No. 11 Cal Baptist knocked off the UAA men's basketball team 79-68 Saturday in Anaheim, California, at the Division II Tip-Off Classic.
Junior Suki Wiggs, a Division I Idaho transfer, led the Seawolves (1-1) with a game-high 34 points in the loss. The 6-foot-4 guard also recorded four steals and went 12 of 14 from the line in his second game in a UAA jersey.
Corey Hammell, a 6-6 forward, added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Seawolves. The transfer from Santa Rosa Junior College was the only other UAA player to score in double figures.
Cal Baptist (2-0) scored the first six points of the game and never let go of the lead. The Lancers, who made a run to the Sweet 16 last season, led by 10 at halftime and maintained the lead through the second half.
Cal Baptist found itself up by 20 points with 15 minutes left in the game before Sjur Berg's layup started a UAA comeback. The Seawolves scored nine straight to get back within 11 until Gelaun Wheelwright made a layup that got Cal Baptist back on track.
Wheelwright, a 6-2 guard, led the Lancers with 18 points, going 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. Jordan Giusti, Michael Smith and Jordan Heading also scored in double figures for Cal Baptist.
The Lancers were sharp from 3-point land in the win, nailing 13 of 28 from beyond the arc for a 46.4 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
UAA had 15 turnovers in the loss. The Seawolves have turned the ball over 30 times through the first two games of the season.
UAA has been playing without starting guard Brian McGill, the leading returner and a preseason all-conference pick, who won't play the first half of the season for academic reasons. He becomes eligible to return to the court for the start of the spring semester in January.
UAA finishes its season-opening trip with a showdown against defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament champion Colorado-Colorado Springs (0-2) at 3 p.m Sunday in Carson, California.