Falcons Men Win Eighth Straight, Combine With Puget Sound for Scoring Record
December 30, 2004

SEATTLE (Dec. 30) ­ Ralph Steele came of the bench for 17 second-half points and Jordan Lee poured in a total of 26 to spur Seattle Pacific University to its eighth win in a row, 122-111 over Puget Sound in the final game of the Oak Harbor Freight Lines Holiday Classic Thursday night at Brougham Pavilion.

The two teams combined for an SPU scoring record of 233 points and the Falcons' (10-2) total tied their third-highest all-time.

Jeremy Cross of Puget Sound (6-2), ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division III, paced all players with 31 points.

Steele (Sr., 6-2, No. Birmingham, Al.) sank all 11 of his free throws and Seattle Pacific staved off any Logger rally by hitting 28 of 32 at the line, including 15-17 in the final six minutes. SPU shot 62 percent from the field and scored 68 points in the final 20 minutes, pulling away from a halftime tie.

Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) connected on two treys and Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) added another during a pivotal 15-4 run early in the second half for a 74-63 lead. Puget Sound got no closer than eight the rest of the way and SPU led by as much as 16 with under nine minutes left.

Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca.) added 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots for SPU, which made 59 percent of its shots overall and 10-19 on three-pointers. Lee was 6-11 outside the arc.

Lee, Bremerman and Chivers were joined on the all-tournament team by Seattle University's Jeff McDaniel and Tyrone Deacon of Puget Sound.

Six SPU players finished in double figures and its 36 assists tied a team mark. The old record for combined points was 222 set against Montana State Billings in 1997.

At halftime the two teams were tied at 54. Puget Sound's press troubled the Falcons early and enabled the Loggers to mount an early nine-point lead. Two quick steals were converted into layups by Zack McVey and Cross with an 11-second span for a 32-23 advantage.

Despite Tony Binetti, Bremerman and Chivers being benched with foul trouble, SPU came on strong toward the end of the first period. Matt Birkle (So., 6-2, Anacortes, Wa.) sparked a 14-2 run, with Birkle supplying six points and assists on two other buckets for a 52-45 lead. Birkle finished with a season-high 16 points in 11 minutes.

SPU resumes Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Jan. 6 at Central Washington.

In the first game of the day Wisconsin Parkside beat Seattle University 86-73 as Tyrone Deacon scored nine of his 21 points in the final three minutes.

PUGET SOUND (6-2) Cross, Jeremy 10-17 9-9 31; Shelton, Aubrey 7-11 0-0 15; Walker, Josh 4-5 5-5 15; Curtiss, Chase 5-15 2-3 15; O'Donnell, Chris 5-5 2-4 13; McVey, Zack 5-9 1-2 11; Beede, Jordan 2-3 2-2 7; DeLong, Ryan 1-6 2-2 4; Wood, Weston 0-1 0-0 0; Buehler, Vincent 0-0 0-0 0; Marsh, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-73 23-27 111.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-2) Lee,Jordan 8-15 4-5 26; Steele,Ralph 4-8 11-11 19; Chivers,Jason 9-14 0-1 18; Bremerman,Dustin 7-11 2-2 17; Birkle,Matt 5-6 6-8 16; Binetti,Tony 4-4 0-0 10; Williams,Chad 3-5 1-1 7; Matzen,Drew 0-5 4-4 4; Knudson,Jeff 1-1 0-0 3; Bushmaker,Mike 1-2 0-0 2; Yuen,Austin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 42-71 28-32 122.
Halftime-Seattle Pacific 54, Puget Sound 54. 3-point goals-Puget Sound 10-27 (Curtiss, Chase 3-9; Cross, Jeremy 2-5; Walker, Josh 2-3; O'Donnell, Chris 1-1; Shelton, Aubrey 1-3; Beede, Jordan 1-2; Marsh, Taylor 0-1; DeLong, Ryan 0-3), Seattle Pacific 10-19 (Lee,Jordan 6-11; Binetti,Tony 2-2; Bremerman,Dustin 1-3; Knudson,Jeff 1-1; Steele,Ralph 0-2). Fouled out--Puget Sound-Walker, Josh; Curtiss, Chase; DeLong, Ryan, Seattle Pacific-None. Rebounds-Puget Sound 32 (McVey, Zack 6), Seattle Pacific 36 (Williams,Chad 9). Assists-Puget Sound 20 (O'Donnell, Chris 9), Seattle Pacific 36 (Lee,Jordan 7; Binetti,Tony 7). Total fouls-Puget Sound 31, Seattle Pacific 24. A-837