MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon men's basketball team clinched their spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Thursday night, surviving the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves for an 85-84 win at NPE Gym.
 
Western Oregon (18-7, 12-7 GNAC) clinched their seventh consecutive berth in the conference tournament with the win, moving into a tie with the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks who lost at Seattle Pacific. WOU now sits just a half game out of second place, but can finish no better than third in the conference regular season given current tiebreaker scenarios.
 
Alaska Anchorage (18-12, 11-8 GNAC) established a sizable lead in the first half, going on a 17-5 run that lasted 3:32, pushing their advantage to 13 at 32-19. The Wolves were able to close the gap at the end of the half, following up with a 15-4 run of their own. The Seawolves were able to hold a sliver of distance, taking a three-point lead at 47-44 into the locker room.
 
The second half provided perhaps the most back-and-forth play of the season for Western. The game consisted of four ties and 20 lead changes as both sides traded buckets throughout the second half. Anchorage did not lead by more than three in the second half, but kept within two possessions the entire way.
 
Western led by six at 85-79 with just 1:18 left in the game, but UAA would not go away quietly. Tyrus Hosley hit a jumper in the paint and was fouled, converting his free throw for the three-point play to make it an 85-82 game. Setting a half-court trap on the next play, Anchorage nabbed a steal when Tobin Karlberg stepped in front of a pass for the fastbreak feed to Hosley who finished with a layup. All of a sudden, the Wolves found themselves in just a one-point game 28 seconds after leading by six.
 
An offensive foul gave Alaska Anchorage the ball trailing by one with 21 seconds left at 85-84. After bringing the ball across midcourt, the Seawolves looked to hold for the final shot of the game. Karlberg drove to the right side, but was denied by multiple defenders on his layup attempt. A controversial jump ball was called on the ensuing loose ball, showing the possession arrow belonging to the Seawolves. This gave them one last chance with 2.5 seconds remaining on the clock and an inbound from under their own hoop. A throw-in to the right side of the arc hit off the arm of Karlberg, never giving him a legitimate look as time expired, allowing the Wolves to hold on and clinch the postseason berth.
 
"It's a huge win for us to secure our playoff spot against a very good Anchorage team," said Western Oregon head coach Wes Pifer. "Our guys did a good job battling and getting stops when we needed to. Any time our guys stay locked in defensively we have a chance to do great things."
 
Western Oregon was led by the 19 points of Dalven Brushier who also had four assists and two rebounds. Brushier finished 7-for-11 from the field and 2-for-4 from 3-point range.
 
Center John Morrill-Keeler recorded his second double-double of the season on Thursday night, scoring 17 points along with 10 rebounds and a steal. It was his first double-double since the second game of the season back in November against Notre Dame de Namur.
 
"Their center, Pantovic, is a big guy and he battles every possession," said Morrill-Keeler. "Going up against that, it really helps me stay locked in on both ends of the floor. I feel a lot more confident this season looking back to where I was at the beginning of the year. The guys always have my back and that helps me out as well."
 
"Coming back from 13 points down shows our toughness," added Morrill-Keeler. "That's a tough thing to do. We have a bunch of scorers so that helps spread the floor and create opportunities."
 
The Wolves shot 50 percent from the field, but were out-paced in shooting by the 55.4 percent mark of the Seawolves. UAA had a major advantage in 3-point shooting, hitting 48 percent of their 3-pointers for 12 total makes while Western Oregon went just 4-for-23 from beyond the arc for 17.4 percent. The Wolves missed each of their first 13 attempts from deep before settling in.
 
"I thought Riley (Hamilton) gave us a good shot in the arm and Dalven and Emanuel (Gant) were really good down the stretch," added Pifer. "Now we have to turn our attention to Fairbanks to finish off the regular season."
 
The win puts Western Oregon into a tie for third place in the conference standings with one game left to play. In order to earn the three seed in the conference tournament, they will both need to beat Alaska on Saturday and for Saint Martin's to top Northwest Nazarene. Four teams have now stamped their ticket to the tournament while UAA, UAF and Central Washington battle for the final two slots.
 
Saturday, Feb. 29, will be senior day for Riley Hamilton, Dalven Brushier and Jaylyn Richardson as they play their final home game at NPE Gym. Tipoff against the Alaska Nanooks is set for 4:15 p.m. PST.