Sawyer Storms dunks on his fast break. Photo by Justin Cox.
The Seawolves delivered a 76-66 win over the Central Washington University Wildcats on Feb. 4 at the Alaska Airlines Center. Two dunks by Sawyer Storms helped the team gain momentum and secure the victory.
The Seawolves played with intensity from the tip off, with Lachlan Viney driving the paint and scoring a layup only 23 seconds into the game.
After playing tight defense on the Wildcats, AJ Garrity scored a layup of his own, and a minute later Tyson Gilbert drilled a three-pointer to put the Seawolves up 7-0.
The Wildcats put themselves on the scoreboard with two free throws after a foul by Garrity. But the Seawolves responded with a layup by Viney and a three-pointer from Dathan Satchell.
With six minutes left in the first half, the Wildcats passed the ball around and tried to set up a play. Storms anticipated the pass and snuck his way in for a steal.
He drove up the court with CWU players at his heels. He didn’t let this stop him, though. Instead, he pushed the pace and delivered a powerful dunk.
The crowd broke into celebration, cheering at the top of their lungs for the team. The Wildcats called a timeout to collect themselves, and the crowd continued to cheer until the ball was back in play.
CWU’s timeout appeared to have paid off, because they began sinking all their shots. With 10 minutes until halftime, they took their first lead of the game 17-16.
The Wildcats extended their lead with a fast break layup. The Seawolves didn’t give up, though. Instead, Viney drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 19.
CWU quickly took the lead back with another layup. But then history repeated itself.
The Wildcats set up another play that Storms ruined. He stole the ball, drove the court, and slammed down another dunk to tie the game at 21.
Once again, the crowd erupted in cheers, and this time, everyone jumped onto their feet. Even the players cheered as they sprinted down the court to play defense.
Storms’ second dunk of the night helped the Seawolves build the momentum they needed. After the dunk, they began to make all their shots. By the end of the first half, they had developed a 40-31 lead.
The Seawolves continued to drill their shots in the second half. Storms drilled a jumper, followed by three-pointers from Gilbert and Viney. Viney then sank both his free throws after being fouled.
In just over a minute, Gilbert, Satchell and Jaedon Bradley each drilled a three-pointer to extend UAA’s lead to 62-40.
With nine minutes left in the game, the Wildcats were desperate to come back. A foul by Garrity allowed them to get back their momentum. They began to drill their shots.
CWU fought their way to a 10-point deficit, but it was too late. The lead the Seawolves created earlier in the game was too big to conquer, and UAA won the game 76-66.
Viney led the Seawolves with 21 points and six assists. Gilbert and Storms both finished the game with 13 points, and Storms also dominated with seven rebounds.
The next Seawolf home games are on Feb. 16 against Saint Martin's University at 5:15 p.m. and Feb. 18 against Western Oregon University at 7:30 p.m. Visit GoSeawolves.com for live links and stats.
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