NCAA Men's Basketball West Region Semifinals:
Western Washington in Championship Game With Win Over Chaminade, 101-91
March 10, 2006

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Courtesy Bob Guptill, GNAC Media Relations Office

Complete Box Score

SEATTLE, WA – Grant Dykstra scored 29 points, including a pair of go-ahead free throws on a flagrant foul early in the second half, to lead Western Washington to a 101-91 win over Chaminade in a semifinal game of the NCAA Division II West Region men’s basketball tournament Saturday.

The second-seeded Vikings (23-6) will now play for the regional title and a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight at Springfield, Mass., on Monday against the winner of tonight’s second semifinal between top-seeded Seattle Pacific and fifth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield.

Dykstra connected on seven of nine three-pointers, including four of four in the first half when he netted 18 points. Western, however, led by just two points (48-46) at the break, a lead that disappeared on a dunk by Chris Powell in the first 14 seconds of the second period.

But, a few seconds later (at 19:24), Chaminade’s Zack Whiting, who had a team-high 11 points in the first half, was called for a flagrant foul and Dykstra hit two free throws to start a 7-0 run, which also featured a three-pointer by the WWU senior forward and a basket by Ryan Diggs.

Western, which never trailed again, eventually built a 10-point lead (59-49) on a basket by Tyler MacMullen. Chaminade, however, even without their all-region guard, kept the lead in single digits for most of the remainder of the game, climbing to within three points on six separate occasions and to within two points twice, including 81-79 with 6:28 left.

Diggs, however, then hit a three-pointer, two free throws and a two-pointer to stretch Western’s lead back to seven. The Silverswords climbed back to within three for the final time (88-85) with 3:55 left, but Dykstra then hit his seventh three-pointer and Chaminade never got closer than six the rest of the way.

In addition to Dykstra, three other Viking players were in double figures including Tyler MacMullen, who had a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double. Tyler Amaya finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Diggs, who scored 47 Friday, finished with 16 despite playing only 23 minutes because of early foul problems.

Six players were in double figures for Chaminade, which finished its season with a record of 19-9. Corey Campbell came off the bench to hit eight of 12 shots and score 23 points. Chris Reaves scored 14 points and also had nine rebounds. Chris Nelson had 13, Whiting and Stewart Kussler each scored 11 and Dylan McCune netted 10.

Western finished the contest shooting at a 56.7 percent clip, making 34 of 60, including 15 of 27 three-pointers. The Vikings also outrebounded the Silverswords 37-30. Chaminade shot 28 of 61 (45.9), but was just eight of 27 from the arc.

WESTERN WASHINGTON 101, CHAMINADE 91
CHAMINADE - Campbell,Corey 8-12 6-7 23; Reaves,Chris 2-11 10-12 14; Nelson,Chris 5-11 0-0 13; Kussler,Stewart 4-7 2-2 11; Whiting,Zack 5-6 1-1 11; McCune,Dylan 3-10 1-2 10; Powell,Chris 1-3 3-4 5; Kolaric,Marko 0-1 4-4 4. Totals 28-61 27-32 91.
WESTERN WASHINGTON - Dykstra,Grant 9-13 4-4 29; MacMullen,Tyler 9-12 2-3 20; Amaya,Tyler 6-11 4-6 19; Diggs,Ryan 5-10 4-4 16; Weisner,Brett 3-6 2-2 9; Vermeulen,Preston 2-4 0-0 6; Jackson,Kyle 0-4 2-2 2; Visser,Darrell 0-0 0-0 0; Henne,Lukas 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 34-60 18-22 101.

Chaminade           46 45 --  91
Western Washington  48 53 -- 101

3-point goals-Chaminade 8-27 (Nelson,Chris 3-9; McCune,Dylan 3-10; Kussler,Stewart 1-2; Campbell,Corey 1-2; Reaves,Chris 0-4), Western Washington 15-27 (Dykstra,Grant 7-9; Amaya,Tyler 3-5; Diggs,Ryan 2-4; Vermeulen,Preston 2-4; Weisner,Brett 1-2; Jackson,Kyle 0-3). Fouled out--Chaminade-Reaves,Chris, Western Washington-Diggs,Ryan. Rebounds-Chaminade 30 (Kolaric,Marko 11), Western Washington 37 (MacMullen,Tyler 11). Assists-Chaminade 17 (Reaves,Chris 9), Western Washington 20 (Dykstra,Grant 5). Total fouls-Chaminade 24, Western Washington 24. A-984