Falcons Men Surge Past Seattle U. for 20th Win
March 5, 2005

Season and Game Stats

SEATTLE (Mar. 5) -- Jason Chivers figured prominently in two key surges and finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds, leading Seattle Pacific University to its 20th win, 80-62 over Seattle University in the final game of the regular season in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game Saturday night at Connolly Center.

The victory all but assures the Falcons (12-6, 20-8) of a place in the NCAA Division II tournament. Invitations to the 64-team field will be announced Sunday night.

Seattle Pacific led virtually the entire game but seized control for good with a 12-2 burst to start the second half. Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca.) scored underneath capping a run of nine unanswered points for a 43-29 lead. The Redhawks (6-12, 11-16) pulled no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) added points and by hitting 7 of 10 free throws, helped SPU finish 23-28 at the foul line. Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisnehower) and Tony Binetti (Jr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) had 13 points apiece.

Since the Div. II bracket expended from 32 teams in 1994, the Falcons have made the tournament each time they have won 20 games. They entered the week ranked No. 4 in the region, and eight teams from the West will be selected.

Chivers, who made 9 of 16 field goals, scored six of Seattle Pacific's nine straight points midway through the first period, putting the visitors in front 19-11. The outburst came after switching to a zone defense which forced Seattle U. into missing six of seven shots and committing three turnovers as SPU eventually led by 13.

The Falcons put the game out of reach when Chad Williams (Jr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa.) and Chivers, together, scored seven consecutive points to go up 66-47.

Seattle Pacific, coming off its lowest scoring total in Thursday loss at Northwest Nazarene, shot 50 percent (26-52) while cooling the Redhawks to 34 percent (25-74), including just 5 of 27 three-pointers.

Bernard Seals paced Seattle U. with 15 points, yet shot just 5-13. Both teams had 11 turnovers but SPU converted 24 into points while SU managed 15.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (20-8, 12-6) Chivers,Jason 9-16 4-5 22; Lee,Jordan 5-8 7-10 17; Binetti,Tony 3-6 6-6 13; Bremerman,Dustin 5-9 1-1 13; Williams,Chad 2-6 2-2 8; Steele,Ralph 1-3 0-0 2; Bushmaker,Mike 1-1 0-0 2; Yuen,Austin 0-1 2-2 2; Matzen,Drew 0-1 1-2 1; Gabelein,Tim 0-1 0-0 0; Knudson,Jeff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 23-28 80.
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY (11-16, 6-12) Seals,Bernard 5-13 3-4 15; Makinde,Bim 5-15 0-0 11; McDaniel,Jeff 4-5 2-3 10; Rainey,Scott 4-9 0-0 8; Bloom,Andy 2-9 2-2 6; Coldren,Ryan 2-6 0-0 4; Nelson,Keith 1-3 0-0 3; Namanny,Sean 1-7 0-0 3; Burl,Shaun 1-2 0-0 2; Welt,Travis 0-0 0-0 0; Anderson,Andy 0-0 0-0 0; Vessey,Kyle 0-1 0-0 0; Webb,Ryan 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 25-74 7-9 62.
Halftime-SPU 34, SU 29. 3-point goals-SPU 5-17 (Williams,Chad 2-6; Bremerman,Dustin 2-6; Binetti,Tony 1-2; Matzen,Drew 0-1; Steele,Ralph 0-2), SU 5-27 (Seals,Bernard 2-4; Nelson,Keith 1-2; Makinde,Bim 1-7; Namanny,Sean 1-6; Coldren,Ryan 0-2; Burl,Shaun 0 1; Vessey,Kyle 0-1; Webb,Ryan 0-1; Bloom,Andy 0-3). Fouled out--None. Rebounds-SPU 37 (Chivers,Jason 15), SU 42 (McDaniel,Jeff 12). Assists-SPU 9 (Binetti,Tony 5), SU 6 (Webb,Ryan 2). Total fouls-SPU 17, SU 21. A-997