ANCHORAGE, Alaska. – Central Washington men's basketball lost to Alaska Anchorage 75-61 on Thursday night. Mitch Brizee led the 'Cats offense, scoring 16 points, but that wasn't enough to topple the Seawolves. Alaska Anchorage had three players score at least 15 points and the team shot 52% from the field, made 11 threes, and went 8-10 from the charity stripe.

QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
"That was not the start to the game we were hoping for. Alaska Anchorage is too good of a team to spot them an early lead like that. The team battled back and fought the whole way, but it takes a complete game to win up here."

NOTABLE STATS

• The Seawolves shot 53% from the field compared to the Wildcats 37.5%.
• Mitch Brizee scored 16 points and corralled five rebounds. Camron McNeil, Maverick Sanders, and Samaad Hector all scored nine points.
• Tyson Gilbert led Alaska Anchorage scoring 16 points. He shot 4-6 from range, went 6-10 from the field, and had three rebounds.
• Dillon Barrientos scored 15 points, secured eight boards, and dished out eight assists. Dathan Satchell also put up 15 points. Satchell had six rebounds and a block.

FIRST HALF

• Alaska Anchorage started the game fast and went on 8-0 run, scoring two threes. The Seawolves extended their lead as far as eight in the early going.
• Central Washington responded with back-to-back threes from Colby Gennett and Bradley Swillie that cut the deficit to two.
• With eight minutes left, CWU went on an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game at 28. Jordan Clark drove into the lane and threaded a beautiful pass to Maverick Sanders, who buried the three to tie the game.
• The Seawolves continued to keep the intensity up on offense and finished the half on a 11-6 run highlighted by a three and a layup from Dathan Satchell. At the break, Alaska Anchorage led 39-34.
• Alaska Anchorage was active on the defensive end in the first twenty minutes. They had seven steals and turned those into 10 points.

SECOND HALF

• 12-0 run by UAA early on, Seawolves found lots of success on the pick and roll and mixed in a couple of threes, including a step back from Dillon Barrientos.
• Brizee helped the Cats claw back. He scored three layups to halt UAA's run, which made it 54-42 with 13:14 left.
• Central Washington utilized the full court press effectively as they forced three giveaways and turned two of those possessions into points. The Wildcats cut the deficit to eleven but never got closer.
• The Seawolves' shooting, combined with their defense, earned them the 75-61 home victory. Alaska Anchorage shot 52% from the field, made 11 threes, and went 8-10 from the charity stripe.

UP NEXT

• The Wildcats stay in Alaska as they prepare to face Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday at 4 p.m.