For the second straight game, the UAA men's basketball team made a late comeback only to fall short in the final seconds, this time losing to Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Seattle Pacific 74-71 Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center.
Down 16 points with eight minutes to play, the Seawolves used a series of free throws and quick scores to close the gap. But with time running out, Brian McGill's running, desperation jumper from beyond half court was off the mark.
The loss sent UAA (16-7, 9-3 GNAC) into a second-place tie with the Falcons (16-4, 9-3) in the conference standings. The Seawolves began the week in first place.
"It was an exciting college basketball game from two good teams," UAA coach Rusty Osborne said. "I didn't think we played to our best but we played really hard. We made a lot of mental mistakes, especially the first 28 minutes, so we got a little better after that."
SPU's Mitch Penner scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to pace the Falcons, who shot 54.9 percent from the field.
For several stretches of the game, the only Seawolf who could consistently hit shots was Spencer Svejcar. The junior guard finished with a career-high 23 points despite not practicing all week.
Osborne said Svejcar ended up in a hospital emergency room Monday with an undisclosed injury but showed up big for the Seawolves on game day.
"Didn't practice, but the training staff has been awesome helping me out, getting ready for the two games this week," Svejcar said. "I just tried to come out and play as well as I could with what I was going through."
Junior guard Suki Wiggs was held under 20 points for the second straight game and only the second time all season. He had 15 points, shooting 6 of 15 from the field.
McGill added 14 points and six assists. His 10th point was his 1,000th career point.
For Seattle Pacific, which had won seven straight by double figures coming into Saturday's game, guard Brendan Carroll added 14 points and 7-foot Gilles Dierickx had 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
"They're on top of their game right now," Osborne said. "Unfortunately, we're not on top of ours. They had their little lull earlier … and we're having our lull right now."
Osborne said the Seawolves, who have lost three of their last four games, haven't gotten to the free-throw line as often as they did in the first 21 games of the season, something that has affected their offensive and defensive rhythms.
"The first 21 games of the year, we averaged 30 free throws a game," Osborne said. "I think we're averaging 16 or 17 three out of the last four games.
"Part of that is our aggressiveness, part of it is what I think everybody was afraid of — that the game would change and go back to being called like it was in the past when we got into February and March. I'm not saying (the officials) are wrong, but I don't think the game is being called the same as it was the first part of the year."
Osborne said the Seawolves have been settling for too many jump shots instead of going aggressively to the rim — another reason why his players aren't getting to the free-throw line.
"If we can get better at mentally following the game plan and the strategic part of the game, then I think we'll have a chance to get back on the winning track," he said. "I have no question about these guys' heart."
The Seawolves trailed for most of the first half before cutting the lead to 41-39 on a McGill floater at the first-half buzzer.
Then they came out of locker room cold, going 2 of 12 to start the second half. It looked like Seattle Pacific might blow out UAA on its home court, but the Seawolves closed the game with a 24-11 run to make it close.
Diante Mitchell, the team's starting point guard who injured his right ankle in Thursday's loss to Saint Martin's, was in street clothes and a walking boot on the bench.
Nate Sagan, assistant athletic director for media relations at UAA, said Mitchell's status is "week to week" and he is questionable for Thursday's game at Western Washington. The game is the first in a three-game road trip for the Seawolves.
"We have a good basketball team, and we can't lose track of that," Osborne said. "The result for the last few games hasn't been the result we want it to be, but just like it turned around this way, it can turn back around to how we were (before) if we put in the work and stay positive."