Seattle Pacific Men's Comeback Runs Out of Time in NCAA Opener
March 11, 2005

Season Stats     Game Box

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Mar. 11) ­ Jeff Bonds scored seven of his game-high 24 points in the final six minutes as Cal Poly Pomona held off a late Seattle Pacific University rally to eliminate the Falcons from the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament, 82-77, in a first round game Friday at Carver Gym.

Dustin Bremerman (So., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisnehower) led SPU with 20 points and Jordan Lee (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Life Christian) added 19 but it was not enough to bring them back from a 20-point second-half deficit.

Cal Poly (22-6), which also got 18 points from David Sybesma and 14 from Hervey Malone, advances to meet Hawaii Hilo in a regional semifinal Saturday at 5 p.m. Seattle Pacific, after making the playoffs for the first time in three years, finishes 20-9.

A second-half team for much of the season, the Falcons waited until the final 11 minutes to make their move. Twice they were behind by 20 before a Bremerman three-pointer provided the opening blow in a furious comeback attempt.

A 14-4 run featured seven straight points by Lee, whose trey cut the gap to just 63-55 with 7:37 left. Bonds and Sybesma helped build the lead back to 69-57. Once again SPU retaliated. Tony Binetti (Jr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) connected on a three, and later stole the ball and converted a layup, bringing his team within 71-66 with 1:57 remaining.

However, Pomona squashed the uprising, allowing the Falcons to get no closer. Three free throws by Sybesma and Bonds, followed by a dunk by Bonds from an offensive rebound sealed the verdict as Cal Poly went up 78-69 with 33 seconds left.

"We increased our pressure and finally started hitting some shots in the second half," said SPU coach Jeff Hironaka. "But every time we got within a few points, either we'd miss, make a turnover or they would hit a big shot."

Consistent with their form during the past two months, the Falcons struggled to get going early. The Broncos rode the hot hand of Malone and forced nine SPU turnovers to take a 41-29 lead into the halftime break. A 14-5 run early in the second period threatened to make it a rout.

"We had a tough time matching up with their big boys, Bonds and Sybesma," said Hironaka. "We closed them down in the first half but then Malone hit those threes."

Bremerman scored 16 of his points in the second half, when SPU shot 55 percent, including 8 of 13 threes. He made 4 of 7 outside the arc in the final period and Lee was 2 of 3. Jason Chivers (Sr., 6-8, Los Angeles, Ca.), an all-region center and the team's top scorer for the season, was held to just 10 field-goal attempts and totaled nine points and nine rebounds.

Pomona not only shot 59 percent (27-46) from the floor but was 21 of 23 at the foul line. The Falcons, whistled for nine more fouls, shot and made their five free throws.

It was just the second first-round exit for Seattle pacific in its last eight postseason appearances. Its other early elimination came in 2001 at a game in Bellingham.

Hawaii Hilo, the No. 2 seed, defeated Chico State 83-81, in the second first-round game.

CAL POLY POMONA 82, SEATTLE PACIFIC 77
SEATTLE PACIFIC (20-9) Bremerman,Dustin 8-13 0-0 20; Lee,Jordan 7-14 2-2 19; Binetti,Tony 5-10 0-0 11; Chivers,Jason 4-10 1-1 9; Steele,Ralph 1-4 2-2 5; Knudson,Jeff 1-3 0-0 3; Williams,Chad 1-2 0-0 3; Yuen,Austin 1-1 0-0 3; Matzen,Drew 1-1 0-0 2; Bushmaker,Mike 1-1 0-0 2; Gabelein,Tim 0-0 0-0 0; Birkle,Matt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 5-5 77.
CAL POLY POMONA (22-6) Bonds,Jeff 9-13 6-7 24; Sybesma,David 3-8 12-13 18; Malone II,Hervey 5-6 0-0 14; Cook,Dion 3-5 3-3 9; Hofman,Billy 3-4 0-0 8; Daniels,Kaelen 3-5 0-0 6; Boyd,Jonathan 1-5 0-0 3; Neveu,Kevin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-46 21-23 82.

Halftime-CPP 41, SPU 29. 3-point goals-SPU 12-22 (Bremerman,Dustin 4-9; Lee,Jordan 3-4; Yuen,Austin 1-1; Binetti,Tony 1-4; Knudson,Jeff 1-2; Steele,Ralph 1-1;Williams,Chad 1-1), CPP 7-14 (Malone II,Hervey 4-5; Hofman,Billy 2-3; Boyd,Jonathan 1-2; Cook,Dion 0-1; Sybesma,David 0-1; Bonds,Jeff 0-2). Fouled out-- None. Rebounds-SPU24 (Chivers,Jason 9), CPP 24 (Bonds,Jeff 9).Assists-SPU 18 (Lee,Jordan 6), CPP 19 (Hofman,Billy 8). Total fouls-SPU 20, CPP 11. A-520