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March 5, 2009

Box Score

SEATTLE, Wash. - Guard Morris Anderson (Jr., Federal Way) scored a game-high 21 points, fed David Brittinen (Sr., Hoquiam) for the go-ahead layin with 13.7 seconds left, then blocked a shot at the buzzer to preserve the triumph as Western Washington University defeated Seattle Pacific University, 76-75, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game Thursday at Royal Brougham Pavilion.

Western, ranked No.5 in the NCAA Division II West Region, improved to 20-5 overall and remained tied for first with arch-rival Central Washington in the GNAC at 12-3. The Vikings host the Wildcats on Saturday (7 p.m.) with the GNAC title on the line and with it an automatic berth in the West Regional.

Seattle Pacific, No.6 in the West Region, fell to 18-9 overall and finished 11-5 in GNAC play. Center Rafael Moreira had 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Falcons, who suffered just their second loss in 11 home games this season.

Trailing by eight points, 74-66, with two minutes to play, the Vikings hit 4-of-6 free throws to get within four, then a driving layup by Ira Graham (Sr., Fontana, CA) cut the margin to two, 74-72, with 37 seconds to go.

Colby Vranes made a free throw to put the Falcons up by three, but Anderson immediately drove coast-to-coast for a layin, pulling Western to within a point, 75-74, with 24.7 seconds to play.

Moreira then missed two free throws, and Anderson drove the lane to feed Brittinen for the decisive points. Seattle Pacific had the final possession. Guard Brandon Larrieu, who had 15 points, missed short from the foul line with three seconds left. Adam Wardell grabbed the rebound and attempted a reverse layin, but Anderson flew in to block the shot as time expired.

The game was a see-saw battle with numerous runs of seven-to-10 straight points for both teams, but the Falcons seemed to have made the decisive run after Graham had given Western a 66-63 lead on a 3-pointer with 6:04 to play.

From that point, Seattle Pacific ran off 11 straight points to take a 74-66 lead. Casey Reed capped the run with a bank shot in the lane with 2:19 left, but it was the Falcons' last field goal of the game.

Graham had 19 points for Western, which shot 29-of-56 (51.8 percent) from the field. He had five points in the final two seconds of the first half, hitting two free throws and a 3-pointer.

Reed added 14 points for the Falcons, who had a 38-28 rebounding edge. Seattle Pacific did most of its damage in the paint, not getting a basket from outside the key until Jeff Downs hit a 3-pointer with 12 minutes left. Of SPU's 16 first-half field goals, 13 were layins, with the exception being two post-ups and a dunk by Moreira.

It was 700th career game for Western coach Brad Jackson, who is in his 24th season at Western. Jackson, who has a career record of 444-256, was an assistant at Seattle Pacific in the late 1970s.

The Falcons, who had won the last seven meetings, including an 86-84 triumph at Bellingham on Jan. 17, were without leading scorer Chris Banchero, who is likely out for the season with a broken wrist.

Western's 20-win season is its 12th overall and the first in three years.

The Vikings are looking for their first outright GNAC title after sharing the championship in 2002 and 2005.

Vikings nip SPU; title match next

In a game with 13 lead changes, the last one was especially unlucky for the Seattle Pacific men's basketball team. Leading by eight points...

By Terry Wood

Special to The Seattle Times

In a game with 13 lead changes, the last one was especially unlucky for the Seattle Pacific men's basketball team.

Leading by eight points with less than two minutes to play, the Falcons watched that lead, along with their chance to claim a portion of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, slip away. Western Washington rallied for a 76-75 win over SPU Thursday night in front of 1,067 at Brougham Pavilion.

The Vikings (20-5 overall, 12-3 GNAC) will next host Central Washington (18-5, 12-3), a winner Thursday night over Montana State-Billings, Saturday night in a showdown for the GNAC crown.

SPU ends its regular season at 18-9 and 11-5. The Falcons now await Sunday's announcement of the eight West Region teams invited to the NCAA Division II tournament. The Falcons started the night ranked sixth in the region.

A disconsolate coach Jeff Hironaka does not like SPU's chances to earn a fifth straight tournament invitation. "We're a longshot to make it," he said.

The Falcons missed five free throws in the final two minutes as Western closed the game on a 10-1 run, punctuated by a bank shot in the paint by David Brittinen with 14 seconds left.

In the closing seconds at the other end, Brandon Larrieu missed a jumper that Adam Wardell retrieved, but his hasty baseline jumper was swatted away by Morris Anderson.

"We choked," Hironaka said bluntly. "We had six free throws. You hit them, you win. You miss them, you lose."

Colby Vranes made his second of two free throws with 30.2 seconds remaining to put Seattle Pacific ahead 75-72, but Anderson scored on a fast-break layup five seconds later.

Rafael Moreira, who led the Falcons with 20 points and 12 rebounds, could not convert two free throws with 23.7 seconds left, leading to Brittinen's winning bucket.

Western wiped out a 34-31 SPU lead by ending the first half on a 9-0 run, scoring five points in the last 1.2 seconds. Ira Graham sank two free throws, then picked off Seattle Pacific's inbounds pass and launched a buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave the Vikings a 40-34 lead at the half.

SPU played its second game without leading scorer Chris Banchero. The 6-foot-1 sophomore guard from O'Dea, out with a wrist injury, averaged 15.7 points in 25 games.