Complete Box Score

SEATTLE (Mar. 3) -- Western Washington, riding the red-hot hand of Ryan Kettman, pulled away from Seattle Pacific University to claim the Pacific West Conference crown and perhaps the home court advantage in next week's NCAA West Regional, defeating the defending champion Falcons 89-82 before a near-capacity crowd in Brougham Pavilion Saturday night.

Kettman scored 29 points, hitting 7 of 9 3-pointers, and the 15th-ranked Vikings (16-2, 24-3) took the lead for good with 9 minutes remaining and never relinquished it in posting their 11th straight win. They became only the second team to defeat SPU in a home conference game in the last nine seasons.

John Hubbard (Sr., Inglewood, Ca.) led No. 22 Seattle Pacific (14-4, 21-5) with 18 points while Eric Sandrin (Jr., 6-10, Bothell, Wa./Shorecrest) and Brannon Stone (Jr., 6-7, Oak Harbor, Wa.) each added 16. The Falcons, who had won nine straight, will also make the Division II tournament for the seventh time in the last eight years.

The game featured 20 lead changes in the first 30 minutes, but Western went to the front for good with a 11-4 burst midway through the second period. A.J. Giesa twice put back rebounds for layups as the Vikings took a 78-71 lead with 6:20 left.

The Falcons pulled with 80-78 going into the final 3 minutes before Jacob Stevenson answered with a driving layup. He then preserved the outcome with three free throws in the final 8 seconds.

Seattle Pacific connected on a season-high 14 treys, with Sandrin moving outside to hit 4 of 6. But the Falcons shot just 42 percent (25-60) overall and 37 percent in the second half.. The Vikings out-rebounded SPU 26-17 in the final half and 40-34 for the game. Mike Palm brought down a game-high 11 boards and scored 16 points.

Kettman came out stroking his jumper from the outside, making 6 of his first 7 shots, and Western took an early 7-point lead. Another 6-0 run to begin the second half was wiped out by a 13-6 SPU run. A stone 3-pointer from the top of the key made it 67-64.

Nehemiah Campbell scored Western's next eight points, twice hitting treys from the corners, giving his team a 72-70 advantage.

NCAA Division II tournament pairings and the site of the West Regional will be announced Sunday (Mar. 4). Western Washington had entered the week ranked No. 1 in the region, followed by Cal State San Bernardino and Seattle Pacific. Regional play begins Thursday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
Kettman 29, Diggs 11, Giesa 6, Palm 16, Stevenson 7, Burrell 12, Campbell 8, Stevens 0.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
Stone 16, Hubbard 18, E. Sandrin 16, Johnson 10, Walker 9, Harris 3, Bellessa 3, Keely 2, Woodard 5.

Halftime--WWU 46, SPU 45.