ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Corey Neilson's final play in his final game as a Brigham Young-Hawai'i basketball player could go down as the best of his career.

It came in the heart-wrenching closing seconds of a loss in the NCAA Division II West Regional championship game.

But it was a winning move, nonetheless.

University of Alaska Anchorage senior McCade Olsen's two free throws with 2.2 seconds left yesterday capped the Seawolves' 73-67 win over BYU-Hawai'i, and stamped the home team's ticket to the Elite Eight later this month in Springfield, Mass.

After Olsen's two free throws, Neilson, a senior from Gresham, Ore., took the inbounds pass near the paint area. Instead of dribbling out the remaining ticks of his college career or standing still, he tucked the ball against his side under his left elbow and applauded fourth-ranked nationally and tournament top seed Alaska Anchorage and the capacity crowd of 1,160 crammed into every inch of the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

"It was a fun atmosphere," an emotional Neilson said. "And this is a classy place. Everyone wished us well afterwards.

"But part of the (clapping) was for our crowd back home. They gathered in our gym to watch us.

"It's tough to not bring this win back to them."

Reportedly, some 1,500 BYU-Hawai'i fans watched a video feed of the game live at the Cannon Activities Center. The cameras might not have picked up Neilson's honorable gesture. But it wasn't lost on Alaska Anchorage coaches and players.

"(BYU-Hawai'i coach) Ken Wagner and (assistant) Brandyn Akana are good acquaintances of mine and I was very happy they got to the regional final," said Alaska Anchorage coach Rusty Osborne. "I don't like them enough that I wanted them to win. But I'm glad they played well and it was a good game.

"Corey Neilson is a good kid. He's a coach's son and appreciates big games. If they (had) come out on top, I would have applauded them. I don't know if I would have done it on the court like that, but they would have earned it."

The regional championship fell exactly three months after Alaska Anchorage scored a 95-90 double-overtime win over the Seasiders in La'ie. It appeared extra playing time might be in the offer again when Lucas Alves completed a three-point play with 1:01 left to cut Alaska Anchorage's lead to 69-67.

But Olsen, a 6-foot-8 forward from Riverton, Utah, canned four consecutive free-throw attempts in the final 14.9 seconds to seal the Seawolves' win and the program's second trip to the Elite Eight.

Olsen led a trio of Seawolves double-figure scorers with 18 points. He scored 13 second-half points after foul trouble slowed him in the first half.

Alaska Anchorage improved to 28-5 overall and 18-0 on its campus floor. Alves, BYU-Hawai'i's sophomore stud, scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. It's clear he'll be Wagner's main man as the Seasiders look to build on the success of their 20-8 season.

BYU-Hawai'i, the regional tournament's seventh seed, won 10 of its final 12 games and knocked off the second and third seeds to reach the title tilt.

Senior Paul Peterson scored 12 points and joined Alves on the all-tournament team. Neilson added seven points.

"The seniors led the way in teaching the others how to have a successful season," said Wagner, who coached his 17th season. "Because of them, we should even be better next year."