BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Early in the season, close games were not going the way of the Western Washington University men's basketball team.
 
But the tables have turned with the Vikings defeating the University of Alaska Anchorage 93-91 in overtime Monday night for their third consecutive two-point victory, all coming in the last five days in Carver Gym.
 
WWU overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to hold a late lead in regulation, but UAA 6-7 forward Oggie Pantovic hit a deep three-pointer with five seconds remaining to push the game into overtime.
 
The Vikings out-scored the Seawolves 12-10 in the five-minute overtime period and came up with a pair of defensive stops in the final seconds to improve to 11-6 overall and move into a third-place tie in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 4-3. The back-and-forth game featured 16 lead changes and 12 tie scores.
 
Sophomore guard D'Angelo Minnis paced the Vikings with a career-high 35 points on 13-for-24 shooting, scoring 21 of his career-high total in the second half and overtime.
 
Junior guard and Alaska native Daniel Hornbuckle added 12 points – all after halftime – on 5-for-11 shooting and hit a key go-ahead three-pointer to give the Vikings a one-point lead with 36-seconds remaining in regulation.
 
Senior guard RJ Secrest added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds and senior forward Luke Lovelady totaled 12 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
 
WWU played a majority of the game without GNAC Player of the Week Jalen Green, who left the game with a knee injury with 7:40 remaining in the first half and did not return.
 
After a slow start shooting, the Vikings finished at 51.6% for the game connecting on 33-of-64 shots in the contest.
 
UAA had four players score in double-figures, led by 22 points from Tobin Karlberg and 20 points from Pantovic. The Seawolves were 15-for-28 from three-point range and overall shot 49.2% for the game.

  The Vikings (11-6, 4-3 GNAC) return to the road this week with GNAC contests at Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Both games in Alaska feature a 7:30 pm local tip-off (8:30 pm in Bellingham) and will feature a live webcast and statistical updates with direct links at wwuvikings.com/Live.
  Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and UAA from Monday's game:
 

COMPARISON	WWU	UAA
Points	93	91
Field Goal Pct.	.516 (33-64)	.492 (30-61)
3 Point FG Pct.	.350 (7-20)	.536 (15-28)
Free Throw Pct.	.870 (20-23)	.762 (16-21)
Rebounds	28	31
Offensive Rebounds	8	9
Assists	12	16
Turnovers	13	17
Steals	11	2
Blocked Shots	3	2
Time Led	21:25	20:11
Points off Turnovers	19	16
Points in the Paint	38	24
Bench Points	15	12

  The game featured 16 lead changes and 12 tie scores, with WWU taking the lead for good after a pair of Luke Lovelady free throws just over a minute into the overtime period.
  WWU recorded its third consecutive victory by a two-point margin, the eighth overall game decided by two-or-fewer points this season (5-3 record). WWU defeated Central Washington 90-88 on a last-second Jalen Green jumper on Saturday and beat Northwest Nazarene 83-81 last Thursday. Western opened the season with back-to-back one-point losses to Cal Poly Humboldt and Cal State Dominguez Hills and a were on the short end of a two-point 82-80 overtime loss to Simon Fraser. Western also defeated Lindenwood 60-58 in Las Vegas and Alaska Fairbanks 94-92 on January 8 in GNAC play.
  The first 20 minutes of action featured 10 lead changes, with WWU taking a four-point 38-34 lead at the halftime break. After starting 1-for-6 from the field, the Vikings heated up to finish 15-for-29 (.517) shooting, but were just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. Western's defense forced nine UAA turnovers, leading to seven points. D'Angelo Minnis led all players with 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while the Seawolves were paced by 10 points from guard David Rowlands.
  The Vikings won their fifth consecutive game against the Seawolves dating back to the 2018-19 season, the second-longest win streak for WWU vs. UAA in the series that dates back to 2000 (won 8 straight 2011-14). The Vikings have now won nine of the last 11 in the series (7 of 8) and lead the all-time series 26-17. The Vikings and Seawolves complete the regular-season series Saturday in Anchorage.
  Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings following play on Monday, with the Vikings moving into a tie for third place at 4-3 in league play.
 

MEN'S BASKETBALL	CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
Saint Martin's	6-2	.750	13-4	.765	8-1	4-3	1-0	Won 2
Central Washington	5-3	.625	11-4	.733	5-0	5-3	1-1	Lost 1
Western Washington	4-3	.571	11-6	.647	10-2	0-2	1-2	Won 3
Montana State Billings	4-3	.571	8-9	.471	5-6	1-2	2-1	Won 1
Seattle Pacific	5-4	.556	12-8	.600	7-1	2-5	3-2	Won 2
Alaska Anchorage	3-3	.500	8-5	.615	5-0	2-5	1-0	Lost 2
Simon Fraser	3-3	.500	8-6	.571	5-1	2-4	1-1	Lost 2
Northwest Nazarene	3-3	.500	5-6	.455	3-1	2-4	0-1	Lost 1
Western Oregon	2-5	.286	3-12	.200	2-2	1-7	0-3	Lost 6
Alaska Fairbanks	1-7	.125	4-10	.286	1-1	1-7	2-2	Lost 3
MONDAY'S  GNAC SCHEDULE
at Western Washington 93, Alaska Anchorage 91 (OT)

  The ever-changing 2021-22 WWU Men's Basketball Schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21-22_MBB, complete with links to purchase tickets and live coverage links for webcast and live stats.
  One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 11 seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has 20-win seasons in three of the last four years (and seven of nine) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is the 12th winningest Division II program with its 1,525 all-time victories.