BELLINGHAM (Nov. 30) -- Unable to maintain an early lead and some torrid outside shooting, 18th-ranked Seattle Pacific University dropped its Pacific West Conference men's basketball opener to Western Washington, 99-93, Thursday night at Carver Gym.

The Vikings, who had lost 10 in a row over five years to the Falcons, got 23 points from guard Shelton Diggs, including the first five points of a late 17-4 burst which finally put Western over the top.

John Hubbard (Sr., 6-5, Inglewood, Ca.) of Seattle Pacific (0-1, 2-2) led all scorers with 24 points while center Eric Sandrin (Jr., 6-10, Bothell, Wa./Shorecrest) added 22.

The Falcons,who connected on 57 percent of their field goals in the first period, forged a 15-point lead in the opening six minutes. Five three-pointers, including three by Sandrin, helped put SPU ahead 27-12.

But Western battled back and stayed in contention until Diggs, a 6-2 junior, drained back-to-back baskets to begin the final rally. A trey by Ryan Kettman gave the Vikings (1-0, 3-1) their first lead, 83-81, with 6:52 remaining. After A.J. Giesa scored from17 feet to make it 89-83 with 3:13 to go, SPU could pull no closer than two points.

Jacob Stevenson, who added 21 points, hit four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win. Western was a near-perfect 25-26 at the foul line, making 13 free throws in the second half.

Seattle Pacific finished the game 37-74 from the field but was just 2-10 on treys and 6-12 at the line after intermission. Gene Woodard (So., 6-4, Edmonds, Wa./O'Dea) scored a career-high 10 points off the bench for the Falcons and Nick Johnson (Jr., 6-3, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Ediuson) had 14,12 coming in the first period.

The two teams will meet again in the final regular season game Mar. 3 in Seattle. The Falcons return to non-conference play for the next six games, beginning Saturday at Linfield.

SEATTLE PACIFIC --
Stone 10, Hubbard 24, E. Sandrin 22, Bellessa 4, Johnson 14, Fox 0, Harris 0, Walker 7, Woodard 10, D. Sandrin 2.

WESTERN WASHINGTON --
Stevenson 21, Dennis 11, Palm 2, Taylor 14, Diggs 23, Kettman 5, Burrell 5, Giesa 18, Stevens 0.

Halftime--SPU 51, WWU 47.