Wait for 20th Win on Hold As SPU Men Fall to Crusaders
March 3, 2005

Season and Game Stats

NAMPA, Id. (Mar. 4) ­ Seeking to secure its 20th win and a place in next week's NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament, Seattle Pacific University instead gave new life to Northwest Nazarene's postseason hopes as the Crusaders' Mesut Ademoglu poured in 27 points in a 67-56 defeat of the Falcons at Montgomery Fieldhouse Thursday night.

The loss ended Seattle Pacific's (11-6, 19-8) title hopes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference as it fell two games behind Western Washington with one game to play.

The Falcons entered the week ranked No. 4 in the West Region and NNU (10-7, 16-10) was ninth. The top eight teams qualify for the NCAA tournament.

Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) led SPU with 13 points­11 coming in the second half. The Falcons' scoring total was the lowest in seven years.

After Seattle Pacific trimmed a 20-point deficit to eight points early in the second half, Ademoglu energized Northwest Nazarene. Beginning with a three-pointer, he scored the first seven points and 11 altogether during a 16-2 run which sealed the victory.

The Falcons eventually trailed by 26 before scoring the game's final 15 points. It was their fourth loss in the last six outings.

As had been the case in the majority of the defeats this season, SPU fell into a deep hole at the outset. The Crusaders jumped to a 23-4 advantage after 12 minutes and were ahead 31-19 at halftime.

Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) finished with 11 points, five coming during a 16-4 burst which pulled his team within 35-27.

Ademoglu, A 6-10 junior from Turkey, hit 13 of 20 field goals and his 11 rebounds helped the Crusaders command the boards, 37-24.

It was only the Falcons' second loss to NNU in the last 12 meetings. Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca.), the team's top scorer and rebounder, was limited to six points (all in the first half) and six rebounds.

SPU concludes the regular season Saturday night at Seattle University. NCAA tournament announcements are Sunday evening.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE 67, SEATTLE PACIFIC 56
SEATTLE PACIFIC (19-8, 11-6 GNAC) Lee,Jordan 6-10 0-0 13; Bremerman,Dustin 3-5 4-4 11; Williams,Chad 4-7 0-0 9; Binetti,Tony 3-7 2-3 8; Chivers,Jason 3-7 0-0 6; Steele,Ralph 2-5 0-0 5; Matzen,Drew 1-3 0-0 2; Yuen,Austin 1-1 0-0 2; Gabelein,Tim 0-0 0-0 0; Bushmaker,Mike 0-1 0-0 0; Knudson,Jeff 0-2 0-0 0; Birkle,Matt 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-51 6-7 56.
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (16-10,10-7 GNAC) Ademoglu,Mesut 13-20 0-1 27; Lehrschall,David 4-6 0-0 10; Butler,Raymond 4-5 0-0 8; Fridrich,Travis 3-4 0-0 8; McCarthy,Ryan 3-9 0-0 7; Joseph,Wade 1-4 2-2 4; Davis,John 1-5 0-0 3; Mayer,Jordan 0-1 0-0 0; Nyom,Daniel 0-5 0-0 0; Branzov,Boycho 0-1 0-0 0; Shaw,Jeff 0-0 0-0 0; Nisly,Joe 0-0 0-1 0; Kibby,Zac 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-60 2-4 67.

Halftime-NNU 31, SPU19. 3-point goals-SPU 4-18 (Williams,Chad 1-3; Bremerman,Dustin 1-3; Lee,Jordan 1-2; Steele,Ralph 1-2; Bushmaker,Mike 0-1; Knudson,Jeff 0-2; Birkle,Matt 0-1; Matzen,Drew 0-2; Binetti,Tony 0-2), NNU 7-22 (Lehrschall,David 2-3; Fridrich,Travis 2-3; Ademoglu,Mesut 1-2; McCarthy,Ryan 1-7; Davis,John 1-3; Nyom,Daniel 0-1; Mayer,Jordan 0-1; Joseph,Wade 0-1; Butler,Raymond 0-1). Fouled out‹NNU, Butler,Raymond. Rebounds-SPU 24 (Chivers,Jason 6), NNU 37 (Ademoglu,Mesut 11). Assists-SPU 7 (Binetti,Tony 2), NNU 16 (Davis,John 7). Total fouls-SPU 13, NNU 12. A-893