BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team was dealt an 89-79 defeat against the University of Alaska Anchorage Saturday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

The Seawolves never trailed in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference match-up with both teams fighting for a playoff spot. WWU dropped to 7th in the GNAC standings at 6-9 in league play and 13-12 overall. UAA jumped ahead of the Vikings with its third consecutive victory to improve to 12-11 overall and 6-8 in league play. 

WWU will now head on the road to face Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington next week, in critical games as the Vikings fight for one of the six spots in the GNAC Championships that will be held March 2-4 in Bellingham.

Western had a solid shooting performance at 51.0-percent (25-for-49), but UAA was even better at nearly 56-percent (33-for-59) including a hot start that helped build a 47-37 halftime advantage. 

The Vikings chiseled away at game-high 18-point deficit midway through the second half, trailing by eight points with 2:45 remaining, but couldn't complete the comeback in the 10-point loss. 

Sophomore guard Matthew Mayes led the Vikings with a career-high 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including 3-for-4 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Kai Johnson added 14 points and six assists, and Daniel Hornbuckle chipped in 13 points. Five Vikings reached double-digits in scoring, with D'Angelo Minnis (12 points) and BJ Kolly (10 points) adding to the offense.

UAA featured four players scoring in double-digits, led by 21 points on 6-for-6 shooting by Sawyer Storms and 18 points from Tyson Gilbert. The Seawolf defense forced 16 WWU turnovers, leading to 23 points. UAA also out-scored the Vikings 42-24 in the paint and held a 27-25 rebounding advantage.

The Vikings (13-12, 6-9 GNAC) return to the road next week with key GNAC games against Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and in-state rival Central Washington on Saturday. The complete 2022-23 WWU men's basketball schedule – complete with links on how to purchase tickets for home games and links to follow the team on the road – can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/22-23_MBB.

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 and Seawolves split the regular-season series, with each team winning on the road. WWU defeated UAA 79-74 on January 12 in Anchorage. The Vikings maintain the all-time series lead at 27-19 with a 13-8 mark in games played in Bellingham. Despite the loss Saturday, the Vikings have still won six of the last eight and eight of the last 11 meetings over UAA. 

Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings, complete with Saturday's results:

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2022-23 season following Saturday's loss to 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 1,541 all-time victories. Head coach Tony Dominguez is in his 10th season and 11th year as the Vikings head coach (28th overall at WWU).