10th-Ranked SPU Falls to Western After Huge Comeback
Falcons erase 27-point deficit, but lose at end 91-87
February 12, 2005

Season and Game Stats

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Feb. 12) -- After nearly erasing an entire 27-point deficit, 10th-ranked Seattle Pacific University was forced to settle into a first-place tie in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference following a 91-87 loss to Western Washington at Carver Gym Saturday night.

Ryan Diggs scored four crucial points in the final three minutes and finiished with a game-high 25 for the Vikings (9-3, 17-5), who moved into a tie with the Falcons (9-3, 17-5) atop the GNAC with six games left.

Tony Binetti (Jr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) led Seattle Pacific with 19 points and Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) had 18. Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca.) had 12 points and 14 rebounds despite missing nearly 10 minutes of action due to twice being poked in the eyes.

Seattle Pacific sliced Western’s lead to a mere two poin ts in the final five minutes, and Bremerman drove for what could have been the tying layup but Diggs stripped the ball and later hit two free throws on the next possession, making it 84-80.

Bremerman answered with a jumper but Diggs squeezed into the lane for another basket, and Grant Dykstra made two free throws for an 88-82 advantage. The closest SPU was able to get the rest of the way was 88-85 on a trey by Binetti with 36 seconds to go.

The Vikings appeared to be well on their way to a rout in the first half, sinking nine three-pointers and charging ahead 61-36 at halftime. Diggs and Dykstra did the bulk of the damage, combining for 31 points on 12 of 18 shooting, including five treys.

A run of nine unanswered points put WWU on top 27-16 and another 18-4 burst helped push the margin to 27 points at 59-32 shortly before intermission.

However the Falcons responded with a 15-4 surge to open the second half and eventually cut it to 77-69 on a Bremerman layuup with 7:48 remaining.

Seattle Pacific shot 59 percent in the second period, out-scoring the Vikings 51-30, and shot 54 percent (32-59) overall. Western hit five more three-pointers (10-24) and had four fewer turnovers, committing just eight, seven in the second half.

SPU goes on the road again next week, beginning Thursday at Alaska Fairbanks.

WESTERN WASHINGTON 91, SEATTLE PACIFIC 87
SEATTLE PACIFIC (17-5,9-3 GNAC) Binetti,Tony 7-12 3-5 19; Bremerman,Dustin 7-11 3-3 18; Williams,Chad 6-12 0-0 13; Chivers,Jason 3-6 6-6 12; Steele,Ralph 4-7 2-3 10; Bushmaker,Mike 3-3 2-2 8; Lee,Jordan 2-8 2-2 7; Matzen,Drew 0-0 0-0 0; Knudson,Jeff 0-0 0-0 0; Birkle,Matt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-59 18-21 87.
WESTERN WASHINGTON (17-4,9-3 GNAC) Diggs,Ryan 9-18 5-6 25; Dykstra,Grant 6-11 3-4 18; MacMullen,Tyler 6-12 2-3 14; Amaya,Tyler 4-9 2-5 10; Jackson,Kyle 2-5 3-4 9; Roosendaal,Craig 3-7 0-1 8; Vermeulen,Preston 2-3 0-0 5; Henne,Lukas 0-0 2-3 2. Totals 32-65 17-26 91.

Seattle Pacific............... 36 51 - 87 
Western Washington............ 61 30 - 91

3-point goals-Seattle Pacific 5-14 (Binetti,Tony 2-5; Lee,Jordan 1-2; Bremerman,Dustin 1-4; Williams,Chad 1-3), Western Washington 10-24 (Dykstra,Grant 3-6; Roosendaal,Craig 2-4; Jackson,Kyle 2-4; Diggs,Ryan 2-7; Vermeulen,Preston 1-2; Amaya,Tyler 0-1). Fouled out--Seattle Pacific-None, Western Washington-None. Rebounds-Seattle Pacific 35 (Chivers,Jason 14), Western Washington 34 (MacMullen,Tyler 8; Dykstra,Grant 8). Assists-Seattle Pacific 13 (Binetti,Tony 4), Western Washington 20 (Dykstra,Grant 8). Total fouls-Seattle Pacific 22, Western Washington 18. A-2320