ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Central Washington University men's basketball team overcame a 16-point deficit, but ultimately fell to the University of Alaska Anchorage in overtime, 70-68.

"I was proud of the way these guys responded and competed in the second half," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said afterward.  "Anchorage is a good team and tough to beat up here."

The Seawolves (16-11, 9-7 GNAC) stormed out to an 8-0 lead in the first 90 seconds of the contest.  Davon Bolton sank the Wildcats' (15-9, 8-8 GNAC) first bucket, a three with an assist to Marqus Gilson, but Anchorage expanded the lead 16 with 14:08 left in the first half.  

A free throw from Gamaun Boykin jumpstarted a scoring burst for the Crimson and Black.  Jeryn Lucas was first, knocking down a trey.  A turnover by Anchorage gave Central another chance to chip into the deficit and they did not miss.  Micah Pollard found Marqus Gilson in the paint for a layup, cutting the Seawolves' lead to nine.

Tyler Brimhall responded with a bucket of his own, but Lucas one-upped him with a three.  Anchorage's 16-point lead had been halved in just five minutes.  

Central didn't relent.  A jumper from Pollard with 6:52 left in the first half etched away more, forcing the difference to just seven.  A pair of free throws from Jack MacDonald, and a three from Tobin Karlberg, slipped Anchorage's advantage back to double digits.

Such it remained for the remainder of the opening stanza.  The Wildcats answered and kept the game close as timed waned.  After a three from Brimhall established a 13-point lead for the Seawolves with 1:03 to play, the final bucket of the half came from Boykin.  A defensive rebound from Gilson with roughly 25 seconds remaining gave the Wildcats the final possession of the half.  Boykin let loose a trey and drained it with just six seconds before intermission.  Central trailed 36-26 as they headed to the locker room.

Both teams were 5-for-14 from the field in the opening period.  The Wildcats struggled from the floor overall, however, converting on just nine chances.  

Xavier Smith wasted no time putting CWU on the board in the second.  Bolton found Smith open for a layup and Smith was fouled on the play.  He converted at the charity stripe to finish off the three-point play and slice the Seawolves' lead to seven, 36-29.

After trading buckets to bring the contest to 40-31, a pair of free throws from Oggie Pantovic extended Anchorage's advantage to double digits once more.  

Central responded quickly, as Boykin found Lucas opener for a mid-range jumper to shrink the deficit to nine again.  Another three-point play befell the Seawolves, this time Pollard sunk his layup and was fouled on the way up.  His free throw pushed Anchorage's lead to just six, 42-36.

A fast break layup from Boykin made it a four-point game, 42-38.  It was Pantovic who answered for Anchorage, he tallied a bucket in the paint.  Just 13 seconds later, Boykin rang the bell again, draining a shot from deep to make it 44-41.

The ensuing possession for Anchorage ended abruptly, when Pollard picked Tyrus Hosley's pocket.  On the way to the rim, Pollard was fouled by Karlberg.  The Tacoma native sank both, bringing the differential down to one.

Anchorage managed to find MacDonald underneath on their next possession, but MacDonald couldn't convert in the paint.  His rebound was collected by Matt Poquette, who found Gilson for a lead-exchanging layup, 45-44 in favor of CWU.

After the media timeout, the first basket came from Hosley with 10:11 to play.  The lead once again changed hands, but it did not last long.  One minute later, Kevin Baker knocked down his second trey of the contest to put the Crimson and Black ahead by two.  Boykin made it 48-45 with a free throw another 60 seconds later.

Aiming to extend their margin to a safe distance, Lucas picked up a trey and made it 56-46.  A missed shot from Anchorage caromed to Pollard, who found an open Lucas on a fast break for the layup.

The Crimson and Black established a 54-46 lead, their largest of the contest with 7:13 remaining in regulation.

It was Anchorage's turn to chip away at a deficit now.  Pantovic went to the line first, converting one.  Like Boykin in the first half, Pantovic's free throw kickstarted a burst of scoring for his side.

Bevens knocked down a jumper.  Karlberg added a layup and went to the line for an and-one.  He converted the three-point play, making it 54-51 with 5:10 to play.

A full 60 seconds passed without the scoreboard needing to add to either side.  When it was finally needed, it was thanks to a pair of free throws from MacDonald.  With the clock sitting at an even 4:00, the game was level at 54-54.

Central broke the stalemate with a pair of free throws from Baker.  He followed with a three after an empty possession from Anchorage.

Pantovic brought the score within one possession with a layup, 59-56, in favor of CWU.

Thirty seconds later, Boykin drew a foul from Pantovic and made the most of his time at the free throw line to put Central ahead by five.

The Seawolves' found Pantovic down low, where he drew a foul and another chance to bring the game within a possession.  Pantovic made both his free throws and made it a three-point game with 1:01 to play.  

A turnover gave Anchorage possession with 11 seconds remaining in regulation, as the Seawolves called a timeout.  Coming out of the timeout, Hosley sank a three to bring the game level at 61-61.  

Overtime was required in order to secure a winner.  Baker opened the scoring with a layup for a quick 63-61 lead in the first extra period.  Pantovic followed suit with a layup of his own for the Seawolves.  

Smith gave CWU a one-point lead with a free throw, but once again Pantovic mimicked the opposition for a 64-64 game.

The Wildcats' next possession culminated in a layup from Smith with 2:01 on the clock.  Hosley erased the slim advantage with a pair of free throws seconds later.

Anchorage then took their first lead with 51 seconds remaining, thanks to more work from Pantovic at the charity stripe, 68-66.

With just 32 seconds left, Baker found Pollard cutting on the baseline for a layup.  

Tied 68-68, the Seawolves used their final timeout with 23 seconds remaining.  They called Hosley's number again and he did not miss.  His shot fell through the net with just nine-tenths of a second remaining and as the shot clock expired.  The officials went to the table to review the release and confirmed Hosley released the shot prior to the expiration of the shot clock.  

Now trailing 70-68, the Wildcats had 1.2 seconds to level the score and force a second overtime period after the official review.  Even with an ambitious effort, the Wildcats exited the wild ride in Anchorage down 70-68.

The Crimson and Black are back in Ellensburg for a pair of games next week.  They host Western Oregon on Thursday; tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.