ANCHORAGE, Alaska ? No. 11 University of Alaska Anchorage knocked off the UC San Diego men's basketball team, 80-60, in NCAA Division II Tournament action Friday evening. The Tritons ended the season 18-12 overall, their best finish since the 1998-1999 campaign.
With the West Regional quarterfinal game marking UCSD's first appearance in the DII Tournament, sophomore Jordan Lawley led the Tritons with a career-high 24 points. Lawley went for 8-for-13 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Junior Henry Patterson, leading UCSD in scoring average for the third consecutive season, added 10 points in Friday's tournament game.
UAA senior McCade Olsen paced his team with 28 points, while adding four assists and three steals. Olsen and teammate Carl Arts each knocked down 10 field goals. The Seawolves as a team shot 60.4 percent and hit 17 of their 18 free throw attempts. UAA, seeded No. 1 in the West Regional bracket and now 26-5 overall, will take on Seattle Pacific Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
The Seawolves crept out of the gates with a 6-4 lead but then reeled off a 12-0 run to establish a sizeable advantage. The Tritons didn't back down though, even after being down by 14 points midway through the opening half, and managed to cut the lead to seven as the game moved toward the halfway point. However, UAA ended the half on a 7-2 run to take a 39-26 margin into the break.
Lawley's sharpshooting kept the Seawolves from pulling too far ahead but UAA kept its offensive pressure on in full force to start the second half. Through the first 10 minutes after the break, the Seawolves outscored the Tritons by a 19-7 margin. UAA maintained its all-around intensity and secured the 80-60 victory to move on to the region's semifinal round.
Patterson ended the season as UCSD's leading scorer, averaging 12.5 points per game. Lawley's scoring average, following his tremendous effort on Friday, increased to 11.4 points per game.
After finishing the regular season on a five-game losing streak, the Tritons reversed their fortunes and swept the California Collegiate Athletic Association competition in early March to take the league's tournament title. The loss against UAA, ranked 11th nationally, marked the end of the finest UCSD men's basketball season in almost a decade.
