Seawolves wallop Vikings, 90-56, for fourth straight win

Anchorage (Jan. 3) - Bishop Tosi scored 18 points and UAA got double-doubles from Sylas Williams and Hasaan Herrington on Saturday to roll to a 90-56 men's basketball blowout of Western Washington at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Williams had 17 points, along with career highs of 12 rebounds and six assists, while Herrington delivered 16 points and 10 assists for his first career double-double. Senior Akok Machar added 13 points for the Seawolves (11-4, 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference).

The Vikings (7-8, 1-3) were led by 12 points apiece from Nehemiah Pollard and Dennis Johnson, but the visitors from Bellingham were outshot .564 to .339 and outrebounded 41-24.

"I was really pleased with our execution, our defensive intensity, and a terrific effort on the boards," said UAA coach Rusty Osborne, whose team won its fourth in a row. "We took care of the ball very well until some turnovers in the late going, and never gave them a chance to get back into it."

In a series that saw the previous 20 games all decided by 10 points or fewer, Saturday's battle was the exception to the rule. UAA took a 5-0 lead in the opening two minutes and stretched to a 15-4 edge before the second media timeout.

Williams put UAA up by double figures for good with a three-pointer to make it 20-8 at the 9:11 mark, and Tosi scored inside on a feed from Elijah Mobley for a 34-14 advantage with 4:47 showing.

The Seawolves led 46-19 at halftime and never let the Vikings closer than 51-28 with 16:53 left in the game. UAA led by 30 or more for the final 14:30 and stretched its largest lead to 85-45 as Machar shot 5 of 7 from the field in the second half and Jesse Stines added 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-3 3FG) and six rebounds off the bench.

Tosi shot 6 of 9 from the floor as the Bartlett High product scored a season high, along with three rebounds, a steal and a block. Williams shot 7 of 11 (3-6 3FG) from the field, claiming his fourth double-double less than a minute into the second half.

Mobley had four points and three assists.

UAA's margin of victory was 14 points better than its previous best (92-72, Jan. 5, 2007) in 51 all-time meetings with WWU, handing the Vikings their first 30-plus-point setback since December 2010.

The Seawolves make their second GNAC road trip next week, facing Northwest Nazarene on Thursday (5:30 p.m.) and Central Washington on Saturday (6:15 p.m.). Find live video ($) and stats links at GoSeawolves.com.