ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team aims for their sixth-straight win on Saturday against Alaska Anchorage.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, February 15
8:00 p.m. PT (7:00 p.m. AKT)
Vs Alaska Anchorage
Alaska Airlines Center
Anchorage, Alaska
 
QUOTABLE
"Anchorage is a very disciplined team that can shoot the ball as well as anyone in the conference," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "Their center is getting better as the year moves along which has given them a strong inside presence as well."
 
SCOUTING ALASKA ANCHORAGE
The Seawolves sit at 15-11 overall, and 8-7 in GNAC play, after narrowly escaping Northwest Nazarene in a 90-89 overtime victory.
 
Prior to their win over the Nighthawks, Anchorage had dropped three straight contests.  Their most recent loss came in an overtime outing against Western Washington, 85-81.
 
Against the Nighthawks, Oggie Pantovic led the way with 26 points over 37 minutes. The big man is averaging a team-high 14.5 points per game.  Pantovic has started just eight games, but is averaging 24 minutes per night.  He is also pulling in a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
The Seawolves have three other players who are averaging a double-digit scoring effort each night.  Niko Bevens (13.0), Tobin Karlberg (12.4), and Tyrus Hosley (10.7) round out the top four scorers for Anchorage.  As a unit, they're averaging 78.81 points and allowing just 75.88.  Rebounding is another story, however, as the Seawolves are being out rebounded by their opponents 35.8-32.9.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Central Washington hung on for a tight victory over Alaska on Thursday, 66-63, for their fifth-consecutive win. 
 
Jeryn Lucas scored 19 points in the first, finished with 25, and hauled in a late offensive rebound to help the Wildcats seal the win.
 
Central shot 48.15 percent from the floor during the first half, including a 7-for-12 mark from beyond the arc.  The 'Cats bench recorded 29 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Momentum continued to seesaw when the second half began.  The Wildcats' lead was chipped away by Alaska, as they controlled the first four minutes of play.  The Nanooks reclaimed a two-point lead, 41-39, on a jumper from Spencer Sweet as part of an 11-3 run.

Baker quickly erased the Nanooks' advantage with a three, 42-41, but a jumper from Shabazz put Alaska back ahead.  He added a free throw for a 44-42 lead, which was dealt with swiftly on a Micah Pollard jumper.  

The Wildcats and Nanooks traded points once more through the midsection of the second half.  The lead changed hands a pair of times, until Marqus Gilson drove inside and threw down a dunk for the 54-53 lead.  

Gilson finished with nine points, while six of his 11 rebounds were offensive.

A pair of free throws from Xavier Smith extended Central's lead to 56-53.  With 6:14 to play, Lucas picked Shabazz's pocket and found Boykin on the fast break to make it 58-53.  A three from Koby Huerta cut the lead back to two, 58-56, but it wasn't for long.  A jumper from Smith edged the Wildcats' to a four-point lead, before Gilson hauled in a rebound and scored for a 62-56 advantage.  

Shabazz cut the Wildcats' lead to two, 65-63, with a jumper and just 51 seconds left in the contest.   On the ensuing possession for the Crimson and Black, Lucas hauled in an offensive rebound and allowed Central to nearly secure the victory.

Trailing 66-63, Alaska stormed back down the floor.  Shabazz threw up a trey with eight seconds remaining, it ricocheted off the backboard and made its way to Huerta.  As the Wildcat defenders closed in on him, Alaska called a timeout with 1.8 seconds remaining on the clock.

Alex Sommerfield's last-second effort to level the game for Alaska came heavily contested by a Wildcat defender, as CWU secured the 66-63 victory.
 
EARLIER THIS SEASON
The Wildcats rolled past the Seawolves, 84-50 in Ellensburg.  Gilson led CWU with 18 points, while Tariq Woody added 13.  Both Amari Stafford and Davon Bolton recorded 11 points, while the Wildcats' final double-digit scorer was Lucas with 10.
 
Central shot 48.3 percent from the floor, while holding Anchorage to a success rate of .316.  The Seawolves struggled from beyond the arc, converting on just 19.2 percent of their chances.