Down by three at the half, the 25th-ranked UAA men's basketball team stormed to its 12th straight victory Thursday night by dominating the second half with stingy defense, aggressive offense and the emergence of two players who had been silent in the first half.
Casey Robinson and Brandon Walker, who combined for three points in the first half, came up with 20 in the second half to spark a 74-56 victory over Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia. Between them, Robinson and Walker scored one more point than the entire Clan lineup managed in the second half.
"We got a little bit more aggressive offensively in the second half and we got some (defensive) stops," UAA coach Rusty Osborne told FM-93.7. "We were not real aggressive offensively in the first half and that's our goal sometimes, where we're really patient. In the second half we started attacking more."
The victory moved the Seawolves, who haven't lost a game since the Great Alaska Shootout in November, to 13-3 overall and 5-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
Taylor Rohde's 13 points kept UAA in the game in the first half, which ended with the Clan ahead, 37-34. Simon Fraser hurt UAA in the first half by grabbing seven offensive rebounds for an 18-17 advantage on the boards, and UAA hurt itself by committing 10 turnovers.
"That's 17 extra possessions for them," Osborne noted.
The Seawolves asserted themselves immediately in the second half, taking the lead with five quick points -- an inside bucket by Rohde and a 3-pointer by Steve White.
Simon Fraser (2-9, 1-4) answered with a basket to regain the lead, 39-38, but it was all UAA after that.
Another 3-pointer by White sparked a 11-0 run that featured back-to-back bombs by Robinson, who scored one point in the first half. At the eight-minute mark of the half, Simon Fraser had scrounged up only 10 points, Robinson had erupted for 12 and Walker for 10, and the Seawolves were rolling, 62-47.
Rohde, UAA's gifted transfer from Arizona State, racked up team highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds, and White, who started at point guard because of last week's injury to Drew Robinson, played an exceptional game despite seven turnovers. He contributed 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals.
"But his biggest contribution was on defense," Osborne said. "The whole 36 minutes he made it hard on Rick Perry, which we wanted him to do."
The 6-foot White held Perry, a 6-3 junior who entered the game as Simon Fraser's top scorer with 24.8 points a game, to 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
Robinson finished with 13 points, Walker with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Mario Gill with 11 points to give UAA five double-figure scorers.
UAA, the only team undefeated in GNAC play, puts its national ranking on the line Saturday when it travels to Bellingham, Wash., to meet Western Washington, which moved to 4-1 in the league by beating UAF 108-96 Thursday to remain unbeaten at home in seven games.
Osborne said the Vikings will be eager to take down the Seawolves and grab a share of the GNAC lead.
"They'll be ready for us," he said. "We'll have a target on our backs for the rest of the year. But I'd rather be the hunted than the ones doing the hunting all the time."
Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4335.
UAA 34 40 -- 74
Simon Fraser 37 19 -- 56
UAA (74) -- Rohde 9-12 2-4 20; Robinson 4-9 1-2 13; Gill 4-8 2-2 11; Walker 4-9 0-0 10; White 4-5 1-1 10; Thompson 2-4 0-0 5; Ridgeway 1-2 1-1 3; Peterson 1-6 0-2 2; Gibcus 0-0 0-0 0; Fossman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-55 7-12 74.
SIMON FRASER (56) -- Brown 8-20 4-7 21; Berry 5-19 0-0 12; Frehlick 3-10 1-3 9; Appiah 1-3 3-4 6; Lewis 2-7 0-0 5; Ricketts 1-2 0-0 2; Boateng 0-3 1-2 1; Paredes 0-2 0-0 0; Burrell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-66 9-16 56.
3-point goals -- UAA 9-23 (Robinson 4-9; Walker 2-5; Thompson 1-3; Gill 1-4; White 1-2). Simon Fraser 7-29 (Frehlick 2-6; Berry 2-10; Brown 1-5; Appiah 1-2; Lewis 1-3; Paredes 0-1; Boateng 0-2). Fouled out -- Appiah. Rebounds -- UAA 40 (Rohde 11), Simon Fraser 33 (Berry 7). Assists -- UAA 20 (White 9), Simon Fraser 8 (Brown 2; Lewis 2; Berry 2; Boateng 2). Total fouls -- UAA 16, Simon Fraser 18. Turnovers -- UAA 16 (White 7), Simon Fraser 10 (Brown 3). Steals -- UAA 5 (White 3), Simon Fraser 10 (Brown 3). Blocks -- UAA 3, Simon Fraser 4 (Boateng 2).
By BETH BRAGG
bbragg@adn.com