Clutch shooting by Wiggs carries UAA to Jamboree championship

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Suki Wiggs, of the UAA Seawolves, draws a foul from Geoffrey Frid, of Cal State Los Angeles, as Wiggs goes up for a shot at the Alaska Airlines Center at UAA in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, November 19, 2016. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News)

Suki Wiggs got a hot hand just when the Seawolves needed it most Saturday.

UAA's sensational senior guard knocked down two 3-pointers in the final three minutes to lift the men's basketball team to a 73-68 win over Cal State-LA at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The win was UAA's second in a row at the four-team Seawolf Jamboree. Cal State-LA and UAF both finished 1-1 and BYU-Hawaii was 0-2.

Wiggs, who scored nine of his game-high 27 points in the final six minutes, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Teammates Corey Hammell and Connor Devine joined him on the all-tournament team.

The game was a good test for the Seawolves (4-2) as they head into the GCI Great Alaska Shootout.

Cal State-LA (2-2), a Division II team that plays in the Pacific West Conference, rallied midway through the second half and then kept things tight till the end.

A 3-pointer by Wiggs at the six-minute mark accounted for UAA's only points during an 11-3 run by the Golden Eagles. Scott DeSean's 3-pointer capped the run and gave the Golden Eagles a 66-65 lead with 3:23 left.

Then Wiggs caught fire. He drilled a pair of 3-pointers in a 40-second span to give UAA a 71-66 lead with 2:04 remaining.

Cal State-LA made it a one-possession game with a Jonathan Davis dunk at 1:06, and after a scoreless UAA possession the Golden Eagles called a timeout with 19 seconds left.

But they missed a 3-pointer, UAA got the rebound, and UAA's Diante Mitchell sank two free throws with two seconds left to seal the victory.

Wiggs connected on half of his 16 shots and was 5 of 7 from 3-point range to lead the Seawolves. He added six rebounds and three assists.

Hammell finished with his second double-double of the tournament with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Devine chipped in 12 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Spencer Svejcar scored 10 points and handed out five assists and Mitchell finished with six points, three assists and zero turnovers in 34 minutes at point guard.

The Seawolves outrebounded the Golden Eagles 38-28 and outscored them 19-9 from the foul line.

Cal State-LA was plagued by foul trouble. DeSean, who totaled 10 points, was one of two players to foul out and two others finished with four fouls.

Travis Hammonds and Jordan Wilson led the Golden Eagles with 13 points apiece. Both landed spots on the all-tournament team.

Also earning all-tournament recognition was Brandon Davis of UAF. He piled up 12 points, six assists and five steals to help the Nanooks edge BYU-Hawaii 71-68 in Saturday's other game.

UAF didn't allow a field goal in the final nine minutes. Zach Peterson scored a team-high 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Nahjee Matlock added 13.

BYU-Hawaii, a 75-50 loser to UAA on Friday, used only six players. Four played all 40 minutes and another logged 34. Tanner Nelson racked up 35 points and Denhym Brooke furnished 13 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Seasiders.