Complete Box Score

ARCATA, Calif. (Mar. 9) ­ For a squad which relies on having the hot hand, Seattle Pacific University picked a rotten time to go cold.

Instead, it was an efficient shooting performance by Grand Canyon which bounced the Falcons from the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament, 87-65, Friday night at East Gym.

Bryan Lee pumped in 23 points and Randy Bogan had 18, including a pair of three-pointers in a decisive second-half run for the Antelopes (21-7).

Dustin Bremerman (Sr., 6-4, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) capped his stellar career with 22 for the Falcons, who finished 18-10 after going to the semifinals a year ago.

While Seattle Pacific managed to hang with the Arizonans early, eventually a cold snap combined with a hot streak cracked the contest wide open. It was the worst SPU postseason defeat in 10 years and largest loss to any foe in the last 54 games.

Nearly five minutes into the second half, the Falcons were within four points, 48-44, when the 'Lopes lowered the boom. Canyon converted on six of its next seven possessions while SPU missed four shots and committed three turnovers.

Bogan, a 6-5 junior, scored eight of the 15 unanswered points, putting the No. 5 seed firmly in command, 63-44.

"We had hung in there, but then it just snowballed there for about five minutes," said SPU coach Jeff Hironaka. "They were scoring at will."

A late surge closed the gap to 77-63 going into the final 3:13 but Seattle Pacific never scored another field goal.

Grand Canyon, getting consistent penetration to create open looks, shot 71 percent (22-31) in the second half and 63 percent overall. Lee, a 6-8 senior, and Bogan, collectively, made 18 of 28 shots.

"We played right into their hands by not moving the ball," Hironaka said. "We got impatient, tried to beat them off the dribble. We were sloppy and we just can't play that way."

One of the top shooting teams in the nation, with six games of 60 percent or higher, the Falcons mustered just 39 percent (22-56)­their second-poorest display of the season. They were No. 2 in the nation for assists, but were credited with a season-low seven.

JoJay Jackson (Jr., 6-5, Fairfield, ca.) had 15 points but center Rob Will was stymied, scoring just two points on 1 of 6 shots. It matched his lowest total in two seasons. Will had averaged 13.4 during the regular season.

Grand Canyon forged six-point leads on several occasions in the first half but could not shake the Falcons, who were cold to start.

Bremerman carried much of the load, accounting for nearly half (15) of his team's 32 first-half points. At one point he had scored eight straight for SPU, tying the game at 26 with4:25 left.

Rob Diederichs (Fr., 6-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood) came off the bench to give a late lift, scoring the final four points of the period to pull within 34-32.

Bremerman brought his career total to 1797 points and 243 treys, both No. 2 on the all-time list.

GRAND CANYON 87, SEATTLE PACIFIC 65
GRAND CANYON (21-7) Lee, Bryan 10-15 3-5 23; Bogan, Rudy 8-13 0-0 18; Davis, Richard 6-13 2-2 16; Makinde, Ladi 4-5 6-6 15; Stromvall, Jason 4-5 0-0 9; Gonzales, David 2-3 2-2 6; Glenn, Andray 0-0 0-0 0; Greene, Devon 0-0 0-0 0; Grothaus, Mike 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-54 13-15 87.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (18-10) Bremerman,Dustin 8-21 4-5 22; Jackson,JoJay 4-6 5-5 15; Diederichs,Rob 3-4 2-5 8; Echols,Marques 2-7 0-0 5; Lynch,Brian 2-3 0-0 5; Matzen,Drew 1-4 2-2 5; Reed,Casey 1-3 1-2 3; Will,Rob 1-6 0-0 2; Popovic,Filip 0-0 0-0 0; Larrieu,Brandon 0-1 0-0 0; Wardell,Adam 0-1 0-0 0; Yuen,Austin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 14-19 65.
Halftime-GCU 34, SPU 32. 3-point goals-GCU 6-11 (Bogan, Rudy 2-2; Davis, Richard 2-5; Stromvall, Jason 1-2; Makinde, Ladi 1-1; Gonzales, David 0-1), SPU 7-19 (Jackson,JoJay 2-3; Bremerman,Dustin 2-7; Echols,Marques 1-2; Matzen,Drew 1-4; Lynch,Brian 1-2; Wardell,Adam 0-1). Fouled out-- None. Rebounds-GCU 32 (Lee, Bryan 8), SPU 26 (Will,Rob 5). Assists-GCU 16 (Davis, Richard 4), SPU 7 (Bremerman,Dustin 2; Will,Rob 2). Total fouls-GCU19, SPU 13.