The University of Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball team got a career-high 28 points from guard Tyson Gilbert to shock Saint Martin’s (Washington) 71-68 on Saturday at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Saints (17-2) entered the game as the top-ranked team in the most recent Division II media poll and were the nation’s second-ranked team in the NABC coaches poll.
The Seawolves (15-5) also got 12 points and four assists from point guard Dillon Barrientos to improve to 15-5 on the season.
UAA head coach Rusty Osborne said the team received contributions from a number of areas. The Seawolves went on a 21-0 run early the first half to take a 23-9 lead. The Saints battled back and UAA led 33-25 at halftime. The Saints scored the first eight points of the second half to tie the game 33-33 and set up a tightly contested finish.
“We showed great character and resilience all night,” said Osborne in a statement. “Tyson was amazing, but it was really our depth and contributions up and down the lineup that helped us get this win. Trey Evans (3 assists) gave us some big minutes in the first half, and guys like Hasaan Herrington, Jaron Williams and others made huge hustle plays that made the difference late.”
Saints guard Kyle Greeley scored a team-high 14 points and his 3-pointer tied the game 51-51 with 8:39 remaining. But the Seawolves regained a lead and hung on in the final minutes for the win.
UAA improved to 5-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with the win while Saint Martin’s fell to 8-2.
Gilbert had an excellent overall game, including being highly efficient on offense. He scored his 28 on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. That included 5 of 7 attempts from 3-point range and and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. He added five rebounds and a pair of assists.
“Those are the kind of games that you dream about growing up,” said Gilbert in a release. “The guys did a great job early of setting me up, and we just stuck with it. That was an incredible team win. Defensively we’re all connected, and I’m just really proud of our guys how we bounced back from a tough loss the other night.”
The Seawolves host the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Alaska Airlines Center.