Alaska Anchorage Playoff Run Ends In Semifinals

Osborne

The University of Alaska Anchorage completed its winningest season in school history reaching the 2008 NCAA Division II National Semifinals at Springfield, Mass.

After defeating California, Penn. 55-52 in the quarterfinals, the Seawolves lost to Augusta State 56-50 in the semifinal contest. UAA joined Humboldt State (2004) and Seattle Pacific (2006) as the only GNAC teams to reach the Final Four. No GNAC team has ever qualified for the title game.

Coach Rusty Osborne's squad men finished their season with a record of 29-6. With the UAA women also qualifying for the national semifinals, Alaska Anchorage became just the second school in NCAA Division II history to qualify both of its teams for the Final Four in the same season. Central Missouri swept the national titles in 1984.

Click here for a review of the NCAA West Regional and Elite Eight games.

NCAA MEN'S DIVISION II ELITE EIGHT (Mar. 26-29 at Springfield, Mass): Wednesday – Augusta State 106, Central Oklahoma 104 (2ot); Alaska Anchorage 55, California (Penn.) 52; Winona State 67, Grand Valley 54; Bentley 102, North Alabama 92. Thursday – Augusta State 56, Alaska Anchorage 50; Winona State 86, Bentley 75. Saturday – Winona State 87, Augusta State 76 (championship).

Cooper Second Team Basketball Times All-American

Alaska Anchorage senior point guard Luke Cooper has been named a second team NCAA Division II All-American by the publication Basketball Times.

Cooper, a 6-0, 165-pounder, leads Division II with 9.1 assists per game and is second in the nation with a 3.74 assist-turnover ratio.

Earlier this month he was named the GNAC Player of the Year and a first-team all-region selection in both the Daktronics (SIDs) and NABC (coaches) balloting.

Cooper will lead the Seawolves (28-5) into their first NCAA quarterfinal appearance since 1988 Wednesday.

The West Region champion and nationally fourth-ranked Seawolves will face East Region champ and ninth-ranked California, Pa. (28-5) in their quarterfinal game.

Tipoff will be at 11:30 a.m. (Pacific). Meanwhile, the UAA women (29-4) will take on Franklin Pierce, N.H. (27-5) at noon (Pacific) in their quarterfinal game at Kearney, Neb.

Cooper, Osborne Receive Top Player, Coach in GNAC

Cooper and Osborne helped lead the Seawolves to a school-record 25 wins and a league-record 16 conference victories this winter and their first-ever GNAC title. UAA (25-5) is the No. 1 seed and the host for the NCAA Division II West Regional which begins Friday.

Cooper, who is a senior from Melbourne, Australia, is the national leader this winter in assists with 274 (9.13 per game) and also leads the GNAC in assist/turnover ratio at 3.75. He ranks fourth in career assists in NCAA Division II history with 844 and ranks ninth in GNAC history in career steals with 153.

Osborne, a 1988 graduate of the University of Texas, is in his fourth season at Anchorage and has a career record of 74-42. Previously he served as an assistant coach for the Seawolves for 13 seasons.

Central Washington forward Jake Beitinger was selected the GNAC Newcomer-of-the-Year, while Blake Poole of Saint Martin's and Dane Johnson of Western Oregon tied in the balloting for the GNAC Freshman-of-the-Year award.

Beitinger, a transfer from Eastern Washington, finished fifth in the conference in scoring (15.0), 10th in rebounding (6.5) and third in blocks (1.54) as the Wildcats posted their first 20-win season in eight years. Central will take a region-best 10-game winning streak into the playoffs.

Poole, a product of Sheldon High School in Eugene, Ore., averaged 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Saints, ranking third on the team in the latter category. He also ranked second for SMU in field goal percentage, converting on 53.5 percent.

Johnson, from Columbus, Ohio, finished second to Cooper in the conference in assists (4.67 per game) and also averaged 5.8 points per game for the Wolves.

Alaska Anchorage placed two players on the first-team all-star team with forward Carl Arts joining his teammate on the unit. Joining the two UAA players on the first team were Beitinger, Seattle Pacific center Rob Will, Western Washington guard Ira Graham and Saint Martin's guard Jake Linton.

Cooper and Linton were the lone repeaters from last year's first team. Will and Arts earned second team honors a year ago. Cooper and Beitinger were the only unanimous selections.

UAF Removes Johnson's Interim Tag

Johnson

Clemon Johnson has been named the head men’s basketball coach for the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Johnson has served as the interim head coach this season after coming to Fairbanks last May.

“Clemon was brought into a very challenging situation this year and handled it in a professional manner,” UAF athletic director Forrest Karr said.

“He has a proven track record of developing young men into valuable members of society, and I have received positive feedback about his mentoring as interim head coach from parents, student-athletes and other representatives of athletics interests," Karr said.

Johnson brings over 25 years of basketball experience to the Nanooks, including 15 years of professional playing experience in the NBA and the Italian Professional League.

In addition to stints with the Portland Trailblazers, Indiana Pacers and Seattle Supersonics, Johnson was a member of the 1982-83 NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers.

Prior to joining the Nanooks, Johnson spent eight years coaching at the high school level where he compiled a record of 184-60, leading his teams to three high school Sweet 16s and seven district championship titles.

He earned Coach-of-the-Year honors in 2003-04 after leading his team to a 27-4 record.

Johnson, who earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in sports management from Florida A&M, has also coached two semi-professional teams, the Jacksonville Wave and Florida Thrill.

He guided the Florida Thrill to a regular season championship and a 16-2 record. He also previously served as an assistant coach at his alma mater.

Four Named To Basketball Academic Teams

Four Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball players have been named to to the ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA College Division Academic All-District basketball teams.

Jake Linton of Saint Martin's was selected to the District VIII men's team, while Libby Magnuson of Seattle Pacific and Sade Smith of Saint Martin's were named to the District VIII women's team. Alira Carpenter of Montana State Billings was named to the District VII women's team's.

Linton, Magnuson and Smith were all second team selections, while Carpenter was voted to the third team.

The college-division teams are selected from NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA players throughout the western United States. The players are nominated and selected by members of CoSIDA.

To be eligible for nomination, a player must be a starter or important reserve with a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and of sophomore standing.

Men: Second Team - Jake Linton, Saint Martin's (Business Administration, Jr., 3.33, Lynnwood, WA). Women: Second Team - Libby Magnuson, Seattle Pacific (Visual Communication, Sr., 3.83, White Bear Lake, MN); Sade Smith, Saint Martin;s (Psychology, Sr., 3.94, Pullman, WA). Third Team - Alira Carpenter, MSU Billings (Chemistry/Biology, Jr., 3.56, Lewistown, MT).

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