Monday, February 17, 2020

PORTLAND, Ore. – Alaska Anchorage fans were treated to some free basketball last week.

The UAA men scored a pair of overtime wins at home over Northwest Nazarene (90-89) on Thursday and Central Washington (70-68) on Saturday to keep their playoff hopes alive and earn selection as the GNAC Team of the Week.

Down 12 points at the half against NNU, the Seawolves outscored the Nighthawks 43-31 in the second half to send the game to overtime. With 20 seconds left in the overtime period, junior forward/center Oggie Pantovic knocked down a three-pointer, which proved to be the game-winning basket.

“In the second half, we played with a lot more poise and our shooters made the kind of big shots in crucial situations that you have to make to be a winning ballclub,” head coach Rusty Osborne said about his team’s adjustments after the break.

After shooting 46.7 percent from the field in the first half against CWU, the Seawolves connected on just 34.8 percent from the field and 11.1 percent from three-point range in the second half to let the Wildcats back in the game. Senior guard Tyrus Hosley provided the late-game heroics, scoring the game-winner with one second left in the overtime period as the Seawolves snapped the Wildcats’ five-game win streak.

“We had some mental lapses and committed some turnovers that let them take back the momentum in the second half but our guys persevered, got some big stops and hit some big shots down the stretch,” Osborne said.

Pantovic was named the GNAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after he registered a pair of double-doubles, averaging 25 points and 15 rebounds per game. He opened the week with 26 points, 15 rebounds and four assists against the Nighthawks then closed with 24 points, 15 rebounds and an assist against the Wildcats. On the week, Pantovic made 61.3 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. He is third in the GNAC with 7.8 rebounds per game, sixth with a .565 field goal percentage and 12th in scoring with 14.8 points per game.

Hosley earned himself a double-double against the Nighthawks as well with 13 points and 11 assists to go with four rebounds. He connected on 4 of 10 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the game. He followed with 18 points on 6 of 11 from the field, 3 of 6 from outside and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line against the Wildcats. Hosley is averaging 11 points and three assists per game this season.

Sophomore guard Tobin Karlberg finished the week with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals. His week was highlighted by 14 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals against NNU. He also contributed six points, eight rebounds and three assists against CWU.

Alaska Anchorage improved to 16-11 overall and sits in a tie for fifth place with in-state rival Alaska with a 9-7 conference mark. The Seawolves will head to Fairbanks to go head-to-head with the Nanooks on Tuesday before returning home to host Montana State Billings on Saturday.