Effort wasn’t an issue Friday night for the UAA men’s basketball team.

Execution was.

The Newberry Wolves of South Carolina ran their stuff better and that made the difference in a 62-55 victory over the Seawolves at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Newberry had it working on 22-of-41 shooting (54%) while UAA struggled on 21-of-70 shooting (30%) as there seemed to be a lid on the basket for the Alaskans, who had good looks but failed to cash in.

Trailing 52-42 with six minutes left, the Seawolves twice pulled within a single possession at 56-53 and 58-55 before Newberry responded in the paint or at the free-throw line.

Drake Downs, a 6-foot-7 high flyer, scored 19 points and threw down a thunderous two-handed jam with 50 seconds left to put Newberry ahead 58-53. UAA had a bad switch on defense, clearing an open path for Downs to drop the hammer.

In the final 20 seconds, Newberry hit four straight free throws to help the Wolves outscore UAA 13-7 from the charity stripe.

The Seawolves (4-6) played hard and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds. However, they scored only six second-chance points and had too many breakdowns defensively, especially in the post, where Newberry made a living in the second half. The Wolves led 26-25 at the break and created separation down the stretch, extending their lead to as many as 10.

Anchorage’s Bishop Tosi led UAA in scoring with 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting while Tyler Burraston (Draper, Utah) netted 11 – all coming in the first half. Sean Evans (Parker, Colo.) added nine points and four assists to equal Burraston for team-high honors.

Tosi, a former all-star standout out of Bartlett High, pumped in 10 of his team’s 30 points in the second half as he provided a spark down low. The 6-foot-6 junior forward scored with his back to the basket and on dribble drives.

Tosi and Evans scored UAA’s final 10 points, with Evans’ two free throws getting the Alaskans within 56-53 and Tosi’s wo free throws getting them as close as 58-55 with 31 seconds left.

Newberry (4-4) is a NCAA Division II team from the South Atlantic Conference. The teams will meet again Saturday night at 5:15.

Newberry 26 36 – 62
UAA 25 30 – 55
NEWBERRY – Downs 8-11 3-4 19, Rivers 2-4 8-8 13, Sheppard 4-6 2-3 11, Lovorn 3-5 0-0 8, Stremlow 1-3 0-0 2, Louissaint 2-3 0-0 4, Robinson 1-3 0-0 3, Cusaac 1-4 0-0 2, Pittman 0-2 0-0 0, Dent 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-41 13-15 62.
UAA – Tosi 5-15 4-4 15, Burraston 4-11 0-0 11, Evans 3-11 2-2 9, Barrientos 2-6 0-0 4, Lentfer 1-4 1-2 3, Herrington 3-7 0-1 6, Ibbetson 2-6 0-0 5, McFadden 1-3 0-0 2, Stines 0-4 0-0 0, Devine 0-1 0-0 0, Kroon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-70 7-9 55.
3-point goals – Newberry 5-11 (Lovorn 2-3, RIvers 1-2, Sheppard 1-3, Robinson 1-3), UAA 6-27 (Burraston 3-9, Tosi 1-3, Evans 1-4, Ibbetson 1-4, Devine 0-1, Herrington 0-2, Stines 0-2, Kroon 0-2). Rebounds – Newberry 39 (Stremlow 8), UAA 30 (Tosi 5, Burraston 5). Assists – Newberry 16 (Stremlow 6), UAA 15 (Burraston 4, Evans 4). Blocked Shots – Newberry 8 (Downs 3), UAA 0. Steals – Newberry 3 (Three with 1), UAA 11 (McFadden 5). Total fouls – Newberry 16, UAA 16. Fouled out – None. A – 858.