Falcon Men Defeat Anchorage, Take Over First Place in GNAC
January 20, 2005

SEATTLE (Jan. 20) ­ Tony Binetti scored a career-high 26 points and Dustin Bremerman added 18 of his 26 in the second half as 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific University took over first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 91-76 win over Alaska Anchorage Thursday night at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (5-1, 13-3) pulled away in the final six minutes to post their eighth straight home victory and pass Alaska Fairbanks in the standings. The Nanooks, who lost at Western Washington, visit the Pavilion Saturday at 3.

Seattle Pacific, which has won 11 of its last 12, held the lead for virtually then entire contest but was unable to shake loose of the Seawolves (2-5, 8-8) until Binetti (Jr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) started an 11-2 spurt, taking a downcourt feed from Jason Chivers for a layup and an 82-71 advantage with 3:50 remaining. Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) followed with his sixth three-pointer on the next possession and later cut inside for a basket during the run, which ended with two Binetti foul shots to make it 91-73.

Binetti made 8 of his 9 field goal attempts and free throws and also passed for six assists. Bremerman, scoring a season high, was 6 of 8 from outside the arc and SPU was 10-20. Chad Williams (Jr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa.) contributed 14 points and matched Chivers with nine rebounds.

Marcus Robinson, returning to the UAA lineup after missing eight games with a fractured hand, paced the visitors with 23 points off the bench. Bryan Freshwater scored 18. The Anchorage starters managed just 35 points. Adam Fitt-Chappell fouled out with more than 12 minutes left.

SPU connected on 56 percent (30-54) of its shots from the floor while UAA made just 31 percent in the second period and 42 percent overall (26-62). The Falcons also had a 38-30 advantage in rebounds.

Early on, the Falcons threatened to blow the game open. Almost single-handedly, Binetti put SPU ahead by 13, scoring 10 points during a 14-2 charge. He drove for two baskets and cast a couple treys, the second making it 24-13.

The Seawolves answered with Robinson, who scored 11 of their next 14 points. Anchorage eventually pulled within two points on three occasions before trailing 45-41 at the break. It stayed with SPU for the first first five minutes of the second half before Bremerman took over, scoring eight points in one span of 56 seconds.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 91, ALASKA-ANCHORAGE 76
ALASKA-ANCHORAGE (2-5, 8-8) Robinson,Marcus 6-14 11-14 23; Freshwater,Bryan 8-11 2-4 18; Drake,Mark 4-12 4-4 15; Fitt-Chappell,Adam 3-8 0-0 7; Arts,Carl 3-10 0-0 6; Severson,Aaron 2-5 0-0 5; Cooper,Luke 0-0 2-4 2; Evans,Brad 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-62 19 26 76.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-1, 13-3) Binetti,Tony 8-9 8-9 26; Bremerman,Dustin 9-15 2-2 26; Williams,Chad 4-7 5-7 14; Chivers,Jason 4-6 0-1 8; Lee,Jordan 3-11 0-0 7; Bushmaker,Mike 0-1 4-4 4; Steele,Ralph 0-2 2-2 2; Matzen,Drew 1-1 0-0 2; Knudson,Jeff 1-2 0-0 2; Gabelein,Tim 0-0 0-0 0; Yuen,Austin 0-0 0-0 0; Birkle,Matt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-54 21-25 91.
Halftime-SPU 45, UAA 41. 3-point goals-UAA 5-15 (Drake,Mark 3-7; Severson,Aaron 1-1; Fitt-Chappell,Adam 1-2; Arts,Carl 0-1; Robinson,Marcus 0-4), SPU 10-20 (Bremerman,Dustin 6-8; Binetti,Tony 2-2; Williams,Chad 1-3; Lee,Jordan 1-5; Knudson,Jeff 0-1; Steele,Ralph 0-1). Fouled out--UAA-Fitt-Chappell,Adam, SPU-Binetti,Tony. Rebounds-UAA 30 (Arts,Carl 15), SPU 38 (Chivers,Jason 9; Williams,Chad 9). Assists-UAA 13 (Cooper,Luke 9), SPU 18 (Binetti,Tony 6). Total fouls-UAA 20, SPU 20. A-567