Falcons Overcome Slow Start to Turn Back Australians, 91-85, in Men's Basketball Exhibition
November 6, 2004

SEATTLE (Nov. 6) ­ Jason Chivers pumped in 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Seattle Pacific University overcame a slow start to turn back the Australia Institute of Sport 91-85 in a preseason men's basketball game at Brougham Pavilion Saturday.

Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower)added 18 points and Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-2, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) 13 for the Falcons, who hit 10 3-pointers.

The Falcons trailed by 11 early but went on a 26-12 run over the final 12 minutes to take a 44-41 lead at intermission. Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca.) had eight points during the spree, which was punctuated by by Tony Binetti's trey with 16 seconds left in the half.

SPU maintained that momentum in the first nine minutes of the second half. The gap widened to 21 points when Jeff Knudson (Jr., 6-7, Mukilteo, Wa./Kamiak) hit a pair of free throws to make it 71-50 with 11:45 to go.

AIS, comprised of Australia's top 16-18-year-olds, had reeled off 10 unanswered points to go in front 29-18. Most of the damage was done inside. Aron Baynes came off the bench for six points, four coming on dunks and another on a short-range jumper.

The Aussies made a desperate rally in the final three minutes, going on a run of nine straight points against the SPU reserves to make it close.

Chivers was 9-18 from the field and also had two blocked shots. The falcons shot 45 percent from the floor (30-67) and 21-25 at the foul line.

Brad Hill topped the Australians with 13 points while coming off the bench.

The Falcons play their final preseason exhibition next Saturday night at Nevada. The regular season opens Nov. 19 at Washington.

SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY 91, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT 85
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT Hill,Brad 6-8 0-0 13; Kersten,Ryan 3-6 5-6 11; Jawai,Nathan 3-9 4-5 10; Dowdell,Jeff 3-6 3-6 9; Gibson,Adam 3-8 2-2 8; Baynes,Aron 4-6 0-0 8; Mills,Patrick 2-2 2-4 6; Jackson,Daniel 2-3 2-4 6; Weigh,Stephen 2-4 1-1 5; Opacic,Alex 1-2 2-3 5; Garlepp,Tom 0-2 2-2 2; Allen,Ben 0-7 2-4 2. Totals 29-63 25-37 85.
SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY Chivers,Jason 9-18 3-3 21; Bremerman,Dustin 7-12 3-4 18; Lee,Jordan 4-8 2-2 13; Birkle,Matt 3-5 2-4 9; Binetti,Tony 2-5 2-2 8; Knudson,Jeff 2-4 2-2 8; Bushmaker,Mike 1-3 2-2 4; Williams,Chad 1-6 1-2 4; Matzen,Drew 1-4 2-2 4; Steele,Ralph 0-2 2-2 2; Gabelein,Tim 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-67 21-25 91.
Halftime-SPU 44, AIS 41. 3-point goals-AIS 2-7 (Hill,Brad 1-1; Opacic,Alex 1-1; Gibson,Adam 0-1; Weigh,Stephen 0-2; Garlepp,Tom 0-1; Allen,Ben 0-1), SPU 10-26 (Lee,Jordan 3-6; Binetti,Tony 2-3;Knudson,Jeff 2-4; Williams,Chad 1-3; Birkle,Matt 1-2; Bremerman,Dustin 1-5; Steele,Ralph 0-1; Matzen,Drew 0-1; Bushmaker,Mike 0-1). Fouled out--AIS-Hill,Brad, SPU-Binetti,Tony. Rebounds-AIS 43 (Allen,Ben 9), SPU 37 (Chivers,Jason 9). Assists-AIS 13 (Gibson,Adam 6), SPU 21 (Williams,Chad 5). Total fouls-AIS 28, SPU 29. A-250