NCAA Men's Basketball West Region Final:
Spurred by Reserves, Falcons Punch Ticket to Elite 8
March 13, 2006

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SEATTLE (Mar. 13) ­ Spurred on its reserves, Seattle Pacific University became the first men's basketball team to punch its ticket to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

Jared Moultrie looks inside as Ryan Diggs of Western looks on. Photo courtesy Frank MacDonald, SPU Sports Information Office

Getting 24 points off the bench from Mike Bushmaker (Sr., 6-7, Yakima, Wa./Eisenhower) and a crucial three-pointer in the final minute by Jared Moultrie, the 10th-ranked Falcons won the West Regional championship by beating No. 16 Western Washington 81-77 before a near-capacity crowd at Brougham Pavilion Monday night.

SPU (25-5) will be making its third trip to the national quarterfinal stage and will meet the South winner Mar. 22 in Springfield, Mass.

After losing a 10-point lead, Seattle Pacific took the lead once and for all, 76-73, on Moultrie's (Jr., 6-2, West Point, Ut.) trey with 52 seconds remaining.

The Vikings (23-7) cut it to 73-72 on a driving dunk by Tyler Amaya with 38 seconds left and another basket by Tyler MacMullen with :20 showing, but the Falcons answered by making five of six free throws.

MacMullen paced WWU with 24 points and 12 rebounds and Ryan Diggs added 15.

Seattle Pacific center Robbie Will (So., 6-10, Seattle, Wa./O'Dea) was voted the tournament's most outstanding player, Joining him on the all-tournament team were teammates Bushmaker and Tony Binetti (Sr., 6-1, Enumclaw, Wa.), plus Western's Diggs and Grant Dykstra.

The Falcons appeared in control after forging a 71-61 advantage with 5:39 to go. Chad Williams (Sr., 6-8, Burlington, Wa.) scored six unanswered points, the last on a tip-in.

MacMullen came right back, scoring five of the Vikings' 10 straight to knot the score at 71-all. Two possessions later and with the shot clock winding down, Dustin Bremerman found Moultrie wide open on the left side for a 21-footer.

"Jared's shot was big and we got a couple big rebounds," said SPU coach Jeff Hironaka. "Western is such an explosive team; they're a good team and they had a couple guys step up."

Moultrie finished with eight points and the Falcon reserves accounted for 34 points to 14 for their counterparts.

"I told our team that the team which defends would be the one which will come out on top," said Hironaka.

The Falcons held Western to 42-percent shooting Diggs and Dykstra, who combine to average over 42 points per game, were held to a combined 22 and 6-24 shooting.

The Falcons overcame early foul trouble to Binetti and Will to still hold a halftime lead. Both players picked up their second personal in the first seven minutes. Will eventually fouled out after playing only 11 minutes and scoring 11 points.

The Vikings took a lead but then saw Bushmaker push SPU back in front. He hit back-to-back three-pointers and scored 13 points.

Seattle Pacific, which had lost its last four games when shooting under 50 percent, finished at 47.7 (27-57), but made 20-25 free throws and out-rebounded WWU 39-35.

Montevallo (Al.) and Arkansas-Monticello play Tuesday night for the South title. SPU last went to the Elite Eight in 2000, advancing to the Final Four, the program's best ever finish.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 81, WESTERN WASHINGTON 77
WESTERN WASHINGTON (23-7) MacMullen,Tyler 9-13 6-8 24; Diggs,Ryan 4-15 6-7 15; Amaya,Tyler 3-9 2-3 9; Jackson,Kyle 3-6 0-0 8; Dykstra,Grant 2-9 1-2 7; Vermeulen,Preston 2-6 0-1 6; Henne,Lukas 2-2 0-1 4; Weisner,Brett 2-3 0-0 4; Schell,Calin 0-0 0-0 0; Visser,Darrell 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 15-22 77.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (25-5) Bushmaker,Mike 8-13 5-8 24; Williams,Chad 3-9 7-7 13; Will,Robbie 5-9 1-1 11; Bremerman,Dustin 3-9 3-4 10; Matzen,Drew 4-6 0-0 9; Moultrie,Jared 2-5 2-2 8; Binetti,Tony 1-5 2-2 4; Lynch,Brian 1-1 0-0 2; Gabelein,Tim 0-0 0-1 0; Knudson,Jeff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 20-25 81.
Halftime-SPU 43, WWU 40. 3-point goals-WWU 8-20 (Dykstra,Grant 2-6; Jackson,Kyle 2-5; Vermeulen,Preston 2-2; Diggs,Ryan 1-4; Amaya,Tyler 1-2; Weisner,Brett 0-1), SPU 7-12 (Bushmaker,Mike 3-4; Moultrie,Jared 2-2; Bremerman,Dustin 1-4; Matzen,Drew 1-2). Fouled out--WWU-MacMullen,Tyler, SPU-Will,Robbie. Rebounds-WWU 35 (MacMullen,Tyler 12), SPU 39 (Bushmaker,Mike 9). Assists-WWU 16 (Diggs,Ryan 4), SPU 19 (Bremerman,Dustin 7). Total fouls-WWU 23, SPU 21. A-2308 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball West Region Final SPU Advances to Elite 8