ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Coach Steve Kinder's spectacular first year as head man of the Humboldt State basketball team came to an abrupt halt Friday when the Lumberjacks fell to Alaska Anchorage, 76-70 in the first round of the NCAA Division II West Region Championships.

Boxscore

Randy Hunter scored 22 points for Humboldt State, leading a second-half charge that brought the Jacks within four points after they had trailed by as many as 18 early in the period. Senior Brian Morris scored 15 points in his final game for HSU, and four-year player and fellow senior Ernie Spada added eight.

Coming into the tournament as the No. 3 seed, the Jacks fell to a hot-shooting UAA squad that had earned the No. 6 seed. Kinder's Jacks finished the season with a 26-4 overall record while Alaska Anchorage improves to 24-9 heading into Saturday's semifinal round.

"Give Alaska Anchorage credit," Kinder said, following his team's dismal 4-of-26 effort from 3-point range. "They did a good job contesting our shots. They're a good shooting, quality defensive, well-coached team."

Known for their 3-point accuracy during the regular season, the Seawolves finished 5-for-12 from beyond the arc. Most accurate was guard Mario Gill, who was 3-4 from long range and 5-of-7 overall to lead his team with 20 points.

Humboldt State's 15 percent effort from beyond the arc started early after Spada had hit his first two long range chances.. The Lumberjacks were much better at the free throw line, converting 24 of 30 attempts for an 80 percent mark, But UAA was even better, making 29 of 34 chances for 85 percent accuracy.

Alaska Anchorage  took control early in the game, forging an 8-point lead when Gill hit a 3-pointer with 7 minutes, 32 minutes remaining in the first half. They stretched the advantage to 11 points before Humboldt State gained a measure of momentum heading into halftime, four free throws by Kyle Baxter trimming it to 34-27 at the break.

The Seawolves opened the second half iwith 13-2 run, holding Humboldt State scoreless for more the first five minutes. A pair of free throws by Casey Robinson put UAA up 47-29 with 13:16 on the clock.

Humboldt State stayed within striking distance for the next seven minutes, finally reducing the lead to single digits on Brandon Sperling's layup with 4:17 remaining. UAA built the lead back to 10 points with a pair of Gill free throws, moving the Seawolves up 72-62 with only 40 seconds remaining.

The Lumberjacks made their final surge when Scott Clark and Morris made 3-pointers to bring the Jacks within four at 74-70. But Brandon Walker derailed the Jacks' hopes by making two free throws that accounted for the final margin of victory.

Along with his 22 points, Hunter contributed a team-high eight rebounds for Humboldt State. Joining him in double-digit scoring were Morris, with 15 points, and Sperling, with 10.

Walker added 11 points for UAA, Lonnie Ridgeway and Taylor Rohde each chipping in 10 points. Ridgeway also paced his team in rebounding with seven, helping the Seawolves to a 35-31 edge on the boards.

"My hats off to our team for the season they've had," Kinder said. "Right now they are suffering, but when given time they can reflect on all they've accomplished. But none of our players wanted it to end this way."