ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Make it five wins in a row for the Western Washington University men's basketball team.

After opening the tough conference slate with an 0-5 record, the Vikings have turned their season around rattling off five consecutive wins with Thursday's 76-73 road win over Alaska Anchorage pulling Western even at 5-5 in GNAC play.

WWU held a nine-point 42-33 lead at halftime, but the Seawolves battled back to take a four-point lead at 69-65 with 3:30 remaining in the game. The Vikings answered with an impressive 10-2 run and played tough defense on the final possession to secure the three-point victory.

The Vikings improved to 13-7 overall and pulled into a three-way tie for 5th place in the GNAC standings. Alaska Anchorage dropped its sixth consecutive game to fall to 10-13 overall and 3-7 in league play. UAA has dropped its last four games by a combined 11 points.

Trailing 69-65 at the 3:30 mark late in the second half, senior guard Will Wilson hit a three-pointer to pull the Vikings to within one point at 69-68, jumpstarting the 10-2 run. Leading 73-71, the Vikings received a huge defensive effort from junior forward Garrett Levesque blocking a shot by UAA leading scorer Bishop Tosi to preserve the two-point lead. WWU hit three of four free throws down the stretch to seal the three-point victory.

Wilson led the Vikings with a game-high-tying 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting and was 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Tijan Saine backed up his 29-point effort in an earlier game this season vs. UAA with 18 points and eight assists Thursday. Redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley contributed 16 points and junior forward Dajon Lott recorded a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double to spark the Vikings off the bench.

WWU shot 48.1-percent for the game going 25-for-52 from the field and was 21-for-26 from the free throw line.

UAA (10-13, 3-7 GNAC) featured four players scoring in double-digits led by a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double by Bishop Tosi and 15 points by Zach Ibbetson.

Game Notes: WWU was without normal starter Louis Grante-Halliday for the second consecutive game who suffered an ankle injury last week … WWU extended its winning streak to five consecutive games … Will Wilson made 23 consecutive free throws prior to missing his final FT attempt late in the second half … Wilson recorded his seventh 20-point game of the season … Tijan Saine has recorded 17 assists over the last two games.

The Vikings (13-7, 5-5 GNAC) remains on the road facing Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 2:15 pm AKT/3:15 pm PT. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/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 2024-25 season:

WWU and UAA split the regular-season series with each team winning on the road. The Vikings won 76-73 Thursday in Anchorage and UAA won 71-67 in another gith game on January 4 in Carver Gym. The last three games in the series have been decided by a combined nine points. WWU leads the all-time series 29-21 and is 8-4 in the last 12 meetings vs. the Seawolves.

Here is a look at the 2024-25 GNAC Men's Basketball standings and overall records through Thursday's action. Updated standings and conference statistics can be viewed online at GNACSports.com. The top six teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the GNAC Championships held March 6-8 in Lacey:

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2024-25 season following the three-point road win at UAA:

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 13 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 six years (and seven of 11) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is amongst the top 20 winningest Division II programs with its 1,573 all-time victories.