Complete Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wa. (Jan. 21) – In a game that lived up to its billing between two of the nation’s top ranked teams, home court gave Western Washington the edge it needed. The No. 2 ranked Vikings used an 11-2 run early in the second half to pull away from No. 3 Seattle Pacific and then held on for a 95-84 victory in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game in front of 2,632 fans Saturday night at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The Vikings (7-0, 15-1) remained perfect in league play and held on to first place. Seattle Pacific (6-1, 14-2) fell a game back of the league lead and had its nine-game win streak snapped.

Tyler Amaya had a monstrous night with 19 points and 19 rebounds in the victory. WWU’s Ryan Diggs led all scorers with 23 points.

Mike Bushmaker (Sr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) scored 11 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to spark a late SPU rally. Seattle Pacific, who fell behind by as many as 20, trailed by 19 points with under five minutes left to play. The Falcons then went on a 12-2 run to pull to within nine with 2:30 remaining. After a WWU basket, a Bushmaker put-back got SPU back to within nine, but WWU closed the door by going 4-4 from the free throw line in the final minute.

Chad Williams (Sr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison) had 15 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Dustin Bremerman (Jr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) scored 13 and Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.) 12. Robbie Will added (So., 6-10, Seattle/O’Dea) nine points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Tyler MacMullen chipped in 20 points and seven rebounds for Western. Preston Vermulen poured in 12 points in 13 minutes off the bench for the victors.

Western Washington shot 47 percent from the field and 42 percent from three-point range. Seattle Pacific shot 43 percent overall and 26 percent from behind the arc in a game that was otherwise statistically balanced across the board.

The Falcons begin a four-game home stand against Saint Martin’s in GNAC play Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

WESTERN WASHINGTON 95, SEATTLE PACIFIC 84

SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-1, 14-2) Bushmaker,Mike 6-9 7-7 19; Williams,Chad 6-12 0-0 15; Bremerman,Dustin 3-7 6-8 13; Binetti,Tony 4-14 4-4 12; Will,Robbie 3-8 3-4 9; Matzen,Drew 4-11 0-0 9; Moultrie,Jared 2-4 3-4 7; Knudson,Jeff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-65 23-27 84.

WESTERN WASHINGTON (7-0, 15-1) Diggs,Ryan 7-14 7-8 23; MacMullen,Tyler 9-14 2-2 20; Amaya,Tyler 6-13 5-6 19; Vermeulen,Preston 4-5 2-2 12; Dykstra,Grant 3-10 0-0 8; Visser,Darrell 2-4 2-3 6; Weisner,Brett 0-3 5-6 5; Jackson,Kyle 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 32-68 23-27 95.

Seattle Pacific............... 35 49 - 84 
Western Washington............ 42 53 - 95

3-point goals-Seattle Pacific 5-19 (Williams,Chad 3-6; Matzen,Drew 1-3; Bremerman,Dustin 1-4; Moultrie,Jared 0-1; Binetti,Tony 0-4; Bushmaker,Mike 0-1), Western Washington 8-19 (Dykstra,Grant 2-6; Vermeulen,Preston 2-3; Diggs,Ryan 2-4; Amaya,Tyler 2-5; Jackson,Kyle 0 1). Fouled out—Seattle Pacific-None, Western Washington-None. Rebounds Seattle Pacific 36 (Will,Robbie 11), Western Washington 39 (Amaya,Tyler 19). Assists-Seattle Pacific 15 (Moultrie,Jared 6), Western Washington 17 (Dykstra,Grant 6). Total fouls-Seattle Pacific 21, Western Washington 19. A-2632.