Saturday, February 27, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – After a crazy finish that saw five of the six tournament seeds not settled until the final day, the field is set for the 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championships, which runs Thursday through Saturday at Saint Martin’s University’s Marcus Pavilion in Lacey, Wash.

Western Oregon, the GNAC regular season champion at 18-2 (25-3 overall), was the only certainty entering Saturday’s game. The Wolves earned the No. 1 seed and a bye into the semifinals after they clinched the regular season title last week and will open play on Friday.

Alaska (15-5 GNAC, 21-7 overall) edged into the No. 2 seed and a first round bye thanks to its 80-55 win at Northwest Nazarene. Alaska Anchorage claims the No. 3 seed after falling in a thrilling 88-81 overtime game at Central Washington. While tying with Seattle Pacific at 14-6 in the conference standings and splitting with the Falcons in their regular season meetings, the Seawolves advanced based on their record against teams in conference play with a .750 winning percentage or better. (Alaska Anchorage 2-2, Seattle Pacific 1-3).

Seattle Pacific, which won the tournament the last three years, is the No. 4 seed. The Falcons finished 14-6 in conference and closed regular season play with a 85-62 home win over Simon Fraser. Central Washington is the No. 5 seed after finishing with a 13-7 conference record.

Western Washington had to wait until the final day to punch its tournament ticket. Despite a 103-86 loss at Saint Martin’s on Saturday, the Vikings won a tiebreaker for sixth place over Saints thanks to Alaska Anchorage’s loss at Central Washington. While WWU and SMU tied in their regular season series, Western Washington won the tiebreaker based on its record against teams in conference play with a .750 winning percentage or better (Western Washington 1-3, Saint Martin’s 0-4).

Thursday’s quarterfinals will match No. 6 Western Washington against No. 3 Alaska Anchorage at noon. The winner will advance to play No. 2 Alaska on Friday at noon. The other quarterfinal game on Thursday features No. 5 Central Washington against No. 4 Seattle Pacific at 2:15 p.m. The winner of that game will face Western Oregon on Friday at 2:15 p.m.

The championship game will take place Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The game, along with the women’s championship game, will be aired nationally by the American Sports Network as part of the Division II Showcase. All games at the GNAC Basketball Championships will be streamed live at GNAC.tv.

Tickets can be purchased through the GNAC’s ticket sales page at EventBrite.com. Discounted tickets for youth teams, senior and members of the military will be available until Tues., Mar. 1.

GNAC MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Marcus Pavilion, Saint Martin’s University, Lacey, Wash.

Thurs., Mar. 3
No. 6 Western Washington vs. No. 3 Alaska Anchorage, Noon
No. 5 Central Washington vs. No. 4 Seattle Pacific, 2:15 p.m.

Fri., Mar. 4
Winner of 3/6 Game vs. No. 2 Alaska, Noon
Winner of 4/5 Game vs. No. 1 Western Oregon, 2:15 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 5
Championship Game, 5:30 p.m.