University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — As if Thursday's Alaska-Alaska Anchorage men's basketball rivalry game at the Patty Center needed any more drama built in.
 
The Nanooks-Seawolves clash at 7 p.m. Thursday will not only be another chapter in the storied rivalry of the Final Frontier, but will also decide postseason positioning, as both teams conclude their regular seasons in preparation for next week's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship Tournament.
 
Alaska Anchorage (17-11, 10-7 GNAC) got the best of Alaska in the teams' first meeting this season on Dec. 7 in Anchorage, pulling away for a 96-76 win to kick off both team's GNAC slates. This time however, it is the Nanooks who enter with the upper hand. Alaska (16-9, 11-6 GNAC) holds a one-game lead over the Seawolves with one game left to play for third place in the GNAC and a No. 3 seed in the GNAC Tournament. Thursday's game will decide which team clinches that No. 3 seed as one of the conference's top three teams.
 
The Seawolves are coming off a school-record performance Saturday in which they made 27 3-pointers and shot nearly 66 percent from downtown against Western Oregon in a 96-77 win at home. UAA's Kyle Fossman scored a game-high 40 points with 12 3-pointers.
 
UAA made 13 treys and had three players score in double figures against Alaska at the Wells Fargo Center, but the Nanooks have become one of the GNAC's best defenses since that Dec. 7 meeting. They have the No. 2 scoring defense by limiting opponents to 67.4 points per game and limit opponents to 44.7 percent shooting from the field, tied for second-best in the conference.
 
That defense will be tested, however, as Alaska Anchorage features three of the GNAC's top-10 scorers, led by Travis Thompson's 21.7 ppg. The Seawolves also share the ball well and hit their free throws, with two players (Brian McGill, Fossman) ranked among the conference's top-10 in assists per game and three (Thompson, Fossman, McGill) in the top-10 for free-throw percentage. UAA is the conference's leading free-throw shooting team with a 79.8 team percentage.
 
Alaska features a more balanced attack with five players averaging double-figure scoring. The Nanooks have also fared well at home this season with a 10-2 record. They have outscored opponents at home by an average of 9.5 ppg (74.4-64.9).
 
Senior forward Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice) will take care of the boards for Alaska. Kelly is second in the GNAC with 8.4 rebounds per game. He also leads the conference with a 65.2 percent field goal percentage –ranked No. 9 in the country.
 
Junior guard Joe Slocum (San Francisco/Communication) is No. 2 in the GNAC and No. 44 in the country with 2.04 steals per game. He also leads the Nanooks and is fifth in the conference with 4.2 assists per game.
 
Senior guard Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) led the team in scoring last week with 30 points, including 20 on Thursday against Western Oregon. Thursday was Baker's sixth 20-point performance this season. Alaska is 3-3 in games when Baker goes for 20 or more.
 
Game #26: Alaska Anchorage at Alaska – Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. (AKST)
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The Seawolves (17-11, 10-7 GNAC) are winners of four straight, their fourth streak of three or more wins this season. They have outscored their opponents by an average of 12.5 ppg during their current streak and have scored 88 or more points three times during the same period.
 
Alaska Anchorage's scoring offense is second-best in the GNAC, averaging 86.3 ppg. It is buoyed by the conference's second-best 3-point shooting percentage of 40.7 percent. Rebounding has been a problem for the Seawolves, who only pull down 33.5 boards a game and give up 34.7 a game – second-most in the GNAC.
 
Thompson leads the Seawolves with 21.7 ppg and a 90.2 free-throw percentage. He is also the team's top steals man with 1.2 per contest and tied with Fossman for 3-pointers made per game at 3.7. UAA's team assist/turnover ratio is far and away the best in the conference at +2.2, more than 0.5 better than the second-best team, Seattle Pacific (+1.6).