FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Following a 2-0 weekend in Anchorage against a pair of neutral-site opponents, the Alaska men's basketball team returns to the same venue this Saturday to open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play against rival Alaska Anchorage.
The Nanooks (3-7) and 22nd-ranked Seawolves (4-2) will tip off at 7:30 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex after the conclusion of the AT&T Hoops Classic which Alaska's women's team is competing in this weekend.
“You're playing your rival right off the bat in the GNAC and anytime you start conference play, you want to get off to a good start,” head coach
Mick Durham said. “We happen to be playing the team that was picked to win the league, so we have a big task. We were over there last weekend and had a chance to watch them play and were able to play on their court for two games. I'm excited to start GNAC and gauge where we're.”
UAF took a 83-77 win from Minot State last Friday before taking down Portland Bible College, 84-69, the following evening. Senior guard
Nico Matthews (Twenty Nine Palms, Calif./College of the Desert) and junior guard
Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska/College of the Redwoods) were both named to the AT&T Alascom Jamboree All-Tournament team for their efforts.
Matthews averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 4.0 steals, while Brinson had 15.0 points and 5.5 assists in the victories.
“
Nico Matthews is having the kind of senior year you want a senior to have,” Durham said. “I'm sure he's going to draw a lot of attention Saturday night from Anchorage after they had a chance to watch him play a couple games. He's not just doing it on the offensive end, but he's rebounding for us and doing a lot of different things for us in ways that affect the game.”
COACH DURHAM ON OPPONENTS:
“Offensively, we have to be very efficient because their defense is holding teams 37-38 percent and I was impressed [watching them],” Durham said. “They're physical, aggressive and definitely tuned in on the defensive end. Offensively for them and defensively for us, it starts with the big guy in the middle,
Taylor Rohde. They're going to try to spread the floor inside so it's a big challenge Daniel [Shaw] and Sergej [Pucar].”
Alaska (GAME NOTES) at #22 Alaska Anchorage (GAME NOTES)
When: Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Anchorage Alaska (Wells Fargo Sports Complex)
Live Stats
Audio: KCBF 820 AM
Video: Seawolves Splash Zone (Free Streaming)
About UAA: Located in Anchorage, Alaska, the University of Alaska Anchorage was founded in 1977 and has an enrollment of 20,242 students. The Seawolves enter Saturday with a 4-2 record and a No. 22 national ranking in the latest poll.
UAA averages 74.0 points per game, including 82.5 points in the last four contests. As a team, it shoots 45.3-percent, while limiting opponents to 37.5-percent from the floor and 57.0 points per game. No team has tallied more than 64 points in a single game and the only two to achieve that were Division I's Murray State and Dartmouth at the Great Alaska Shootout.
The Seawolves are led by
Taylor Rohde, who averages 17.3 points and 7.8 rebounds. Four other players average between 7.0 and 9-7 points.
Travis Thompson also dishes out 4.8 assists and collects 1.5 steals per game.
Conference Affiliation: Member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Central Washington is the defending regular-season and tournament champion. Alaska Anchorage was selected as the league's preseason favorite. Other members include: Seattle Pacific, Western Washington, Western Oregon, Saint Martin's, Montana State-Billings, Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser.
Coach: Rusty Osborne (Texas '88) is in his seventh year at the helm and has compiled a 114-69 record since being hired to coach the Seawolves. He led UAA to five straight winning seasons and four NCAA Championship berths. Last season, he led the Seawolves to an opening round upset against No. 6 Humboldt State, before falling to national runner-up BYU-Hawaii in the West Region semifinals.
