Men's Basketball | 2/18/2010 9:49:04 PM

Box Score [Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Casey Robinson scored 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting to lead Alaska Anchorage to a 90-81 win over the Western Oregon University men's basketball team, Thursday (Feb. 18).

The win lifted UAA into sole possession of fourth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with a 6-5 league record and a 15-7 mark overall. The loss was the third straight for WOU, as it fell to 11-12 on the season and to 4-8 in the GNAC.

Western Oregon had five student-athletes score in double-figures, as Blair Wheadon paced the way with 20. Rico Myles added 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Tarance Glynn also chipped in with 13 (5-of-7), while Matt Schmidt and Josh Johnson each had 11.

The Seawolves scored a season-best 90 points by hitting 13 treys and shooting 49-percent from the field. "We let them penetrate too much," said WOU head coach Craig Stanger. "They kept (penetrating) and would either get to the rim or pass out and hit the three."

Western Oregon also played well on the offensive end shooting 50-percent from the field, to go along with 11 threes. "We feel we have some guys that can shoot the ball," noted Stanger. "We did a good job getting looks on kick-outs."

"We will be in games because of our offense, but we need to better on the defensive end," continued Stanger. "We had too many break downs tonight; we have to execute and take care of the little things better."

The game was a shootout from the beginning, as both teams hit two three-pointers early. However, the Seawolves' hot opening streak continued as they went on a 13-0 run take a 19-6 lead six minutes into the game.

The Wolves would then battle back with an 8-0 run of their own and cut UAA's lead to one on a three-pointer by Johnson with 4:34 remaining in the half. But Alaska Anchorage had one more run in it before halftime scoring eight of the last 10 points, including a three-pointer by Robinson at the buzzer, to hold a 49-41 lead at the half.

A minute after the half, WOU cut the Seawolves' lead to six points but they would get no closer. However, the Wolves continued to fight after falling behind by as many as 17. They narrowed the Seawolves' lead to single-digits at the four minute mark and to six points with 26 seconds left, but the visitors hit three of their last four free throws to seal the victory.

"It is too much to ask for a team to come back after falling down by 18 in the GNAC," said Stanger. "You have to be too good defensively and very precise on offense."

The Western Oregon men's basketball team will be back at home Saturday (Feb. 20), to host Alaska Fairbanks on 'Pink Out' night to show support for breast cancer awareness. Tip-off will be at 4:30 p.m.