There's always tension when intrastate rivals meet at one of the team's home courts. The feelings of animosity double when the other team is your only intrastate rival.

"Rivalries are always fun," said senior forward Andrew Smith. "I don't want to say the word 'hatred,' but that's probably the best word for it."

It was indeed a physical game, with players on both teams getting knocked to the court. But after 40 anxious minutes and 11 lead changes, UAA had the long drive home to Anchorage to think about the game they lost last Saturday by only three points to a tenacious Nanook team.

As a team, one of our strengths is our toughness," said head coach Frank Ostanik. "In the end, that was what won us the game." The win is a milestone for Smith, Justin Bourne and Ivan Miskovich, who are now the only UAF senior class to post a winning record against UAA.

Four Nanooks scored in double figures in Saturday's contest, starting with Chris Jordan, who had 18 points, including two treys, along with six turnovers. Point guard Kenny Barker played a superb game, scoring 16 with only one turnover while running the 'Nook offense.

"Kenny Barker is a great player, and it's time people realized that," Ostanik said. Both Jordan and Barker were 2 for 5 from behind the arc, and made the crucial long three-pointers that helped propel the team over the Seawolves.

Smith was his usual self, working the inside game on both sides of the court. He wound up with 14 points and tacked on another two blocks to bring his career record high to 94.

Forward Justin Bourne had another excellent all-around game, shooting 4 for 6 both from the field and the charity stripe for a total of 12 points in his 39 minutes on the court, along with seven assists, two blocks, a steal and two turnovers. Fairbanks native Mike Titus also scored eight points in the match along with one assist and a steal.

UAA came into the game as one of the nation's leading three-point shooting teams at 45.8 percent, but finished shooting just 21.1 percent from beyond the arc. "We just didn't let them shoot threes," said Barker.

Forward Eric Draper scored all four of the Seawolves' three pointers and scored the second-most points for Anchorage with 12 points in the losing effort. Behemoth Joe Davis, a 6-foot-7, hefty forward for UAA led all players with 22 points, along with two blocks.

UAA had almost double UAF's rebound total, 39-22, and scored 21 second-chance points, compared to UAF's nine. However, UAF scored only two points less in the paint, and made 24 off of the Seawolves' 15 turnovers.

This is the first game the 'Nooks have won all season when being

out-rebounded.

"I feel as good as I've ever felt as a coach," Ostanik said. "My hat's off to our guys. They were willing to work hard and they were prepared."

UAF improves to 13-6 overall and 6-3 in the GNAC while UAA falls to 13-8 overall and 4-5 in the GNAC. The Nanooks are currently in third place in conference play and travel to Washington Feb. 2 to play Seattle University, whom they defeated 94-92 in an overtime win Jan. 7 at the Patty Center.