Nighthawks outlast Seawolves in battle of streaking squads

Anchorage (Jan. 9) - Senior guards Dillon Barrientos and Sean Evans scored 17 points apiece, but the UAA men's basketball team could not repel a late Northwest Nazarene run Thursday in a 71-63 loss at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (10-8, 3-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists from junior forward Bishop Tosi as their five-game winning streak was snapped.

The Nighthawks (11-1, 4-0) got a game-high 20 points from guard Yaru Harvey and 19 points from guard Sullivan Menard as they outshot the hosts .522 to .403, pushing their winning streak to eight games.

"It was another hard-fought game," said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne, whose previous clubs had played six straight games against NNU within a six-point margin. "I thought our guys competed well until the end. We fought through some adversity at times but came up short. We will regroup and get ready for (Central Washington) Saturday night."

In a rematch of last season's GNAC Tournament semifinals - won 64-63 by UAA - the teams provided another back-and-forth contest, featuring seven ties and 12 lead changes.

The Seawolves shaved a 25-17 deficit down to 33-31 at halftime thanks to nine points, eight rebounds and three assists from Tosi, and Evans scored UAA's first seven points after the break to claim a 38-37 advantage.

Barrientos scored in quick succession to push the lead to 49-44 with 13 minutes remaining, but the visitors from Nampa, Idaho, got four points each from Harvey and Menard during an 8-0 run that swung the momentum for good.

After Barrientos nailed a long three-pointer to slice the deficit to 57-54 with seven minutes left, Harvey made another key play when he drove the lane and completed a three-point play to extend the Nighthawks' edge to 62-54 with 5:26 left. Barrientos scored again to make it 64-58 at the 4:49 mark, but UAA could get no closer.

The reigning GNAC Player of the Week, Evans continued his hot streak with 3-of-7 three-point shooting and a game-high six assists, while Barrientos shot 6 of 11 from the field and snagged three steals.

Junior guard Hasaan Herrington had 13 points, four rebounds and four steals for the Seawolves, who committed just eight turnovers but were outrebounded 34-29.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center for a Saturday 7 p.m. tip against Central Washington. Find tickets and live links at GoSeawolves.com.

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