Complete Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Mar. 1) ­ Scoring eight of his 17 points in the final eight minutes, Rob Will led Seattle Pacific University to a 70-64 win over Western Washington to clinch at least a share of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship Thursday night at Carver Gym.

With the victory the Falcons (11-5, 18-9) wrapped-up a third straight trip to the NCAA Division II tournament and their second GNAC title in a row. They finished the regular season with three consecutive road wins and four out of five overall.

Dustin Bremerman (Sr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) added 15 points, becoming only the second SPU player to post back-to-back 500-point seasons.

Although Western Washington (4-11, 10-15) trailed virtually the entire game, it rallied from 15 points down to cut the deficit to five, 47-42, before Will went to work.

He scored eight of his team¹s next 11 points. A three-pointer by Marques Echols followed by a dunk from Will restored the advantage to 56-47 with 3:47 remaining.

A flurry of treys by Western kept close but SPU hit seven of eight free throws in the final minute. Ira Graham¹s deep trey trimmed the score to 66-64 with 14 seconds to go, but Brian Lynch calmly sank two from the line and Casey Reed added a dunk just before the final buzzer.

Seattle Pacific shot 50 percent in the second half and 46 percent overall (25-55). Will converted 7 of 11 field goals and also added seven rebounds.

The Vikkins managed to shoot 41 percent after a cold, 30-percent first half. They missed 10 pf 23 free throws. Lukas Henne led all players with 19 points.

Three-pointers by Bremerman and Rob Diederichs and a pair of inside baskets by Will helped the Falcons push ahead by nine , 25-16, late in the first half. Reed scored back-to-back layups to give the visitors their biggest lead at 46-31 midway through the second period.

It is the first time SPU has successfully defended a conference title since 1995-96. It will be making its 18th postseason appearance and the 11th in the last 14 years.Seattle University can still earn a share of the GNAC title by winning at Western Oregon Saturday. The Redhawks eliminated Central Washington from title contention Thursday, 88-73.

The NCAA will announce the 64-team field and the site of the West Regional tournament Sunday night. First round games are Mar. 9.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 70, WESTERN WASHINGTON 64
SEATTLE PACIFIC (18-9, 11-5) Will,Rob 7-11 3-6 17; Bremerman,Dustin 6-13 0-0 15; Echols,Marques 3-6 3-4 10; Reed,Casey 4-6 1-1 9; Diederichs,Rob 3-4 0-0 8; Jackson,JoJay 1-8 3-5 6; Lynch,Brian 1-2 2-2 4; Wardell,Adam 0-0 1-2 1; Larrieu,Brandon 0-0 0-0 0; Matzen,Drew 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 13-20 70.
WESTERN WASHINGTON (10-15, 4-11) Henne,Lukas 9-14 0-0 19; Graham,Ira 4-10 3-3 13; Schell,Calin 3-5 2-5 9; Adams,Bryan 2-5 3-4 9; Weisner,Brett 1-2 1-2 4; Severin,Steve 1-7 2-7 4; Williams,Brandon 1-4 0-0 2; Brittinen,David 1-1 0-0 2; McAllister,Harold 0-6 2-2 2. Totals 22-54 13-23 64.
Halftime-SPU 28, WWU 20. 3-point goals-SPU 7-18 (Bremerman,Dustin 3-7; Diederichs,Rob 2-2; Echols,Marques 1-1; Jackson,JoJay 1-5; Matzen,Drew 0-3), WWU 7-18 (Graham,Ira 2-4; Adams,Bryan 2-3; Henne,Lukas 1-2; Weisner,Brett 1-2; Schell,Calin 1-2; McAllister,Harold 0-3; Williams,Brandon 0-2). Fouled out‹SPU, Bremerman,Dustin, WWU-Williams,Brandon. Rebounds-SPU 31 (Will,Rob 7), WWU 34 (Severin,Steve 12). Assists-SPU 17 (Jackson,JoJay 5), WWU 17 (Adams,Bryan 8). Total fouls-SPU 18, WWU 18. A-1148