The Seawolves didn't win a trophy at this year's GCI Great Alaska Shootout. But they left what could be a long-lasting mark on the tournament record book.
Suki Wiggs, the most electrifying shot-maker in years to wear green and gold, scored 30 points Saturday in UAA's 91-87 loss to San Jose State to become the all-time leading scorer in the 38-year-old tournament.
Added to games of 35 Thursday and 33 Friday, Wiggs finished with 98 total points to break the 1993 scoring record of 97 set by Purdue great Glenn Robinson.
To appreciate how long Robinson's record stood, Wiggs, 21, was born a year after Robinson carved his name in the Shootout record book.
"He has a son, right?" Wiggs said when asked if he knew who Robinson was.
Right. Robinson, who had an 11-year NBA career, is the father of Glenn Robinson III, who plays for the Indiana Pacers.
A 6-foot-4 junior guard who transferred to UAA this year from Division I Idaho, Wiggs hit 31 of his 66 shots from the field (46.9 percent) in UAA's three games. He was 16 of 36 from 3-point range (44.4 percent) and 20 of 29 from the foul line (69 percent).
Wiggs said he didn't know about the scoring record until after the game.
"Wow," he said.
"I'm happy, but I woulda been happier if we'd won those two games."
Two close losses
UAA finished 1-2 in the tournament, sandwiching a Friday win over Drexel with a Thursday loss to Middle Tennessee State and a Saturday loss to San Jose State, which took home the fourth-place trophy. The Seawolves' first loss was by three points, the second was by four.
The Seawolves (6-4) were in Saturday's game till the very end, although they came no closer than four points in the final two minutes. But each time UAA got that close, San Jose State answered -- twice with huge 3-pointers from Ryan Welage.
"We made more plays down the stretch than they did," Spartans coach Dave Wojcik said. "We hit our free throws down the stretch and they didn't."
Four points meant it was still a one-possession game, as the Seawolves proved early against the Spartans (3-3) -- in the game's first three-and-a-half minutes, both Wiggs and Spencer Svejcar scored four-point plays by getting fouled while sinking treys and making the subsequent free throws.
Wiggs, Svejcar and San Jose State's Frank Rogers turned the the first half into a shooting clinic.
Rogers -- who finished with a game-high 32 points -- hit 11 of 12 shots, including all three of his 3-pointers, to finish with 23 first-half points. He helped the Spartans shoot 56.3 percent over the first 20 minutes.
Wiggs was 5 of 9 and Svejcar was 4 of 6 to boost UAA to 51.7 percent shooting in the first half, which ended with San Jose State up by a point, 43-42.
The Spartans shot even better in the second half. UAA did not.
San Jose State's Ryan Welage joined Rogers in the can't-miss club, draining three of four second-half treys, as the Spartans shot 59.3 percent for the half. Two of Welage's bombs were daggers to the UAA cause, coming in the final 2:13 to keep the Seawolves at arm's length.
UAA, meanwhile, slipped to 45.2 percent shooting from the field in the second half. Worse, the Seawolves fell apart at the foul line, missing nine free throws.
"Free throws were an anomaly tonight," said UAA coach Rusty Osborne, whose team was shooting 80 percent from the line coming into the game. Against San Jose State, the Seawolves were 18 of 29 (62 percent), including 13 of 22 in the second half.
"We didn't shoot there as well as we could," he said of the foul shots. "If we had, we coulda pulled it out."
UAA was outrebounded badly, 40-26, with Rogers bringing down 12 boards for the Spartans, who scored 17 second-chance points. But by minimizing turnovers (UAA had eight to San Jose State's 13) and getting scoring contributions from not just Wiggs but Svejcar and a couple of others, UAA managed to stay in the game.
All about the 3s
The game ultimately came down to 3-pointers, Osborne and Wojcik both said.
After surrendering seven 3-pointers to UAA in the first half, San Jose State made a point of denying the 3 in the second half and gave up just three.
"We didn't feel they could beat us with 2s," Wojcik said. "We thought if we took away the 3-pointer, we'd have a great chance to win the game.
Meanwhile, UAA was unable to shut down Rogers and Welage from 3-point range. They were a combined 8 of 11, with Welage hitting 5 of 7 en route to 17 points.
Rogers, a 6-9 senior forward, presented trouble inside for the Seawolves, who since losing Sjur Berg to injury earlier this seasons have struggled to find a true post player. But Osborne was willing to incur inside damage by Rogers as long as his team contained him beyond the 3-point arc.
"He was not supposed to be allowed to take a 3 -- him and No. 32 (Welage)," Osborne said. "We said 'Do not let those two takes 3s.'
"It cost us the victory."
And as Osborne is prone to say during the week of the Shootout, when Division II UAA goes up against Division I teams, there are no moral victories. Coming close to beating two D-I teams isn't the same as beating them.
Yet Osborne said he was proud of the physical effort UAA gave in all three games, and indeed, the Seawolves never stopped playing hard, never took a possession off.
One of their biggest accomplishments was going two straight games with single-digit turnovers -- eight against San Jose State and seven against Drexel. UAA had 11 against MTSU for 26 in three games.
A shooter is born
And then there was Wiggs.
Fans started chanting "MVP! MVP!" in Saturday's waning minutes, prompting Wiggs at one point to acknowledge them by blowing a kiss.
Wiggs scored in myriad ways during the tournament, from NBA-length 3-pointers to layups. His ability to slash and drive allows him to create shots, and his outside shot makes defenses follow him even when he is well beyond the perimeter.
Incredibly, Wiggs was not a 3-point threat at Idaho, although he averaged 9.9 points as a freshman and 11.5 as a sophomore. During his two seasons there, he was 13 of 41 from 3-point range. In three Shootout games, he was 16 of 36.
After Thursday's loss to MTSU, Wiggs said he rediscovered his long-range ability once he got to UAA, where he said Osborne allows him to take the shot if it's there.
Wiggs took 66 shots during the Shootout (he also handed out nine assists), but Osborne on Friday said the Seawolves don't run specific plays to get him the ball.
"We never talk about Suki being the focal point," Osborne said.
As Saturday's game showed, he's not UAA's only source of offense. Svejcar, who was averaging 12.4 points coming into the tournament, showed off his shooting skill by making 7 of 9 shots for 19 points; he was 4 of 5 from long range. Diante Mitchell was 4 of 7 for 13 points and Drew Peterson was 4 of 7 for 10 points in 12 minutes, a performance that included a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch. Corey Hammell and Christian Leckband, two forwards who are trying to fill the hole left by the loss of Berg, are also capable of filling the hoop.
At the same time, the Seawolves know they have something special in Wiggs, who said he left Idaho in order to join a team where he'd have more offensive freedom.
"Suki does what Suki does," Osborne said this week, more than once. "It's something we're coming to expect from him.
"He's fun to coach and he's fun to play with."