Seawolves go small in 81-73 win over Western Oregon in men’s basketball

In basketball, a game known for its towering athletes, sometimes bigger isn't always better.

UAA went with a small, four-guard lineup for much of its Thursday night game against Western Oregon, using junior Ashton Pomrehn or sophomore Damien Fulp with their three regular guards, Suki Wiggs, Diante Mitchell and Spencer Svejcar.

The result was a fast-paced game and an 81-73 UAA victory over a Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe at the Alaska Airlines Center. The Seawolves (12-5, 6-3 GNAC) improved to 10-0 at home this season.

"We kind of experimented with what we wanted to do offensively without ever having played this lineup much," UAA coach Rusty Osborne said. "I thought we found some good rotations and some good stuff."

Western Oregon (8-9, 5-4) isn't the same team that rolled to 34 wins and a NCAA Division II tournament semifinals appearance last season, but the Wolves came into the game having won their last two contests against UAA.

The Seawolves led for most of the game, but Western Oregon kept bouncing back to within single digits whenever UAA extended its lead.

The Seawolves took their first double-digit lead after Pomrehn buried a 3-pointer and Svejcar sank two free throws on the next possession to go up 33-23 with about seven minutes left in the first half. But the Wolves responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead to four.

Western Oregon hit 10 of 21 from the 3-point line to keep things interesting.

"Basketball is a strange game," Osborne said. "They come in shooting 32, 33 percent from 3 and they make 10 of 21 (tonight). And they have one hit the rim about five times (and) it somehow went in.

"On the next possession, the kid comes down and banks it in from the corner. Those things happen and you just have to be tough mentally and overcome them."

Five players reached double figures for UAA, led by Wiggs' 25. Pomrehn chipped in 10 of his career-high 12 points in the first half, and Svejcar (12), Corey Hammell (10) and Connor Devine (10) also contributed.

A Devine dunk in the second half earned the biggest cheers of the night. Mitchell hit Fulp under the basket in transition and Fulp flipped the ball to Devine, who faked once and went up for the jam to put UAA up 76-66 with four minutes to go.

Foul trouble started to stack up for Western Oregon in the second half. Western Oregon's leading scorer, forward Tanner Omlid, barely played in the second half because he had four fouls and was held to five points. Center Connor Thompson (11 points) fouled out with just under five minutes to play.

For UAA, Hammell and Devine split time at center for much of the night to make room for UAA's four-guard lineup — a strategy intended to counter Western Oregon's smaller lineup.

"You're just trying to scout and study and find the best way to give your guys the best chance to win, and that was a decision the coaching staff made tonight," he said. "The guys adjusted and we had success."

Pomrehn benefited the most from the new lineup. He played 17 minutes, well above his average 12.4.

Pomrehn said he's been recovering from a back injury suffered in UAA's first game of the season against Portland Bible College. He said he finally feels completely healthy again.

"I'm feeling really good," Pomrehn said. "I know the coaching staff has a lot of confidence in me right now, (I'm) just getting confidence in myself (again).

"When you have an injury, it really throws you out of rhythm, but I've been working hard and I've been getting back into it, and I feel back to how I was at the beginning of the season."

UAA returns to the Alaska Airlines Center at 7 p.m. Saturday to take on Concordia (7-9, 3-6). The Cavaliers are in their second season in the GNAC.