NCAA Men's Basketball West Region Semifinals:
Seattle Pacific in Championship Game With Win Over Cal State Bakersfield
March 10, 2006

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Courtesy Bob Guptill, GNAC Media Relations Office

Complete Box Score

SEATTLE, WA - Tony Binetti scored nine of his 22 points in the final 11 minutes and Mike Bushmaker added 15 off the bench as Seattle Pacific advanced to the West Region championship game of the NCAA Division II 's basketball tournament with an 81-75 win over Cal State Bakersfield at Brougham Pavilion Saturday night.

Tony Binetti applying the finishing touches to 81-75 win over Cal State Bakersfield. Binetti led the way with 22 points.

With their fourth straight win, the Falcons (24-5) return to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000 when they advanced to the Final Four. SPU meets No. 16 Western Washington for a berth in the Elite Eight Monday night at 7 p.m.

Thirteen of Bushmaker's points came in the second period, including the go-head basket with six minutes to go. He also blocked a put-back attempt by Bakersfield's Richard Andrews with 51 seconds remaining, preserving a four-point lead at the time.

The Falcons, who held the Roadrunners (21-8) to a single field goal over a five-minute stretch late in the game, then made 10 of 13 free throws in the final 3:35 to gradually grab a six-point advantage.

Robbie Will had 14 points for Seattle Pacific and Dustin Bremerman had 12.

Antonio Griffin paced CSUB with 23. Tim Barnes drained four treys and had 18.

Down by five midway through the second half, Bushmaker spurred the SPU which gave SPU the lead for good. He twisted inside for a layup, then sank a fallaway three-pointer to tie score at 54.

Binetti continued the 10-1 run on a fastbreak drive before Drew Matzen hit two free throws, giving the Falcons a 59-55 lead.

Seattle Pacific shot 54 percent from the field despite missing 16 of 24 three-point attempts. It is 18-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or higher.

The Roadrunners shot 46 percent and were outscored from the foul line 23-8.

The Falcons threatened to put the verdict out of reach early, staking a 32-19 lead after 14 minutes. But foul trouble combined with hot outside shooting by CSUB trimmed the margin to 37-34 at intermission.

Monday's regional title game will be the third time SPU has hosted the game on its own court. It prevailed in both 1965 and 2000.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 81, CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD 75
CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD - Griffin, Antonio 11-16 0-0 23; Andrews, Richard 7-13 4-6 19; Barnes, Tim 6-14 2-3 18; Mitchell, Marlon 3-9 2-2 11; Harding, Randall 2-3 0-2 4; Grasmick, Zack 0-1 0-0 0; Orme, Demetrius 0-1 0-0 0; Rice, Dwuan 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 29-63 8-13 75.
SEATTLE PACIFIC - Binetti,Tony 5-11 8-9 22; Bushmaker,Mike 7-8 0-1 15; Will,Robbie 4-5 6-7 14; Bremerman,Dustin 4-10 3-4 12; Matzen,Drew 2-5 4-6 8; Williams,Chad 3-5 0-1 8; Moultrie,Jared 0-1 2-2 2; Lynch,Brian 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-46 23-30 81.
Halftime-SPU 37, CSUB 34. 3-point goals-CSUB 9-25 (Barnes, Tim 4-9; Mitchell, Marlon 3-8; Griffin, Antonio 1-2; Andrews, Richard 1-1; Grasmick, Zack 0-1; Rice, Dwuan 0-4), SPU 8-24 (Binetti,Tony 4-9; Williams,Chad 2-3; Bremerman,Dustin 1-7; Bushmaker,Mike 1-1; Lynch,Brian 0-1; Matzen,Drew 0-3). Fouled out--CSUB-Rice, Dwuan. Rebounds-CSUB 30 (Andrews, Richard 11), SPU 32 (Matzen,Drew 9; Will,Robbie 9). Assists-CSUB 16 (Barnes, Tim 6), SPU 19 (Bi! netti,Tony 5). Total fouls-CSUB 23, SPU 13. A-1148