Anchorage (Nov. 30) – Sean Evans scored 15 points and Tyler Burraston drained a three-pointer with one second remaining Saturday to lift Alaska Anchorage to a 74-73 men’s basketball victory over Newberry at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (5-6) got 12 points, four rebounds, three assists an no turnovers from Burraston, who was 1 of 10 on three-pointers prior to his game-winner. Senior point guard Dillon Barrientos and junior guard Hasaan Herrington added 10 points apiece for the hosts, who erased a 11-point first-half deficit.

The Wolves (3-3) were led by 10 points each from Devario Sheppard and Gyterson Louissaint as the visitors from South Carolina lost despite small advantages in field-goal percentage (.489 to .456) and rebounding (31-27).

“We’re excited that they persevered tonight,” said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne, whose team had dropped a 62-55 decision to the same opponent Friday. “After last night, we could have folded when we got down early in the first half, but our guys battled back and we made a few lineup changes and found one that was working.”

UAA trailed 25-14 with 5:40 left in the opening half and 31-22 at the four-minute mark before an Evans three-pointer sparked the offense. Burraston and Zach Ibbetson added three-pointers and the Seawolves sliced the deficit to 37-36 on a steal by Ibbetson and fastbreak feed to John McFadden.

Bishop Tosi put UAA ahead 42-41 early in the second half as UAA held Newberry to just one field goal in a seven-minute span, building a 54-43 advantage at the 13:20 mark.

UAA still led 62-51 with eight minutes left when the Wolves began to chip away, pulling back within 66-65 on five straight points from Malakhi Stremlow. After exchanging baskets, the Seawolves seemed to get a defensive stop with a 71-70 lead and 19 seconds remaining, but Newberry was granted a timeout to keep possession prior to a held-ball scramble. The Wolves converted on their second chance when reserve guard Drew Robinson swished a trey with 11 seconds left, and UAA advanced the ball to midcourt before calling timeout.

The inbounds pass came to senior forward Luke Devine, who flipped to Barrientos at the top of the key. Barrientos drove left before spinning and flipping to Burraston, who swished the 25-footer with 0.9 seconds showing. A length-of-the-court inbounds pass was caught by Newberry’s Drake Downs, but he could not gain control for a shot as time expired.

“There were three options on that play and that was one of them. We had a fumble on the handoff, but Dillon kept his composure and did his part and was able to get Tyler the shot,” Osborne said of the game-deciding play, which started with 6.5 seconds left. “Even though Tyler had struggled, we knew he was the guy we wanted to take the shot.”

Ibbetson helped key the victory with 3-of-3 three-point accuracy, while Tosi had nine points on 4-of-4 shooting in just nine minutes due to foul trouble.

Evans dished a game-high seven assists with just one turnover, and McFadden brought extra energy all night, finishing with seven points, six rebounds, three blocks and no turnovers in 26 minutes.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center on Thursday (7:30 pm AST) for their Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener against Saint Martin’s. Find tickets and live links at GoSeawolves.com.