UAA Athletics

Nanooks slay Seawolves with last-second free throws

Three free throws with less than one second on the clock Saturday lifted the UAF men’s basketball team to its first victory over the Seawolves in more than four years.

Spencer Sweet sank all three shots after drawing a foul as he took a 3-pointer from the baseline.

The points gave the Nanooks a 68-67 victory in front of a Patty Center crowd of 476.

The loss was a devastating one for the Seawolves, who entered the game with a 24-1 record in the previous 25 meetings between the rivals. UAF’s lone win in that span came in the final game of the 2013-14 season.

The setback keeps the Seawolves winless in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. They’re 5-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

With 20 seconds left, things were looking good for the Seawolves. They led 65-60 and UAF’s top player, Michael Kluting, was on the bench with five fouls.

The Nanooks trimmed it to 65-62 on Alex Martin’s layup with 10.3 seconds left and went to the foul line three times after that, draining 6 of 7 foul shots for the victory.

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UAA was 3 of 4 from the line in the final 20 seconds.

Besides getting a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double from Kluting, the Nanooks (4-5 overall, 1-1 GNAC) were led by Aushanti Potts-Woods’ 17 points and Isaiah Easaw’s eight assists.

Brennan Rymer shot 7 of 11 to top UAA with 16 points. Sjur Berg, whose foul put Sweet on the line at the end of the game, contributed 12 points on 6 of 9 shooting and eight rebounds, and Tyler Brimhall added 11 points and nine rebounds.

UAA held a 34-32 rebounding advantage but was hurt by poor 3-point shooting (6 of 21) and poor free throw shooting (7 of 15).

UAF hit 50 percent of its triples (7 of 14) and was 13 of 19 at the line.

The game was the last of the calendar year for the Seawolves, who don’t play again until Jan. 3. On Dec. 19, they will take the court for an exhibition contest against a UAA alumni team at the Alaska Airlines Center.

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