Falcons Men End Road String on Down Note to Washburn
December 20, 2003

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 20) -- Unbeaten Washburn (Ks.) bolted to a big lead early and held on to hand Seattle Pacific University its second straight men's basketball defeat, 81-69, in the final round of the High Desert Classic at McDermott Center Saturday afternoon.

It was the seventh straight road game for the Falcons (4-5), who got 18 points apiece from center Jason Chivers (Jr., 6-8, Los Angeles) and guard Jordan Lee (Jr., 6-2, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian). Chivers, with his fifth consecutive double double, also corralled 10 rebounds and blocked three shots.

The Ichabods (8-0) never trailed after reeling off 17 unanswered points late in the first half for a 33-20 advantage. The bulge grew to 21 points early in the second half before SPU rallied. One of Lee's four three-pointers brought the Falcons within 58-51 with 7:49 to play but they got no closer.

Jeremy Cunningham, a 6-foot senior, topped five Washburn players in double figures with 17 points. The Ichabods controlled the boards 42-31 and shot 52 percent from the field. Seattle Pacific shot 31 percent in the opening half and just 38 percent overall.

Three treys in the first 10 minutes put SPU on top 20-16 before Washburn's quick three-guard lineup turned the tide. Ten points on the 17-0 run came from transition or outright fast breaks. The Ichabods led 41-27 at the break and opened the second period with a 9-2 run for a 50-29 lead.

Twelve straight points by the Falcons brought them back into contention. Chivers made 5-6 field goals and scored 13 of his points in the second half. Dustin Bremerman (Fr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) , coming off a season-high 20 points, finished with just four points on 2-8 shooting.

SPU, which went 3-4 during the seven road games, resumes play Dec. 29-30 when it hosts the Oak Harbor Freight Lines Holiday Classic. The Falcons face Alderson-Broaddus (WV) in the first round.

SEATTLE PACIFIC -- Bushmaker 1-4 0-1 2, Bremerman 2-8 0-0 4, Chivers 6-11 6-8 18, Lee 6-12 2-4 18, Binetti 1-5 0-0 2, Steele 2-8 1-2 5, Knudson 2-6 4-6 10, Beede 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 1-2 2-2 5, Matzen 0-1 0-0 0, Cohen 1-1 3-4 5. Totals 22-58 18-27 69.

WASHBURN -- Douglas 3-10 5-6 11, Meitner 1-1 1-1 3, Cunningham 6-8 5-6 17, Mims 4-7 5-6 13, Head 3-4 3-4 10, Jenkins 4-7 0-0 9, Fisher 0-0 1-4 1, Tinsley 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 0-6 0-0 0, Bonner 1-2 0-0 2, Robbins 6-10 1-2 13, Kinney 0-0 0-0 0, Snyder 0-0 0-0 0, Manthe 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 29-56 21-29 81.

Halftime--WU 41, SPU 27. 3-Point goals-SPU 7-23 (Lee 4-8, Knudson 2-5, Williams 1-2, Bremerman 0-5, Binetti 0-2, Bushmaker 0-1), WU 2-8 (Jenkins 1-1, Head 1-2, Brown 0-3, Mims 0-2). Rebounds-SPU 31 (Chivers 10), WU 42 (Robbins 7). Assists-SPU 14 (Binetti 4), WU 19 (Cunningham 5). Total fouls-SPU 26, WU 22. Fouled out-Knudson.