, a San Bernardino school with a fairly new NAIA team.

UAA raced to an 18-1 lead in the opening seven minutes and threatened to make the game as lopsided as Sunday's 100-32 victory by Duke over the UAA women.

It was 35-7 at the half, which earned the Eagles a spot in the UAA record book.

The seven points are the fewest the Seawolves have surrendered in a 20-minute half, breaking the previous record of 11 set against Lancaster Bible in November 2006.

The game was almost 17 minutes old before the Eagles scored their first and only field goal of the first half.

"Defensively we were pretty good in the first half. Only one field goal -- that's a pretty good effort," UAA coach Rusty Osborne said in a post-game interview with KAFC radio. "Offensively, we were out of sync."

Even so, a balanced offense landed nine players in the scoring column, four of them with eight or more points, but none with more than 13.

Newcomers Malcolm Campbell and Liam Gibcus led the way. Campbell, a sophomore, netted 13 points and Gibcus, a freshman, got 11. Junior forwards Nick Pacitti, another newcomer, and Casey Robinson, who missed most of last season with an injury, each scored eight points.

American Sports University shot 1 of 18 from the field in the first half but loosened up in the second half to outscore UAA 32-29.

The Seawolves were less efficient offensively the second half, something Osborne chalked up to the many substitutions he made that half.

"We went with the platoon system in the second half to get everyone a lot of (playing) time," he said. "... It's hard to get a rhythm going the way we were substituting."

The game marked the debuts of several Seawolves, who return three players from last season plus Robinson, who played in a handful of games before getting hurt. Everyone else is new.

UAA stays in California for a 3 p.m. game Saturday against Long Beach State. It should be a far different experience than Wednesday's opener -- Long Beach is a Division I team that is among the favorites this season in the Big West Conference.

Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4335.

UAA 64, American Sports University 39

UAA -- Malcolm Campbell 13, Liam Gibcus 11, Nick Pacitti 8, Casey Robinson 8, Kevin White 6, Drew Robinson 5, Steve White 5, Brandon Walker 4, Donnie Lao 4.

American Sports University -- Tiger Wright 15, John Ward 10, Julius Clark 7, Pat Rochelle 3, Anthony Friedas 2, Chuck Fawcett 2.

Halftime score -- UAA 35, American Sports University 7.

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