The UAA men's basketball team let a double-digit lead slip away Thursday and may have seen its chances at an NCAA Division II tournament berth disappear as well in a 59-56 loss to Seattle Pacific.
Paced by a game-high 20 points from Teancum Stafford, UAA led 28-20 at halftime and by as much as 11 early in the second half but struggled to make shots down the stretch in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference game in Seattle.
The Seawolves (17-8, 10-7 GNAC), who were without leading scorer Kyle Fossman for the second time in three games due to a hand injury, came into the final week of conference play ranked ninth in the West Region. UAA needs to be eighth or better to improve its chances of an NCAA berth. If UAA is still ranked outside the top eight next week, it must win the GNAC tournament to reach the NCAA tournament.
Seattle Pacific (22-3, 15-2), ranked fourth nationally and third in the West Region, used superb free-throw shooting and some timely 3-pointers to seal the win at Royal Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons took their first lead at 43-41 on a trey from Jobi Wall and made it 46-41 on a bomb from Patrick Simon with just less than six minutes to play. The Falcons made 23 of 26 free throws, including 13 straight at one point, and scored their last eight points from the foul line.
Wall finished with 13 points to match a team-high output from David Downs. Riley Stockton recorded eight points and eight rebounds for the Falcons, who were outshot 45 percent to 38 percent but owned a 17-point advantage at the free-throw line. UAA made 6 of 7 foul shots.
UAA, which got nine points from Christian Leckband, had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Stafford missing a 3-point attempt as the final buzzer sounded.
Freshman John Erickson provided six points on a pair of 3-pointers to give the Seawolves an offensive lift, while Gibcus had six points and four rebounds before fouling out late. Senior forward Abebe Demissie dished a career-high five assists.
Seattle Pacific has won nine straight home games against UAA and swept the season series for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
UAA remains in a tie for third in the GNAC with UAF, which lost 80-70 to Montana State-Billings on Thursday. If the Seawolves beat Billings in Saturday's regular-season finale, they will lock up third place, because they swept the season series with the Nanooks.
UAA (56) -- Leckband 4-8 0-0 9; Gibcus 3-6 0-0 6; Erickson 2-4 0-0 6; Lauwers 1-1 0-0 3; Stafford 7-13 3-4 20; Heard 0-1 0-0 0; MacKelvie 1-3 1-1 3; Little 1-2 2-2 4; Demissie 1-7 0-0 3; Spickerman 0-0 0-0 0; Weitzel 1-2 0-0 2. Totals -- 21-47 6-7 56.
SPU (59) -- Wall 3-6 6-6 13; Simon 3-4 2-2 9; Poling 0-4 2-2 2; Downs 3-11 5-6 13; Stockton 3-6 0-0 8; Todd 0-0 4-4 4; Weber-Brader 1-2 2-2 4; Morse 0-3 1-2 1; Hutsen 2-4 1-2 5. Totals -- 15-40 23-26 59.
UAA 28 28 -- 56
SPU 20 39 -- 59
3-point field goals -- UAA 8-18 (Leckband 1-4; Erickson 2-3; Lauwers 1-1; Stafford 3-6; Demissie 1-4). SPU 6-11 (Wall 1-1; Simon 1-1; Downs 2-3; Stockton 2-4; Morse 0-2). Rebounds -- UAA 23 (Gibcus 4); SPU 28 (Stockton 8). Total Fouls -- UAA 22; SPU 10. Fouled out -- UAA, Gibcus; SPU, none; Assists -- UAA 13 (Demissie 5); SPU 11 (Stockton, 5). Turnovers -- UAA 9 (MacKelvie 3); SPU 8 (two with 2). Blocks -- UAA 1 (Heard); SPU 0. Steals -- UAA 3 (three with one); SPU 5 (two with 2). Officials -- Kent, Bruland, Morales. A -- 512.
Anchorage Daily News