University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

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FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The script could not have been written better, and the players involved could not have been more perfect.
 
Rivalry bragging rights and postseason positioning were hanging in the balance Thursday on Senior Night at the Patty Center, with the game tied 68-68 and just seconds left on the clock. That's when senior guard Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) tossed the ball to fellow senior forward Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice) while falling out of bounds and Kelly quickly flipped it off the glass and in before the buzzer could sound, sending the crowd into a frenzy and giving Alaska a last-second, 70-68 win over Alaska Anchorage.
 
Kelly's buzzer-beating layup completed a 20-5 comeback run for Alaska (17-9, 12-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) to overcome a 13-point deficit with 7 minutes, 47 seconds, left to play. It was the Nanooks' third victorious double-digit comeback this season after overcoming a 26-point deficit at Central Washington on Feb. 15 and a 14-point deficit at Western Oregon on Jan. 25.
 
The Nanooks honored six seniors Thursday playing in their final home games. Baker, forwards Dallen Bills (Inkom, Idaho/Psychology), Kelly, Mike Stepovich (Fairbanks, Alaska/Accounting) and Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) , and center Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) were all recognized. The six seniors have played in a combined 320 games during the past three seasons and have scored a total of 2,917 points during their careers.
 
Thursday's win was Alaska's first over Alaska Anchorage (17-12, 10-8 GNAC) in more than eight years. The Nanooks last defeated the Seawolves on Jan. 28, 2006, when they won 76-73 in Fairbanks. The Nanooks' 17 wins this season are their most since 2006-07, and their 12 conference wins are their most since 2004-05.
 
Alaska also finished the season 11-2 at the Patty Center, its most home wins since 2005-06. Alaska is 21-5 at the Patty Center in the past two seasons. Kelly's buzzer-beating win was the first for Alaska since Jan. 20, 2011, when Alaska won on a 3-pointer at the horn in overtime against Saint Martin's, 96-93 at home.
 
The win also clinched the No. 3 seed for Alaska in next week's GNAC Championship Tournament in Lacey, Wash. The Nanooks will face Montana State Billings in the quarterfinals at noon on Wednesday for the second straight year. The Yellowjackets wrapped up the No. 6 seed Thursday thanks to a 91-59 loss by Central Washington against No. 20 Seattle Pacific.
 
Just moments before Kelly's game-winner, Alaska Anchorage's leading scorer Travis Thompson hit a game-tying, second-chance 3-pointer to make it 68-68 with 10.9 seconds to play. UAA's Kyle Fossman, who had already hit three treys in the game, missed a game-tying long-ball just five seconds before, but Christian Leckband tipped the rebound back out to Thompson for the second-chance opportunity.
 
It appeared to be déjà vu for the Nanooks, who saw Western Oregon hit a late 3-pointer last week to escape with a 71-70 win after Baker missed a free throw. But this time Baker, who led Alaska Thursday with 18 points, made his clutch free throws. With 24.5 seconds left in the game, Baker hit both ends of his one-and-one bonus opportunity, giving the Nanooks a three-point, 68-65 lead.
 
Alaska called a timeout after unsuccessfully getting the ball inbounds following Thompson's 3-pointer. Once they reset, Kelly inbounded it to Baker, who broke a two-man press and brought the ball across midcourt. Baker drove the lane and into traffic with five seconds left looking for an opening for a bucket or a foul.
 
But he stumbled on contact and began falling out of bounds. Before he could be called for traveling or stepping on the end line, Baker alertly found Kelly standing in front of him, who had rushed towards Baker after his defender left him wide open. Baker pushed the ball towards Kelly as he was falling away from the court, and Kelly made sure to get the ball out of his right hand before the red lights went on.
 
Kelly finished with a career-high 18 rebounds and scored 14 points for his seventh double-double of the season. Kelly had 10 offensive boards as the Nanooks dominated the offensive glass 14-3 and outrebounded the Seawolves 38-25 overall, their second largest rebounding margin this season and biggest in GNAC play.
 
Kelly also had three blocks in the game, including two during the Nanooks' comeback run. He knocked away Brian McGill's layup with 30 seconds left that would have given Alaska Anchorage a one-point, 67-66 lead, and he rejected Teancum Stafford's layup attempt at the 4:31 mark to give the ball back to Alaska.
 
Fossman's 3-pointer at 7:47 gave the Seawolves a 13-point, 63-50 lead, their largest of the game. They would not make another field goal until Thompson's 3-pointer with 10.9 seconds left, going 1 for 9 from the field with two made free throws, also from Thompson.
 
All five UAA starters scored in double figures, led by Fossman and Thompson with 15 points each. Colton Lauwers scored 14 points with four 3-pointers, and McGill and Stafford had 10 points each. It was only the fourth time this season Alaska Anchorage was held under 70 points, and the first time since Feb. 8.
 
Junior guard Joe Slocum (San Francisco/Communication) scored 15 points and went 5 for 6 from the free-throw line during the Nanooks' comeback. He hit two free throws with 1:56 left to make it a one-point game at 65-64 UAA, and a minute later, Baker put Alaska on top with an acrobatic layup in the paint to make it 66-65.
 
Alaska Anchorage shot 50 percent in the first half but cooled down to 46.2 percent in the second to shoot 47.9 percent for the game. The Seawolves outshot the Nanooks in every aspect, topping them overall (47.9 percent to 44.1 percent), from the 3-point arc (52.4 percent to 34.8 percent) and the free-throw line (84.6 percent to 66.7 percent).