GAME NOTES: The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves will attempt to salvage the weekend when they challenge the Rice Owls as part of the Great Alaska Shootout at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Rice dropped its third straight game and second in this tournament on Friday, coming up just short against Washington State, 76-74. The Owls were defeated in overtime by Mercer on Thursday, 77-71. They are now 1-4 overall, with a three-game homestand next on the schedule.

This tournament hasn't technically had any affect on UAA's record, as the games are considered exhibitions for the Division II program, but two losses certainly wasn't what the Seawolves were hoping for. They were just defeated on Friday by Missouri State (55-51), following a 71-62 setback against Pacific.

This bout marks the first-ever meeting between the Owls and Seawolves.

Rice trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half against Washington State, but it sliced that down to two points in the final seconds. However, DaVonte Lacy kept the Owls from completing the comeback, sinking two free throws for the Cougars, which made Max Guercy's last-second layup irrelevant. Seth Gearhart scored 22 points to lead four players in double figures for the losing side.

As a team, Rice is averaging a meager 66.4 points per game, while shooting just a shade below 40 percent from the floor. Those types of offensive numbers have not been helpful considering the Owls are letting up 70.6 points per game on 44.7 percent shooting to their opponents. Gearhart (14.8 ppg) does most of the scoring for the team, but Marcus Jackson (13.4 ppg, 3.6 apg) plays with the ball in his hands more often. However, Jackson is shooting a paltry 33.9 percent from the floor this season. Jackson had 14 points to go with five assists against Washington State, but he needed 14 shots to get there. Bishop Mency (8.2 ppg) has provided a spark off the bench, but he is shooting poorly as well (.394).

For a team averaging more than 80 points per game, UAA did not appear to be as offensively gifted on Friday. The Seawolves only made 29.8 percent of their attempts from the floor, although they did outscore Missouri State from beyond the arc (24-6). That didn't matter all that much considering they were outscored by a healthy margin in the paint (32-14). Travis Thompson netted 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting in the losing effort.

Brian McGill (17.5 ppg) is normally the top offensive option for the Seawolves but inconsistent shooting kept him to 12 points against Missouri State. He made only 4 of his 10 field goal tries in the losing effort, although he did get 2-of-3 shots from beyond the arc to fall. Thompson (14.5 ppg) is the second member of the team averaging in double figures, with Kalidou Diouf (10.8 ppg) part of that group as well.

Although they have not been able to complete the job, the Owls have been close to achieving victory twice this weekend. Against the Seawolves, they may just be strong enough to end the weekend on a high note.