ANCHORAGE – The Western Washington University men's basketball team got hot from beyond the three-point line to record a 79-74 road victory over the University of Alaska Anchorage Thursday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

The Vikings were 14-for-27 (51.9%) from three-point range and shot 56.9-percent overall in the five-point victory to improve to 10-6 overall and 3-3 in GNAC play. WWU has won eight of the last 10 games in the series vs. UAA and four of the last five in the Alaska Airlines Center.

WWU was paced by a balanced scoring attack featuring six players scoring eight-or-more points, and three players in double-digits. Redshirt freshman forward BJ Kolly led the Vikings with 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting in just 16 minutes of play. Kolly scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half after committing two quick fouls in the first half. He also recorded four blocked shots as the Vikings out-blocked the Seawolves 8-1.

Junior point guard D'Angelo Minnis added 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting and junior forward/guard Darius Gary scored 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting, with a trio of first-half three-pointers. Alaska native Daniel Hornbuckle added nine points and sophomore guard Kai Johnson filled up the stat sheet with nine points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and two steals.

The Vikings and Seawolves were tied 35-35 at halftime, but WWU came out of the break on a mission using a 17-3 run over a 4:21 span to take a 52-40 lead. Kolly sparked the rally with an early dunk and capped the run with a layup to give the Vikings a 12-point lead.

UAA (8-7, 2-4 GNAC) closed the gap to just three points at 63-60 with 6:47 remaining on a Lachlan Viney layup, but the Vikings responded with an 8-2 run to go up 71-62 to all but put the game away.

The game featured four lead changes and seven ties, but the Vikings controlled most of the game leading for 32:29 of the 40-minute contest.

Tyson Gilbert led the Seawolves with a game-high 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting and Viney and Jaron Williams each contributed 11 points. UAA was limited to 39.2-percent shooting (29-for-74) and 8-for-27 from three-point range.

The Vikings (10-6, 3-3 GNAC) remain on the road Saturday facing Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 5:15 pm AKT/6:15 pm PT in the Patty Center. WWU then returns home for a season-high four-game homestand beginning with a Thursday, January 19 game vs. rival Central Washington (7 pm). The complete 2022-23 WWU men's basketball schedule with links to live coverage can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

The Vikings scored 27 of 35 points on three-pointers, going 9-for-20 from beyond the arc, while playing Anchorage to a 35-35 tie in the first 20 minutes of action. Junior Darius Gary led the Vikings with nine points – all on three-pointers – followed by six points each by Daniel Hornbuckle and Lucas Holden. WWU shot 48.0-percent in the half (12-for-25) and out-rebounded the Seawolves 19-14.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Alaska Anchorage:

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2022-23 season:

The Vikings improved to 27-18 all-time vs. UAA and 11-11 in games played in Anchorage. WWU has had the upper hand in the recent series winning six of the last seven and eight of the last 10 vs. UAA. The Vikings have also had success in the Alaska Airlines Center winning four of the last five.

Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings, complete with Thursday's results from around the conference:

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2022-23 season following the five-point victory at UAA:

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 2012 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 1,538 all-time victories. Head coach Tony Dominguez is in his 10th season and 11th year as the Vikings head coach (28th overall at WWU) and is listed in the top 20 amongst active NCAA Division II head coaches with a .667 winning percentage (192-96).