Saturday, March 7, 2020

SEATTLE – It could have been Leif Anderson’s final game but the senior guard made it a personal mission to make sure it wasn’t.

Anderson connected on a four-point play with 31 seconds left, capping a 16-point night to lead No. 2 seed Western Washington to the 81-78 win over No. 5 seed Alaska Anchorage in the finals of the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships on Saturday at Royal Brougham Pavilion.

In addition to providing the critical four-point play, Anderson keyed a streak of four three-pointers for the Vikings in the first half that allowed Western Washington as much as a 14-point first-half lead. Anderson scored his 16 on 5 of 7 from the field and 5 of 6 from three-point range.

Senior guard Siaan Rojas matched Anderson with 16 points. Senior forward Trevor Jasinsky, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, finished with 15 points. Freshman guard D’Angelo Minnis added 14 points and senior forward Logan Schilder finished with 10. Western Washington finished the night shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from three-point range and 88 percent from the free-throw line.

With the win, Western Washington (20-10) earns the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship. They will learn the West Regional site and first-round opponent on Sunday night.

Sophomore guard Tobin Karlberg led Alaska Anchorage (20-14) with 22 points as he made 9 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 from three-point range. Junior guard Oggie Pantovic finished with 20 points and six rebounds while senior guard Tyrus Hosley connected for 16 point. The Seawolves ended the night shooting 54.7 percent from the field, including 69.6 percent in the second, 31.6 percent from three-point range and 93.3 percent from the free-throw line.

After both teams went scoreless over the first two-and-a-half minutes of the game before Pantovich opened scoring with a three-pointer at the 17:33 mark. From that point, however, it was Western Washington carrying the scoring momentum. Cameron Retherford’s steal and subsequent Anderson three-pointer started a string of four straight treys over a four-minute stretch. Anderson ended the run with his third three of the series that made it an 18-11 game with 10:55 left in the half.

The Seawolves chipped away over the next three minutes, coming to within 22-18 on Pantovic’s dunk with 7:40 left, but Rojas three-pointer on the next possession sparked a 10-2 run with another Rojas’ they providing the Vikings a 32-20 lead. Western built its lead to 14 points when Jasinsky’s lay-in made it a 38-24 lead with 2:58 left and went into halftime with the 45-33 advantage.

The Vikings shot 59.3 percent in the first half and 50 percent from three-point range while limiting the Seawolves to just 25 percent from the arch.

Proving that no lead is safe in the GNAC, Alaska Anchorage proceeded to make it a game in the second half. The Vikings led 47-37 when a Pantovic lay-in started an 11-1 run over a five-minute stretch, ending when Karlberg connected on a three-pointer with 11:50 left to bring the Seawolves within one, 51-50. A five-point surge by Rojas made it a 59-51 WWU lead, but UAA replied with six straight to make a 59-58 contest with 7:46 remaining and a three-point play by Pantovic gave the Seawolves their first lead of the half, 61-60, with 6:56 left.

Alaska Anchorage appeared to have the momentum down the stretch, going up 78-75 on Karlberg’s 15-footer with 54 seconds left. Anderson delivered the dagger on the next possession, however, converting the four-point play off of Jasinsky’s offensive rebound and assist for the win.