Complete Box Score

ARCATA, Ca. (Jan. 27) -- Aaron Bellessa's rebound layup with 3 seconds remaining lifted Seattle Pacific University to a 77-76 victory over 25th-ranked Humboldt State after the Falcons had lost both their coach and one of their top players in a Pacific West Conference game for second place in the West Division Saturday night.

Trailing by one point, Brannon Stone (Jr., 6-9, Oak Harbor, Wa.) launched a long 3-point attempt which fell well short, but Bellessa (So., Federal Way, Wa./Decatur) caught the ball and in one motion put it in the basket. It was Bellessa's only two points of the game.

The Lumberjacks (5-4, 14-4) took a timeout but their inbounds pass was stolen by Stone to preserve the SPU (6-3, 13-4) win, its 11th in the last 13 games and 15th straight over Humboldt, dating back to 41 years.

Stone led the Falcons with 16 rebounds and 24 points, 19 of them coming after his team fell in a 12-point hole late in the first period. Center Eric Sandrin (Jr., 6-10, Bothell, Wa./Shorecrest) added 21 points and nine rebounds, but picked-up his fifth foul on a taunting call following a driving dunk with 2 minutes, 34 seconds remaining.

Humboldt State's Austin Nichols led all scorers with 24 points, but just four of them came in the second half. Fred Hooks had 15 points and joined Nichols with 10 boards.

After SPU erased an 8-point Humboldt lead with 10 unanswered points, the second half was played within a 5-point span. John Hubbard (Sr., 6-5, Inglewood, Ca.) rebounded his own miss for a 75-73 lead with 57 seconds to go.

A drive and 3-point play by Mark White put the Luberjacks back in front 76-75 with 31 seconds left.

Seattle Pacific lost coach Ken Bone to an ejection with 4:38 left in the first half. Bone stormed onto the court following a no-call when the Lumberjacks' Greg Cutler, trying to intercept a pass, bulled over Nick Johnson, sending him sprawling into the bleachers.

Humboldt State hit three of the resulting four free throws and, on the subsequent possession capped an 11-0 burst with an 18-footer by Nichols for a 35-23 lead.

The Falcons regrouped under associate head coach Jeff Hironaka shortly before intermission. Stone scored six of the team's final nine points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer which trimmed the deficit to 43-39. Seattle Pacific out-rebounded HSU 50-40, including a 28-12 margin in the second half. The Falcons held the Lumberjacks to 38 percent shooting.

SPU now returns home, where it will play seven of its nine remaining games, beginning Thursday versus Hawaii Pacific.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
Stone 24, Hubbard 6, E. Sandrin 21, Bellessa 2, Johnson 10, Fox 2, Harris 2, Walker 3, Keely 5, Woodard 2, D. Sandrin 0, Cohen 0.

HUMBOLDT STATE
Nichols 24, Hooks 15, Cutler 8, White 8, Gildea 10, robinson 5, Wilber 2, Coleman 0, Kaatz 4, Shannon 0.

Halftime--HSU 43, SPU 39.