Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – In the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opening-game for both teams, the No. 25 University of Alaska-Anchorage men's basketball team grabbed a 79-65 win over Montana State University Billings Thursday.

Alaska-Anchorage, which is now 29-4 against MSUB in Anchorage, outrebounded Montana State Billings, 48-25. UAA's 25 offensive rebounds, matched MSU Billings' total rebounds. That margin led to a 28-13 second-chance point advantage for the Seawolves. The Yellowjackets led three times, with the last lead coming just three minutes into the game, 7-6.

UAA finished 42 percent from the field. The Yellowjackets shot 45 percent from the field. Montana State Billings entered the game 16-0 under Stevens when it finished with a better shooting percentage than its opponent. The Yellowjackets also only committed eight turnovers for the second straight game, matching the low under Stevens. UAA had 10 turnovers.

The Seawolves (7-1, 1-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) were led by Teancum Stafford's 16 points. Liam Gibcus had a double-double performance with 15 points and 13 rebounds. He finished six-of-10 from the field. Kyle Fossman added 12 points and Mike MacKelvie had 10. Stafford added eight rebounds and a team-high four assists.

“Anchorage is a very good team, very hard to guard,” MSU Billings' head coach Jamie Stevens said. “We didn't force a lot of turnovers tonight and that has been our calling-card defensively all year. I thought we did do a decent job of getting stops; unfortunately we got killed on the glass. I have to do a better job as the coach to get our guys to compete better, on rebounds, 50/50 balls and on offense. We can get better and we will. We need to focus on Fairbanks at this point.”

Montana State Billings made four of its 13 three-point attempts, and 15-of-24 from the free-throw line. Alaska-Anchorage was 9-for-27 from behind the arc, and 14-of-16 from the free-throw line. The Seawolves had a 19-16 assist advantage.

With the score tied at seven at the 16:40 mark of the first half, Alaska-Anchorage made its move. The Seawolves went on a 10-0 run capped by a MacKelvie three-pointer. An Abebe Demissie three-pointer at the 12:04 mark of the first half, gave UAA a 24-11 advantage. MSUB responded with a 7-0 run cutting the lead to six points.

A dunk by Jarrell Crayton with 6:26 remaining in the half slimmed the margin to 30-25, the closest the Yellowjackets would get in the first half. Alaska-Anchorage built the margin back to double-digits, and had a 42-34 halftime lead. MSU Billings trailed at the half by eight, despite shooting 48 percent from the field in the first half. UAA shot 41 percent. MSUB had a 24-12 advantage in the paint, and an 8-0 lead in points off of turnovers.

A three-pointer from Montana State Billings' Cameron Cusworth three minutes into the second half cut the lead to 48-44. The Seawolves managed to get their double-digit lead back, only to have the margin shrink to 56-51 with 11:53 remaining in regulation. The Yellowjackets came no closer. UAA made a comfortable double-digit cushion and had its largest lead of the game, 78-62, with 2:28 left in the game.

Crayton led MSU Billings (4-3, 0-1 GNAC) with 21 points. The junior was 9-of-13 from the field. He added two blocks and two steals. Sam Johnson and Omar McDade chipped in 12 and 11 rebounds. Kalob Hatcher had a team-high seven rebounds. David Arnold dished out four assists.

The Yellowjackets travel to Alaska-Fairbanks for a 3 p.m. Alaskan Time start Saturday. The Nanooks (4-4, 0-1) fell at home Thursday to No. 7 Seattle-Pacific, 72-60. MSUB has won five of the last six meetings with UAF, including a 75-64 victory at Fairbanks last season. Saturday's game will have live video and stats on MSUBSports.com.

MSUB – ALASKA-ANCHORAGE POSTGAME NOTES
• The game was the 65th meeting between Montana State Billings and Alaska-Anchorage.
• MSUB is UAA's 2nd-most common opponent all-time behind Alaska-Fairbanks.
• The Yellowjackets are 21-8 against the Seawolves in Billings, but 4-29 in Anchorage.
• The first meeting was a 92-91 UAA win on Dec. 1, 1977.
• Alaska-Anchorage ended the Yellowjackets' 2011-12 season in the NCAA Div. II West Regionals.
• MSUB and the Seawolves have met five times in the last 11 months with UAA winning four.
• Alaska-Anchorage leads 9-2 in GNAC regular-season meetings since MSUB joined the GNAC in 2007-08, with both Yellowjacket victories coming in Billings.
• UAA has won nine straight in Anchorage since a 91-73 MSUB win on Jan. 29, 1998.
• The Yellowjackets are now 3-7 in their last 10 conference season-openers, including 1-5 in GNAC openers.