Steele Powers Late Comeback As Falcons Men Win 5th Straight
February 28, 2004

SEATTLE (Feb. 28) – Ralph Steele poured in a season-high 27 points and led a late surge as Seattle Pacififc University came from 11 points down in the final seven minutes to win its fifth straight, 98-93 over Western Washington in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball game at Brougham Pavilion Saturday night.

The Falcons (10-6, 14-11) also got 24 points and 14 rebounds from Jason Chivers (Jr., 6-8, Los Angles) to move into a third-place tie with the Vikings (10-6, 17-8) in the GNAC standings with one week remaining. SPU still has an outside chance of making the NCAA Division II tournament.

Steele (Jr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al.) scored 15 of his points in the comeback, which started after Western had gone in front 87-77 with 5:23 left. The nation’s No. 2 free-throw shooter, Steele made his first 11 foul shots before missing a meaningless try with 1 second left. He gave Seattle Pacific the lead for good at 93-90, taking a feed from Chivers for a three-pointer from the top of the key with 30 seconds left.

Ryan Diggs misfired on a 21 footer on the Vikings’ next possession. Chivers grabbed the rebound and Steele was fouled. Following another WWU miss, Chivers sank two more at the line for a 97-90 advantage. In all the Falcons converted 27 of 31 free throws. Steele was 7-9 from the floor.

Grant Dykstra paced the visitors with 22 points and Craig Roosendaal added 18. Grant Assink gave Western its largest lead at 86-75 on a trey with 6:40 remaining. The Vikings then went 6:37 before getting another field goal.

Seattle Pacific’s shooting, both from the field (32-59) and foul line, overshadowed 24 turnovers–15 coming as a result of WWU steals. Dykstra finished with seven thefts, seven assists and six rebounds. The Vikings shot 46 percent (35-77) but were just 13-20 at the line and were out-rebounded 41-37.

The Falcons overcame 14 first-half turnovers by shooting 49 percent from the field. Chivers, Jordan Lee (Jr., 6-2, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) and Steele each scored 12 points, with Lee’s trey from a fast break giving SPU a 40-34 lead with 4:50 to go. Lee had 19 points.

But the Vikings, who stole the ball eight times and scored 21 points off the turnovers, moved back in front by the break. Dykstra keyed a 14-7 burst which pushed the visitors ahead, 48-47.

It’s the first five-game win streak in over two years. SPU concludes the regular season by hosting Alaska Fairbanks Thursday and Alaska Anchorage Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 98, WESTERN WASHINGTON 93

WESTERN WASHINGTON (16-9, 10-6 GNAC) Dykstra,Grant 9-18 2-3 22; Roosendaal,Craig 5-11 5-6 18; Diggs,Ryan 7-16 2-2 17; Assink,Grant 5-9 1-2 13; Jackson,Kyle 4-10 0-2 10; Picou,Rod 2-4 1-2 5; Dickason,Stefan 1-3 2-3 4; Henne,Lukas 1-3 0-0 2; Visser,Darrell 1-1 0-0 2; Laurence,James 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 35-77 13-20 93.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (14-11, 10-6 GNAC) Steele,Ralph 7-9 11-12 27; Chivers,Jason 7-16 10-10 24; Lee,Jordan 7-12 2-2 19; Bremerman,Dustin 4-6 0-0 8; Binetti,Tony 3-8 0-2 7; Knudson,Jeff 1-4 2-2 5; Bushmaker,Mike 2-3 0-0 4; Williams,Chad 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 32-59 27-31 98.

Halftime: Western Washington 48, Seattle Pacific 47. 3-point goals-Western Washington 10-22 (Roosendaal,Craig 3-5; Jackson,Kyle 2-5; Assink,Grant 2-3; Dykstra,Grant 2-4; Diggs,Ryan 1-5), Seattle Pacific 7-12 (Lee,Jordan 3-4; Steele,Ralph 2-2; Knudson,Jeff 1-2; Binetti,Tony 1-2; Bremerman,Dustin 0-2). Fouled out--Western Washington-Roosendaal,Craig; Diggs,Ryan, Seattle Pacific-None. Rebounds-Western Washington 37 (Roosendaal,Craig 7), Seattle Pacific 41 (Chivers,Jason 14). Assists-Western Washington 22 (Dykstra,Grant 7), Seattle Pacific 20 (Chivers,Jason 4; Binetti,Tony 4). Total fouls-Western Washington 26, Seattle Pacific 21. A-1550