Seattle Pacific Gets 33 From Chivers in OT Win Over Alaska Fairbanks
With victory, Falcons stay in first place of GNAC
January 22, 2005

Season and Game Stats

SEATTLE (Jan. 22) -- Jason Chivers scored seven of his career-high 33 points in overtime as 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific University consolidated its lead in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference by beating No. 16 Alaska Fairbanks 102-94 at Brougham Pavilion Saturday.

Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa.) and Tony Binetti (Jr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa) each added 20 points for the Falcons (6-1, 14-3), who won their ninth straight at home and their 12th in the last 13 overall.

After Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca.) sent the game into overtime with a tip with 18 seconds remaining in regulation, Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) scored the first five points of the extra period and SPU never lost the lead.

Alaska Fairbanks (5-3, 11-6) cut a seven-point deficit to 89-87 on a steal and layup by Brad Oleson, but Chivers answered with a three-point play after the Falcons broke the fullcourt press and Binetti hit a pair of free throws on the next possession for a 94-87 edge. The Nanooks, who lost their third straight, got no closer than five thereafter.

"We've done what we had to do, which is win at home," said SPU coach Jeff Hironaka, whose team claimed two wins over nationally-ranked opponents in eight days.

Seattle Pacific threatened to blow open the game early. Fairbanks tied it by halftime and took an 80-78 lead into the final minute of regulation on Chris Smith's jumper. Smith had a chance to win it, but his 15-footer was short at the regulation buzzer.

Chivers, who had scored just 11 points in his pervious two outings, finished with the highest total for an SPU player in six years. He made 15 of 22 field goals and also had a game-high 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

"In the overtime, we were trying to get the ball to Jason," said Hironaka. "He played like the player he can be, which is a dominant force."

Oleson led UAF with 22 points and six steals, and Andrew Smith added 19.

Binetti , who scored 15 of his points after halftime, also had six assists, as did Chad Williams (Jr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa.) Lee finished with 13 points, nine coming off three-pointers.

The Falcons hit 62 percent of their field goals and Fairbanks finished at 60 percent. Both were season best marks.

The Falcons squandered an early 17-point lead in the first half, allowing the Nanooks to tie the score at 43 just before intermission. Chivers scored at will inside as SPU mounted a 31-17 advantage. He totaled 16 points before drawing his third foul. Outside, Bremerman connected on three treys in the first five minutes.

Oleson helped to slowly bring UAF back into the game. With Chivers on the bench, Oleson hit five of six shots and Ivan Miskovic made all four of his shots, including a game-tying layup 5 seconds before the halftime buzzer.

"We kind of relaxed and give credit to Fairbanks, they were relentless." Hironaka said. "They kept coming and coming at us. They're a very dangerous team."

The Falcons' next two games are on the road, beginning Thursday at Western Oregon.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 102, ALASKA - FAIRBANKS 94 (OT)
ALASKA - FAIRBANKS (5-3, 11-6) Oleson,Brad 8-12 6-6 22; Smith,Andrew 8-15 2-4 19; Jordan,Chris 5-9 1-1 13; Smith,Chris 6-12 0-0 13; Bourne,Justin 6-7 0-1 12; Miskovic,Ivan 5-6 0-0 10; Barker,Kenny 1-4 1-1 3; Titus,Mike 1-1 0-0 2; Below,Tristan 0-0 0-0 0; Johnson,Bobby 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 40-67 10-13 94.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-1, 14-3) Chivers,Jason 15-22 3-4 33; Bremerman,Dustin 7-11 3-4 20; Binetti,Tony 5-8 8-11 20; Lee,Jordan 5-8 0-0 13; Bushmaker,Mike 3-3 0-0 6; Williams,Chad 1-4 4-4 6; Steele,Ralph 1-3 0-0 2; Gabelein,Tim 1-1 0-0 2; Matzen,Drew 0-1 0-0 0; Knudson,Jeff 0-0 0-1 0; Birkle,Matt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-61 18-24 102.
Halftime-SPU 43, UAF 43. 3-point goals-UAF 4-8 (Jordan,Chris 2-3; Smith,Andrew 1-1; Smith,Chris 1-1; Barker,Kenny 0-1; Oleson,Brad 0-2), SPU 8-19 (Bremerman,Dustin 3-5; Lee,Jordan 3-6; Binetti,Tony 2-4; Steele,Ralph 0-1; Matzen,Drew 0-1; Williams,Chad 0-2). Fouled out--none. Rebounds-UAF 29 (Barker,Kenny 6), SPU 28 (Chivers,Jason 10). Assists-UAF 20 (Smith,Chris 5), SPU 24 (Binetti,Tony 6; Williams,Chad 6). Total fouls-UAF 21, SPU 15. A-923