No need for energy drinks at the late show at Wednesday's Great Alaska Shootout. Midnight Madness, Shootout style, was a jolt of intense, high-energy, no-one-takes-a-possession-off basketball in a game that never dragged even when the outcome was obvious.
The Belmont Bruins, an NCAA tournament team the last two seasons, bruised UAA 74-60 to send the Seawolves to a 1 p.m. consolation game Friday against UC Riverside. Belmont plays Northeastern in a 7 p.m. semifinal Friday.
The game tipped off at 10:07 p.m. in front of an announced Sullivan Arena crowd of 4,418 that was spirited throughout, no matter the hour. The late start accommodated the CBS Sports Network's nationwide broadcast of the game.
It ended at 12:03 a.m. Thursday with a sweat-soaked Kyle Fossman, who played 36 exhausting minutes, more than anyone else, embodying a Seawolves team that worked relentlessly, giving as good as they got in a body-banging battle.
"We knew we'd get their best," Belmont guard Ian Clark said. "They fought hard."
It ended with the expectation that Belmont's Reece Chamberlain will be fitted for a full-body cast, so often did he crash to the floor, hitting his head hard in a first-half fall that came after his hard foul on UAA's Mike MacKelvie, who was going up for a layup in transition.
Chamberlain came off the bench about five minutes into the second half to change the game.
In a two-minute span he recorded, in order, a steal, a free throw, an assist on a 3-pointer, a driving layup and an assist on a layup to help the Bruins (4-0) pull away.
Chamberlain's steal was the first of two for Belmont on consecutive UAA possessions. First Chamberlain and then Blake Jenkins robbed point guard Colton Lauwers of the ball near midcourt, and the Bruins cashed in for three points
A total of three UAA turnovers fueled a 11-2 run. It was 55-41 when UAA called a timeout, and although a layup and a 3-pointer from Teancum Stafford brought the Seawolves back to within nine, Belmont scored six straight for a 69-48 lead with 5:01 left.
"They're a very good team that's very physical, and (Belmont coach Rick Byrd) gives them the freedom to create turnovers," UAA coach Rusty Osborne said. "We got a little casual with the ball and it cost us."
The Seawolves (4-1) committed 20 turnovers. Belmont's J.J. Mann was a menace who grabbed five steals and netted a couple of timely 3-pointers on his way to 11 points.
UAA took 48 shots, hardly any of them uncontested. They shot 33.3 percent in the second half and 37.5 for the game. Nothing came easily. Fossman, who was averaging a team-high 18 points coming into the game, had a man in his face nearly every time he touched the ball and was held to six points on 2 of 7 shooting.
But there were bright spots. MacKelvie, a 6-foot-4 junior transfer, scored 10 points in the opening 8:38, burying both of his 3-point attempts to keep UAA close, 21-17.
The real revelation was Collin Spickerman, a 6-8 true freshman who was credited with three blocked shots but altered maybe three times as many. He had five rebounds and seven points in 11 minutes.
"Collin's growing as a player," Osborne said. "He had only scored one basket till our fourth game and he came out really confident. He has a real knack for blocking shots."
BELMONT (74) -- Jenkins 3-6 3-4 9, Johnson 1-7 1-1 3, Mann 5-10 3-6 13, Clark 5-11 1-2 14, Noack 6-13 2-2 15, Laidig 0-0 0-0 0 Mobley 0-0 0-0 0, Turner 0-0 0-0 0, Lang 0-0 0-0 0, Chamberlain 1-2 4-5 6, Bradshaw 3-6 0-0 7, Barnes 2-4 0-0 4, Baker 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 27-61 8-19 74.
UAA (60) -- MacKelvie 5-12 2-2 14, Lauwers 0-3 2-2 2, Stafford 3-7 3-5 11, Gibcus 5-10 3-4 13, Fossman 2-7 0-0 6, Leckband 1-2 2-2 5, Heard 0-1 2-2 2, Erickson 0-0 0-0 0, Little 0-3 0-0 0, Demissie 0-1 0-0 0, Spickerman 3-4 0-0 7. Totals 19-50 14-17 60.
Halftime -- Belmont 41, UAA 31.
3-point goals -- Belmont 8-19 (Jenkins 0-1, Mann 3-6, Clark 3-7, Noack 1-1, Chamberlain 0-1, Bradshaw 1-3). UAA 8-18 (MacKelvie 2-3, Lauwers 0-3, Stafford 2-4, Fossman 2-4, Leckband 1-1, LIttle 0-1, Demissie 0-1, Spickerman 1-1). Rebounds -- Belmont 33 (Jenkins 6), UAA 35 (MacKelvie 6, Lauwers 6). Total fouls -- Belmont 18, UAA 12. Fouled out -- none. Assists -- Belmont 18 (Clark 5), UAA 17 (Lauwers 8). Turnovers -- Belmont 11 (Clark 3), UAA 20 (Lauwers 4). Steals -- Belmont 12 (Mann 5), UAA 3. Blocked shots -- Belmont 4, UAA 7 (Spickerman 3).
By BETH BRAGG
Anchorage