Sports

UAA men get hot, bury Western Oregon 92-58

The UAA men's basketball team's 92-58 win over Western Oregon was a game of seriously remarkable numbers for the Seawolves:

• 19 -- The number of 3-pointers scored by the Seawolves, who set a school record for the most treys against a Division II team and the most treys on the road. Kyle Fossman buried 5 of 9 and Travis Thompson hit 6 of 12 from behind the arc; as a team, UAA made 48.7 percent (19 of 39) of its 3-pointers.

• 4 -- The number of turnovers committed by the Seawolves, which ties the school record for fewest in a game. Point guard Brian McGill committed two, which he more than made up for with nine assists and nine points in his first appearance in Monmouth, Ore., since transferring to UAA from Western Oregon two seasons ago.

• .500 -- UAA's winning percentage in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Losers of three of their previous four GNAC games, the Seawolves climbed back to the .500 mark with the win to grab a share of fourth place in the 10-team league.

• 186 -- Rusty Osborne's career win total as UAA's head coach, a number that matches the number of wins recorded by Osborne's former boss, Charlie Bruns. Another win will give Osborne the most wins in program history.

It all added up to a much-needed victory for the Seawolves (11-8 overall, 4-4 GNAC).

"It was a good bounce-back game for us," Osborne said in an email. "The team studied hard and worked hard in practice to get better defensively, and they applied it in the game."

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Offensively, the Seawolves didn't wilt against the Wolves' pressure defense. Western Oregon "counts on getting easy baskets from opponents turnovers," Osborne said, but with just four turnovers -- they were averaging 8.6 a game coming in -- the Seawolves didn't oblige.

"Our ability to take care of the ball and not give them those easy baskets really helped us," Osborne said.

The loss was the fourth straight for Western Oregon (10-8, 3-5).

After sub-par shooting performances in recent games, UAA's shooters heated up in the second half.

UAA led 40-31 at the half after shooting 37.8 percent from the field (14 of 37), including 8 of 23 from 3-point range.

In the second half, the Seawolves couldn't miss -- 19 of 27 from the field, including a sizzling 68.8 percent (11 of 16) from 3-point range.

Thompson, a 6-foot-1 junior from Dimond High, pumped in 29 points on 9 of 16 shooting, which included 6 of 12 from 3-point range. Fossman, a 6-foot senior from Haines, hit 7 of 11 while racking up the first double-double of his career -- 19 points, 10 rebounds. And Teancom Stafford, who set the tone by taking and making UAA's first shot of the game, a 3-pointer, added 19 points and 10 boards.

"It was fun to watch us finally have some success shooting," Osborne said. "After struggling again in the first half, we relaxed a little in the second and had success. We have good shooters, hopefully this will carry over as we move forward.

UAA travels to Lacey, Wash., for a Saturday game against Saint Martin's.

Reach Beth Bragg at bbragg@adn.com or 257-4335.

UAA (92) -- Mears 3-4 0-0 6, McGill 4-13 0-1 9, Thompson 9-16 5-6 29, Stafford 4-8 2-2 13, Fossman 7-11 0-0 19, Leckband 3-3 0-0 7, Craft 1-1 0-0 3, Lauwers 0-3 0-0 0, Blossom 2-5 0-0 6, McTier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-64 7-9 92.

WESTERN OREGON (58) -- Hastings 1-4 6-6 8, Thomas 5-12 0-0 12, Sarhan 2-7 5-6 9, Alexander 1-4 0-2 3, Wiley 2-4 0-0 6, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Webster 4-7 2-4 12, Schriber 2-6 0-0 5, Sabic 1-5 0-0 3. Totals 18-50 13-18 58.

UAA40 52 -- 92

Western Oregon3127 -- 58

3-pointers -- UAA 19-39 (McGill 1-4, Thompson 6-12, Stafford 3-6, Fossman 5-9, Leckband 1-1, Craft 1-1, Lauwers 0-2, Blossom 2-4), Western Oregon 9-24 (Thomas 2-5, Alexander 1-3, Wiley 2-4, Johnson 0-1, Webster 2-3, Schriber 1-4, Sabic 1-4). Rebounds -- UAA 34 (Stafford 10, Fossman 10), Western Oregon 32 (Sarhan 8). Total fouls -- UAA 18, Western Oregon 13. Fouled out -- none. Assists -- UAA 22 (McGill 9), Western Oregon 9 (Johnson 4). Turnovers -- UAA 4 (McGill 2), Western Oregon 14 (Webster 5). Blocks -- UAA 2, Western Oregon 4. Steals -- UAA 8 (Thompson 3), Western Oregon 4 (Sabic 2). A -- 618. Officials -- Leonard, Rulon, Crider.

By BETH BRAGG

bbragg@adn.com

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