GNAC Men's Basketball

March 6

Western Washington Beats MSUB, CWU Wins In OT

Anderson

Morris Anderson had 20 points and eight assists and Western Washington earned the top seed and host role for the NCAA Division II West Regionals next week by defeating Montana State Billings 87-67 Saturday night at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Seattle Pacific, which was ranked No. 1 last week, dropped its second consecutive game in Alaska losing to Alaska Anchorage 75-64. The loss dropped the Falcons to third in the final regional rankings. Meanwhile, Central Washington wrapped up a post-season berth beating Saint Martin's 78-70 in overtime at Nicholson Pavilion. The Wildcats will face the Vikings in the opening round of the playoffs.

Earlier Saturday, Alaska Fairbanks ended its season with consecutive victories by defeating Northwest Nazarene 77-75.

Western Washington 87, Montana State Billings 67

Morris Anderson had 20 points and a game-high eight assists as Western Washington defeated Montana State Billings 87-67 at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Forward Derrick Wright had a game-high 27 points and eight rebounds to lead MSUB (15-10, 9-7).

Western (25-5, 12-4) trailed only briefly taking the lead for good at 25-24 on an Anderson three-pointer with 7:48 left in the first half. The Vikings held a 43-38 lead at halftime.

Western was only up by four (50-46) with under 17 minutes left before breaking the game open with 10 straight points.

That gave the Vikings a 60-46 lead with 13:38 to play, and they led by double digits the rest of the way, twice opening up a 23-point margin in the final five minutes.

Forward Zach Bruce had 18 points, while Rory Blanche came off the bench to contribute 15 points, and center Dave Vanderjagt had 12 points on six of six field goal shooting.

As a team the Vikings shoot 59.6 percent (34-57) from the field and were perfect from the foul line making 13 of 13. Bruce, who entered the game shooting just 37.4 percent on free throws, made four of four.

DaVell Jackson, who had 34 in a win Thursday at Ellensburg, scored 12 points for MSU Billings. Forward Lasha Parghalava had 11 points and center Mike McCrary added 10.

The Yellowjackets shot 53.3 percent (16-30) from the field in the first half, but just 39.3 percent (11-28) after halftime.

Alaska Anchorage 75, Seattle Pacific 64

Guard Brandon Walker scored 23 points and also had nine rebounds to lead Alaska Anchorage to a 75-64 upset of nationally ninth-ranked Seattle Pacific at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

SPU (22-5, 13-3) lost its second straight game after coming north with the GNAC title already in hand.

The Falcons were led by 23 points from senior guard Brandon Larrieu, while forward Ryan Sweet posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

SPU junior Chris Banchero was held 14 points under his season average, shooting two of 10 from the field and committing four turnovers. Banchero scored 33 points against in SPU's 80-71 win over UAA on Jan. 28 in Seattle.

After SPU started the game with a three-pointer from Larrieu, the Seawolves (17-10, 8-8) answered with a 9-0 run and never trailed again. UAA led 37-29 at halftime and went up 56-43 on Aaron Stevens' dunk with 10:34 left.

The Falcons clawed back into it from the free throw line, however, while the Seawolves missed three consecutive front ends of one-and-one situations.

Two Larrieu free throws pulled SPU within 61-59 at the 4:21 mark, and SPU had a chance to take the lead when Jeff Downs was fouled on a rebound two minutes later.

But Downs missed both charities and Casey Robinson sank a pair of free throws on UAA's next possession.

After a steal by Walker on the defensive end, the 6-3 swingman starred on offense for the final time, nailing a step-back three-pointer over Larrieu for a 70-64 advantage with 53 seconds showing.

The Seawolves made five of six free throws to clinch the game as SPU went scoreless in the final two minutes.

Casey Robinson scored 15 points on five of nine shooting, including three of six field goals. Drew Robinson had 12 points and Kevin White had nine making three of five from the arc.

Central Washington 78, Saint Martin's 70

Toussaint Tyler scored six of his 11 points in overtime lifting Central Washington to a come-from-behind 78-70 victory over Saint Martin's at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats completed their regular-season in third place in the GNAC with a 10-6 record. CWU is 16-10 overall.

Tyler had one of his best shooting nights of the season, making five of seven tries including his only three-point attempt.

He opened the scoring in the extra period with consecutive running jumpers in the paint, and then capped the scoring with a fast-break layup with 20 seconds to go.

The game reached overtime after Saint Martin's Galen Squiers made a game-tying three-pointer with 11.9 seconds remaining and was fouled.

However, he missed the ensuing free throw and after the Saints (14-13, 4-12) were given the rebound out of bounds, Squiers missed a potential game-winning layup as time expired.

Central spent the first 25 minutes of the game playing from behind.

The Wildcats trailed by double digits for most of the first half, and faced a 14-point deficit with 2:06 left before halftime, but then scored the final nine points of the period on three-pointers by JC Cook and two by Ryan Snowden to make it a 38-33 halftime count.

The Wildcats finally took their first lead at the 15:13 mark of the second half on two free throws by senior Noble'D Shelton, who made his first start of the season.

Central spent most of the rest of the regulation with the lead, and was in front by as many as seven with 6:42 to go, before trading points with Saint Martin's down the stretch. The Saints chipped away at the lead but did not take the lead again.

Jon Clift led Central with 15 points, including several crucial baskets in the second half.

Chris Sprinker had a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds, making six of 10 shot attempts, and front court teammate Roby Clyde was also a double-figure rebounder with 11 boards as the Wildcats finished with a 45-37 edge on the glass.

Shelton matched his career-high with 11 points despite playing just 15 minutes.

Saint Martin's had a monster individual performance from Blake Poole, who finished with 31 points and 17 rebounds to record his 19th double-double of the season, one off the GNAC record.

Poole had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the first half, but accounted for nearly half (12) of the Saints' 25 made field goals.

Squiers was the only other Saint Martin's player to reach double figures in scoring, totaling 12.

Alaska Fairbanks 77, Northwest Nazarene 75

Alaska Fairbanks rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to defeat Northwest Nazarene and complete its season with back-to-back victories.

Emmanuel Jenkins scored 18 points including a layup with 15 seconds left to put the Nanooks ahead 75-74. Nashorn Maynard then stole the ball and made two free throws earning his 19th and 20th points of the game.

At that point UAF took a foul sending NNU's Jamie Eisinger to the free throw line. He made the first, but missed the second and Joe Powell hauled in the defensive rebound as time expired.

Maynard and Jenkins were the only players in double figures for UAF, which trailed 39-31 at halftime and was still down 48-38 before going on an 11-1 run to tie the game on a three-pointer by Jon Moe with 12:19 remaining.

The Nanooks eventually built a 67-59 lead with 5:56 remaining, but the Crusaders charged back to twice go ahead at 72-71 on a layup by Brian Barkdoll with 1:24 remaining and at 74-73 by two free throws by Louie Beech was 49 seconds left.

But at that point, Kyle Smith grabbed an offensive rebound off a three-point miss by Jenkins and after a time out Jenkins got the go-ahead basket.

Beech led Northwest Nazarene with 23 points, while Barkdoll had 11 and Kendall Gielow chipped in with 10. Both Gielow and Beech had eight rebounds.

UAF, however, controlled the backboards 48-41 as Powell, who had seven points, hauled in a dozen.

March 4

Nanooks Stun Seattle Pacific in Overtime

Alaska Fairbanks reserve guard Kyle Smith came off the bench in the final seconds of the second half to tie the game on a spinning layup, then added eight more points in overtime as the Nanooks rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit to stun GNAC champion Seattle Pacific 113-105 Thursday at The Patty Center.

It is now likely that nationally ninth-ranked Seattle Pacific (22-4, 13-2) must win at Alaska Anchorage (16-10, 7-8) Saturday to secure the No. 1 seed and the host role for next week's NCAA Division II West Region playoffs.

UAF's win wasn't the only upset Thursday night as guard DaVell Jackson poured in a career-high 34 points to lead Montana State Billings to a 92-85 win over Central Washington at Nicholson Pavilion.

The victory enabled MSUB (15-9, 9-6) to move into a third-place tie with the Wildcats (15-10, 9-6) in the conference race.

Meanwhile, Drew Eisinger had 21 points and five steals as Northwest Nazarene (15-11, 7-8) stunned Alaska Anchorage 78-76 at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

Elsewhere Western Oregon (12-15, 5-11) closed out its season with a 59-56 victory against Saint Martin's in Monmouth.

Alaska Fairbanks 113, Seattle Pacific 105

Alaska Fairbanks, which trailed 84-66 with eight minutes left in regulation, scored the final 10 points of overtime to win its third conference game on the season.

With starters Emmanuel Jenkins, who finished with 28 points and six assists, and Bo Edwards, who had eight points, already out on fouls, subs Smith (8 points), Clayton Edwin (5 points) and Cole Daniel (4 points) accounted for all of UAF's points in the overtime.

Alaska Fairbanks (8-16, 3-12) closed the game on a 30-12 scoring run, tying it on Smith's first touch of the basketball after entering the game with six seconds left when Edwards fouled out.

In the overtime, the Falcons forged ahead 105-103 on a driving lay-in by Ryan Sweet with 2:04 to go in the extra session. But SPU came up empty the rest of the way as the Nanooks finished the game on a 10-0 run.

Edwin tied the game at 105-105 with a layup with 1:47 left and a jumper by Smith at 1:15 remaining gave the Nanooks the lead. UAF then built on the lead the rest of the way from the foul line getting two from Smith and four free throws from Daniel.

UAF's comeback in regulation was fueled by Nashorn Maynard, Jenkins and Joe Powell. Maynard had 10 of his 22 points, Jenkins had eight of his 29 points and Powell had seven of his 20 points during UAF's closing 30-12 run.

Both Maynard and Powell also had 12 rebounds apiece as UAF controlled the backboards 42-34 to offset another outstanding shooting performance by SPU.

The Falcons, who lead the nation in field goal percentage, made 38 of 73 (52.1) including 10 of 24 three-pointers. But the Nanooks were even hotter converting on 42 of 78 (53.8 percent).

Seattle Pacific, which had a six-game win streak snapped, was paced by Chris Banchero with 29 points. Sweet had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Starters Brandon Larrieu (19 points), Jake Anderson (15 points) and Rob Diederichs (13 points) were also in double figures. Diederichs also had six assists and SPU's only two blocks. Powell rejected five shots for UAF.

Montana State Billings 92, Central Washington 85

Jackson and DeAndre Chambers combined for 60 points to lead Montana State Billings to its first-ever victory in four tries at Nicholson Pavilion as the Yellowjackets snapped a six-game losing streak to the Wildcats.

Central didn't have a defensive answer for either player as Jackson made 12 of 16 shots, including his only trey and also earned four assists and two steals. Chambers finished with 26 points, connecting on five of 12 three-point shots.

The Yellowjackets, who were playing without starter Brad Hodge (10.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) due to an injury, also got 12 points apiece from Mike McCrary and Lasha Parghalava. Parghalava had eight rebounds.

JC Cook made seven three-pointers and led Central Washington with 23 points. Cook, who missed his only four two-point attempts, was seven of 19 from the arc.

Riley Sivak and Shane Miller each chipped in with 14 points and Jon Clift added 10 points. Center Chris Sprinker had nine points and 11 rebounds and Roby Clyde had eight points and 12 rebounds.

CWU controlled the backboards 48-37, but were outshot 47.3 (26 of 55) to 38.2 percent (26-88) and got sloppy at times with the basketball, especially in critical situations.

Still the Wildcats led 50-43 before MSUB used a 11-2 run to go ahead 54-52. The last seven points came on a three-pointer by Chambers and two layups by Jackson.

The game was tied four more times, the final time at 64-64 with 5:57 left, but the 'Jackets then put together a 14-2 run. Jackson had the first five points.

During one point in that series, the Wildcats had five possessions without getting off a field goal attempt, turning the ball over three times and making two of four free throws.

Northwest Nazarene 78, Alaska Anchorage 76

Drew Eisinger scored 21 points, including a three-pointer to give his team a five-point lead with 4:30 left, as Northwest Nazarene gave Alaska Anchorage's playoff hopes a damaging but not fatal blow, with a 78-76 victory.

Eisinger was deadly from outside making five of six three-pointers. His final one came after Jamie Eisinger, who had 17 points, made two free throws to snap a 65-65 tie.

The Crusaders also got 12 points from Kendall Gielow on four of six shooting as they shot 60.5 percent from the floor (26-43), missing only 17 all night. They were 10 of 17 from the arc.

Casey Robinson led the Seawolves, who rallied from a 45-31 halftime deficit to take a four-point lead midway through the second half, with a game-high 26 points, but his three-point try at the buzzer went awry enabling NNU to escape with the two-point win.

UAA also got 19 points from guard Brandon Walker, but the Seawolves could not overcome the combination of their own poor free throw shooting and red-hot field-goal shooting by the Crusaders.

UAA made just 21 of 33 from the foul line, while NNU, which swept the season series for the second straight year, converted on 16 of its 18 opportunities.

The Crusaders shot 69 percent in the first half in opening up a 45-31 lead at halftime, but the Seawolves wasted no time making a comeback.

Trailing 51-40, UAA went on a 13-2 run to tie the game at the 12-minute mark. UAA then took a 57-53 lead when Robinson, who made six of 14 three-pointers, made all three free throws after a foul beyond the arc with 11:26 remaining.

A few minutes later, forward Aaron Stevens had a steal and breakaway slam dunk for a 63-60 lead, but the momentum would not hold.

The Crusaders responded with a 10-2 spurt of their own, highlighted by two treys from Eisinger.

The Seawolves had several chances to slice into the deficit, but they made just four of 11 free throws and committed two turnovers in the final two minutes.

Despite those numbers, UAA still had a chance to tie or win when the Crusaders knocked the rebound out of bounds on Kevin White's purposeful free-throw miss with 3.8 seconds on the clock.

UAA got the ball inbounds to Robinson, who was forced to take a fall-away attempt from the corner that was never online.

Western Oregon 59, Saint Martin's 56

Matt Schmidt led four players in double figures with 17 points and Rico Myles had 11 of his 13 points in the second half as Western Oregon ended its 2009-10 season with a 59-56 victory at the New PE Building in Monmouth.

The Wolves also got 13 points and 12 rebounds from Tarance Glynn and 10 points from Kyle Long.

Galen Squiers had 16 of his game-high 21 points in the second half helping the Saints rally from a 41-26 deficit at the break. Blake Poole had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Brady Bomber had six assists.

Saint Martin's outscored WOU 28-10 to start the second half and go ahead 54-51, but the Saints scored only two points - on a pair of Poole free throws - over the final 5 1/2 minutes missing their final nine shots, including seven three-pointers.

WOU took advantage going ahead 57-56 on a layup by Myles with 2:32 to go and then getting their final hoop on another Myles layup with 1:30 remaining.

The Saints then fired four three-point shots in the final 90 seconds in an attempt to tie the game, but none connected.

February 27

Seattle Pacific Clinches GNAC Title Outright

Chris Banchero led five double figure scorers with 19 points as Seattle Pacific clinched its first outright GNAC basketball championship in four years with an 89-76 victory Saturday night at Saint Martin's.

Elsewhere Alaska Anchorage's playoff hopes took a hit with a 65-60 loss at Montana State Billings. Meanwhile, Northwest Nazarene defeated Western Oregon 93-83 to complete its home campaign. Central Washington plays at Western Washington Sunday night in a regionally televised game.

SPU (22-3, 13-1) secured its fourth title in the nine-year history of the conference. The Falcons, whose only other outright championship came in 2006, shared the league crown in 2002 and 2007.

Seattle Pacific led by six at halftime before Galen Squiers hit a three-pointer with 13:59 left to draw Saint Martin's within three points at 55-52. But Ryan Sweet answered with a trey 24 seconds later that started the Falcons on a game-clinching 14-4 run.

SPU, which led by as many as 19 late in the game, capped the surge with six straight points from the free throw line that netted a 69-56 lead with 9:37 remaining.

The first four charity shots were converted by Jeff Downs after the Saints' bench was whistled for back-to-back technical fouls.

Downs came off the bench to score 17 points. He shot three of four from three-point range and eight of nine from the line. Another reserve, Adam Wardell, tallied 14 points for SPU which also got 10 apiece from Sweet and Brandon Larrieu.

Jeremy Green paced SMU with 25 points while Blake Poole contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds. Poole scored the initial seven points for SMU and 11 of the team's first 15 helping the Saints build a 15-7 lead.

The Falcons responded with an 11-2 run, capped by Wardell's put-back of his own miss, to claim a brief 18-17 edge. Poole then made a layup, giving SMU its last lead at 19-18.

Downs converted two free throws and Scott Morse followed with a jumper to put SPU ahead for good at 23-19 with 9:11 left in the first half.

SPU displayed why it is the nation's second-best shooting team, hitting 55 percent of its shots from the field (28-51), including a torrid 63 percent second-half clip (15 of 24). The Falcons got 11 assists from Rob Diederichs giving him 30 in two games this week.

Montana State Billings 65, Alaska Anchorage 60

DaVell Jackson scored 16 points and also had seven assists leading Montana State Billings to a 65-60 home victory against Alaska Anchorage.

The win moved the Yellowjackets (14-9, 8-6) into sole possession of fourth-place in the GNAC one game ahead of the Seawolves (16-9, 7-7). The two teams came into the game tied for fourth.

MSUB also 13 points from Mike McCrary and 12 each from DeAndre Chambers and Brad Hodge in winning their fifth game in their last seven outings. Chambers made four of nine three-pointers.

Hodge and Derrick Wright, who had six points, five assists and two steals, each had a game-high eight rebounds.

Juniors Brandon Walker and Kevin White scored 14 points apiece to pace UAA. The Seawolves also got 12 points from Casey Robinson, however Robinson's attempt at a game-tying three-pointer went wide with six seconds left.

The contest was tight throughout, with UAA gaining its largest lead at 19-10 midway through the first half. The Seawolves led 29-28 at halftime and trailed just 41-40 with less than nine minutes left when the Yellowjackets started their run.

Left wide open on the left side of the three-point arc, White – who had already made four three-pointers – missed his attempt, and MSUB responded seconds later with a successful trey by Lasha Parghalava.

That six-point swing would turn out to be costly as the Seawolves eventually fell behind 59-50 with three minutes remaining and had to turn to fouling down the stretch.

The strategy almost worked when DeAndre Chambers missed two free throws with 14 seconds remaining. Donnie Lao grabbed the rebound and passed ahead to Robinson, but the Seawolves' second-leading scorer was forced to double-clutch before attempting an off-balance trey. The rebound went to Jackson, who clinched the game with two free throws.

Jackson made five of six shots from the field to lead his team to 57 percent marksmanship – including five of 10 three-pointers in the second half.

The Seawolves were hot from three-point land themselves at 13 of 28 (.464), however UAA struggled from close range, making only six of 19 (.316) inside the arc.

Northwest Nazarene 93, Western Oregon 83

Louie Beech converted six of nine shots from the three-point line to lead Northwest Nazarene to a 93-83 victory over Western Oregon at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa.

Beech, who scored a game-high 22 points, was joined behind the arc by Anthony Golden who came off the bench to hit five of eight treys and finished with 17 points.

The Crusaders (14-11, 6-8) finished the game making 12 of 27 three-pointers and 31 of 62 shots overall.

Joining Beech and Golden in double figures were Brian Barkdoll with 15 and Drew Eisinger with 11.

Blair Wheadon was also effective from long range making four of six and finishing with 22 points to lead Western Oregon (11-15, 4-11). WOU also got 17 points from Rico Myles, 16 from Matt Schmidt and 14 from Kyle Long.

The Wolves shot at a 53,6 percent clip (30-56). NNU, however, out rebounded the Wolves 40-26 as David Reeher grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, including seven of the offensive glass, in only 16 minutes of action. Myles matched those numbers for WOU also hauling in nine. Six of his came at the defensive end.

NNU trailed in the early going by as many as 11 points (17-6 and 19-8) but battled back to earn a 36-36 standoff at the half.

The Crusaders, however, pulled away in the second half making nine of 16 three-point shots going up by as many as 17 (77-59 with 7:11 left). NNU also made 19 of 23 foul shots, including 16 of 20 in the final 20 minutes.

February 25

Falcons Clinch NCAA Berth, Title Tie

Chris Banchero scored a career-high 34 points, many of them off passes from Rob Diederichs whose 19 assists broke the GNAC single-game record as Seattle Pacific clinched at least a tie for the league basketball title with a 100-92 victory over Central Washington Thursday at Brougham Pavilion.

Ryan Looney became the first coach to direct SPU (21-3, 12-1), which is ranked ninth in the latest NABC national poll, to a conference championship in his inaugural season as the Falcons secured their sixth straight NCAA Division II tournament berth.

The league's automatic berth goes to SPU, which owns the tiebreaker advantage over Western Washington (23-5, 10-4) and CWU (15-7, 9-4) the only two teams that can still tie for first place.

One of those will be eliminated for sure Sunday night when they square off at Carver Gym in a regionally televised game on Fox Sports Northwest. SPU could eliminate both Saturday when it travels to Saint Martin's for the first of three straight road games to end its regular-season campaign.

Western Washington moved one-half game ahead of CWU with a 76-75 overtime win at Northwest Nazarene (13-11, 5-8) Thursday night. Meanwhile Montana State Billings (13-9, 7-6) climbed into a tie for fourth place with Alaska Anchorage by defeating Western Oregon 84-76 at Alterowitz Gym.

Seattle Pacific held a slim 70-67 lead midway through the second half before outscoring the Wildcats 16-4 to take control at 86-71 with 5:37 remaining. Banchero tallied six points during the run.

Banchero surpassed his previous career high of 33 points established Jan. 28 against Alaska Anchorage.

Brandon Larrieu scored 20 points for Seattle Pacific, which also got 13 from Jeff Downs and 12 from Ryan Sweet.

Central was paced by the career-high 25 points of Chris Sprinker, while Toussaint Tyler added 16 and Shane Miller netted 15. The Wildcats also got 12 points from Coby Gibler and 11 from Jon Clift. Sprinker made 10 of 15 shots and also had eight rebounds.

Diederichs nearly had a triple-double with 10 rebounds and six points to go along with his school-record 19 assists. The previous SPU record was 14 assists and the GNAC standard of 18 was set in 2008 by Alaska Anchorage's Luke Cooper.

The Falcons distributed assists on 30 of their 34 baskets en route to a 55.7 percent (34 of 61) shooting performance. CWU was limited to 44.2 percent (34 of 77) accuracy from the field.

Larrieu opened the game with a layup and three-pointer, helping SPU race out to a 7-2 lead. That margin grew to 16-8 before the Wildcats scored 10 straight points.

Clift tallied the first eight points of the run, including a pair of treys, to give CWU its first lead at 18-16 with 13:17 left in the first half.

That was the first of eight lead changes during a tight first half that also featured seven ties.

The game was tied 43-43 before the Falcons closed with a 10-4 surge to claim a 53-47 halftime advantage. The margin could have been wider, but Scott Morse missed a late three-pointer, the first miss for SPU which made its first five treys.

SPU shot six of 10 from three-point range for the game and Central was six of 21. Seattle Pacific's win snapped an eight-game regular-season losing streak to the Wildcats.

Western Washington 76, Northwest Nazarene 75

Forward Derrick Webb scored six of his game-high 19 points in overtime as Western Washington rallied from a late second-half deficit to defeat Northwest Nazarene at the Johnson Sports Center.

Western, No.24 in this week's NABC poll, trailed by three (64-61) with under a minute to go in regulation, but scored on its final three possessions to force overtime.

Reserve guard Harold McAllister, who finished with 15 points, had the final four points, including two free throws with seven seconds left to tie the game at 67-67.

NNU had a chance to win in regulation, but Anthony Golden, who had 16 points and made four of five three-pointers, missed at the buzzer.

In the extra frame, a basket by Webb gave Western the lead for good at 73-71 with 58 seconds left. Drew Eisinger then had a chance to tie the game but made just one of two free throws and WWU's Morris Anderson was fouled with 12 seconds left.

Anderson made the first free throw and missed the second, but Webb, who scored in double figures for the 21st straight game, grabbed the rebound and subsequently made two free throws to put the game out of reach at 76-72 with seven seconds left.

Western claimed the triumph despite being outshot from the field. The Vikings hit just 43.4 percent (23-53) to 53.1 percent (26-49) for the Crusaders. But Western overcame that by making 23 of 27 (85.2 percent) free throws.

In addition to Golden's 16, NNU got a game-high 19 points from Brian Barkdoll. Drew Eisinger had 14 points and Louie Beech added 10.

Montana State Billings 84, Western Oregon 76

Derrick Wright led a balanced attack with 18 points to lead Montana State Billings to a 84-76 home win over Western Oregon (11-14, 4-10) at Alterowitz Gym.

In addition to Wright, the Yellowjackets, who led by as many as 15 in the second half, also got 17 points from DaVell Jackson, 16 from Brad Hodge, 15 from Brett Taylor and 11 from Mike McCrary.

All but Taylor, who made four of seven three-pointers were starters. One of Taylor's three-pointers came with 4:16 left and reestablished MSUB's lead at 11 after the Wolves had briefly cut it to six with 4:41 left.

Hodge, who had 10 of his points in the second half when he made four of four shots, hit a layup right before Taylor's three effectively ending WOU's comeback chances.

Jackson was MSUB's leading scorer in the second half, netting 14 points. He also had seven assists and a game-high five steals.

Jackson's seven assists matched McCrary for game honors, while McCrary tied WOU's Tarance Glynn for most rebounds in the game with 10.

The Wolves' Blair Wheadon led all scorers with 27, netting 22 in the second period to keep the game relatively close. Wheadon, who also had five assists, made five of six treys in the second period. For the game he was nine of 21, including six of 11 from the arc.

WOU also got 16 points from Rico Myles, 15 from Matt Schmidt and 11 from Kyle Long. The Wolves hit on 11 of 26 three-pointers, but MSUB shot 52.8 percent from the floor (28-53) and outscored WOU 20-7 from the foul line to secure the victory.

February 24

Casey, Drew Robinson Key UAA Win

Casey Robinson scored all 18 of his points in the second half Wednesday as Alaska Anchorage earned a 81-78 victory over Alaska Fairbanks in a GNAC contest at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (16-8, 7-6) also prevailed thanks to a career-high 17 points from point guard Drew Robinson.

The Nanooks (7-16, 2-12) were led forward Joe Powell with 19 points and eight rebounds while point guard Emmanuel Jenkins scored 18 points and nearly brought the visitors back in the final minutes.

UAA took a 39-33 lead when it scored the first eight points of the second half, but the Nanooks responded quickly, and the game remained a one- or two-possession affair for the next 10 minutes.

Tied for the 10th and final time at 58-58, Drew Robinson began a 13-2 UAA run with a pair of free throws at the 8:20 mark. Donnie Lao ended the spurt with a fast break layup with 5 minutes left, making it 71-60 before the Nanooks made their final surge.

Two three-pointers by Jenkins sliced UAA's advantage to 73-70 with 2:44 to play, and Jenkins pulled the Nanooks within 75-74 when he converted off UAF's offensive rebound of Powell's missed free throw.

After a pair of 30-second timeouts, Lao got the ball in the corner and drove baseline with the shot clock running down. With the defensive collapsing in the lane, Lao dished to Casey Robinson at the top of the key for a huge three-pointer that made it 78-74 with 1:13 left.

The Nanooks again trimmed it to a one-point game on Edwin Clayton's jumper with 22 second to go, and Brandon Walker was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play.

The Seawolves' leading scorer drained both free throws to complete a 15-point effort and set up UAF's last chance to tie.

Jenkins fired a 28-foot three-point attempt that appeared to be on target but clanged off the rim.

A scramble for the rebound left UAF with possession with 2.6 seconds showing, however the Seawolves deflected the inbounds pass into the back court, preventing the Nanooks from attempting a last shot.

Casey Robinson made four of nine three-pointers and six of six free throws, while Drew Robinson made six of 11 field goal tries and all four of his free throws.

The victory was UAA's ninth straight over its rival and seventh straight at home. The Seawolves now lead the all-time series 66-21, including 38-5 in Anchorage .

February 20

Falcons Hold On To Two-Game Lead in GNAC Race

Chris Banchero poured in 24 points, including a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to snap a 75-75 tie and give Seattle Pacific a 78-75 victory over Montana State Billings at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

The win enabled the nationally 11th ranked Falcons (20-3, 11-1) to maintain a two-game lead over second-place Central Washington (15-7, 9-3), which kept pace with a 89-75 home win over Northwest Nazarene.

Elsewhere Saint Martin's (14-10, 4-9) stung regionally ninth-ranked Alaska Anchorage's playoff aspirations defeating the Seawolves 76-59 at Marcus Pavilion. Meanwhile, Alaska Fairbanks (7-15, 2-11) earned its first conference road win of the season defeating Western Oregon 95-83.

Banchero's game-winning three-pointer came after MSUB had tied the game on a three-pointer by Mike McCrary with 8.1 seconds left.

Banchero played a part in over half (44) of the Falcons' points as he also distributed a career-high 10 assists.

SPU, which reached the 20-win plateau for the 16th time in school history, led the entire second half before McCrary nailed his trey from the wing.

On the ensuing possession, Banchero dribbled the ball out top and nearly tripped before righting himself and drilling a contested trey from the top of the key.

Ryan Sweet and Brandon Larrieu each chipped in 18 points for SPU. Sweet completed his fifth double-double with a career-best 14 rebounds. Sweet reached double-figure rebounds for the sixth straight game, leading the Falcons' 34-29 edge on the boards.

Derrick Wright scored 19 points to lead Billings (12-9, 6-6), which also got 14 apiece from McCrary and DeAndre Chambers and 13 from Brad Hodge. Wright also had eight assists, six rebounds and three steals.

The Falcons shot 58 percent from the field (29 of 50), including a 60.9 percent second-half performance (14 of 23).

Seattle Pacific led for the majority of the first half on the strength of 55.6 percent shooting (15 of 27). Rob Diederichs hit a three-pointer with 4:45 left in the half to give the Falcons a 31-25 advantage.

Central Washington 89, Northwest Nazarene 75

Central Washington overcame a five-point halftime deficit with its best shooting performance of the season to defeat Northwest Nazarene (13-10, 5-7) and record its sixth win in its last seven games.

Louie Beech, who finished with a game-high 29 points, made nine of 12 three-pointers (one off the GNAC single-game record of 10 made) including six straight to begin the game. The last of the six gave NNU a 38-31 lead with 5:41 remaining in the opening period.

The NNU lead was five at the break after a buzzer beating trey by Drew Eisinger. Central, however, made eight of its first 10 shots to begin the second stanza to go ahead 61-57.

The Wildcats, who shot 69.2 percent (18-26) in the period, later went on a 10-2 run to go ahead 81-70 with 3:26 left.

NNU responded with five points of their own, but CWU center Chris Sprinker then outscored the Crusaders 8-0 the rest of the way as the Wildcats earned the 14-point victory.

Sprinker, who played just 14 minutes due to foul problems, finished with 14 points, all but two in the second half. The Wildcats also got 17 points each from guards Jon Clift and JC Cook and 13 from forward Riley Sivak.

Clift, who made seven of 11 shots, had 10 in the opening period, while Cook netted 11 of his 17 in the second half.

In addition to Beech's 29, Northwest Nazarene got 15 points from Drew Eisinger and 11 from Brian Barkdoll. Both players had eight rebounds as NNU had a 36-33 rebounding edge.

Central, however, shot 59 percent from the floor (36-61) and had only eight turnovers, seven fewer than NNU, which made only 22 of 60 shots (36.7), including nine of 31 in the final 20 minutes.

Saint Martin's 76, Alaska Anchorage 59

Blake Poole scored 19 points and Roger O'Neill had 17 to lead Saint Martin's to a 76-59 home win against Alaska Anchorage.

The Saints used a 30-9 advantage in points from the three-point line to beat the Seawolves. SMU made 10 of 17 including four of four by O'Neill, while UAA was three of 24.

In addition to Poole and O'Neill, SMU was also led by Jeremy Green with 14 points. Nick Pacitti came off the bench to lead UAA (15-8, 6-6) with 14 points, but no one else was in double figures.

Tied 15-15 midway through the first half, SMU used three consecutive three-pointers - one by O'Neill and two by Ryan Votaw - to pull away for good.

The Seawolves trailed 33-24 at halftime and never got closer than seven points in the second half.

SMU's advantage from outside helped it offset a 43-31 rebounding disadvantage. Brandon Walker had eight rebounds for UAA matching Poole for game honors.

Saint Martin's, which shot 49.1 percent (26-53) from the floor had only eight turnovers, including one by point guard Brady Bomber who had seven assists and finished the weekend with a 16 to 1 assist to turnover ratio.

Alaska Fairbanks 95, Western Oregon 83

Jon Moe scored 37 points and Nashorn Maynard had a second-half double-double to carry Alaska Fairbanks to a 95-83 road win at Western Oregon (11-13, 4-9).

The victory was the Nanooks' first this season on an opponent's home court as UAF improved to 4-7 away from home, including 3-0 at neutral sites.

Moe made seven of 14 three-point shots and was 12 of 23 overall as UAF rallied from an 18-point first-half deficit. The Nanooks trailed 34-16 before going on a 14-4 run and pulling within eight in the first half

UAF trailed by that same eight-point margin at the break, but then outscored Western Oregon 54-34 in the final 20 minutes.

The Nanooks started the second half with a 9-1 run to tie the game at 50-50. A little later back-to-back treys by Moe and Emmanuel Jenkins at 11:59 and 10:43 gave UAF the separation it needed stretching a four-point lead to 10. WOU never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

Jenkins, who had seven assists, ended up with 25 points on seven of 14 shooting including six of 10 from the arc. Maynard had 11 points and 12 rebounds in the second period after being held scoreless and held to two rebounds in the first period.

UAF, which made 14 of 26 three-point shots, also got an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double from Joe Powell.

Rico Myles had a double-double for Western Oregon, finishing with 22 points and 15 rebounds, including 10 offensive caroms. Guard Blair Wheadon went the distance and had 18 points. Kolton Nelson had 16 points on seven of 10 shooting.

February 18

Seattle Pacific Opens Up Two-Game Lead Over Vikings, Wildcats

Ryan Sweet hit three free throws in the final 44 seconds as Seattle Pacific scored the final five points of the game to wipe out a three-point deficit and defeat Western Washington 67-65 Thursday night in Brougham Pavilion in a crucial GNAC men's basketball contest.

The win enabled the nationally 11th ranked Falcons (19-3, 10-1) to open up a two-game lead in the GNAC race over the 21st ranked Vikings (22-5, 9-4) and idle Central Washington (8-3). WWU dropped to third place, falling percentage points behind the Wildcats.

Elsewhere Montana State Billings (12-8, 6-5) used three triples from DeAndre Chambers in the final 97 seconds to rally from a five-point deficit in a 74-72 win over Northwest Nazarene (13-9, 5-6).

MSUB's win kept the Yellowjackets tied for fourth with Alaska Anchorage (15-7, 6-5) which earned a 90-81 road win at Western Oregon. Saint Martin's defeated Alaska Fairbanks 91-75 in the final game of the night.

Chris Banchero pumped in 24 points and wing Brandon Larrieu added 21, including a scoop lay-in with 1:32 remaining that brought Seattle Pacific within one point of Western Washington at 65-64.

After a WWU pass went out of bounds with 59.2 seconds left, Sweet was fouled and went to the line with 44.2 seconds remaining, hitting both free throws to put SPU in front 66-65.

Then Western's Morris Anderson launched a short floater from the right of the hoop that popped in and out. The ball was volleyed around and Sweet came down with it. He was fouled by Anderson, went to the line and hit his first, but missed his second with 12.5 seconds left.

The Vikings had one more try, but a trey by Derrick Webb from the left of the key bounced off at the buzzer.

Western Washington went scoreless for the final 1:57 of the game after Rory Blanche's five-foot banker from the left side pushed its lead to 65-62.

The win gave Seattle Pacific a sweep of the season series, and this one ended in somewhat similar fashion to the first game. In the contest at Bellingham on Jan. 23, the Falcons scored the final seven points on the way to a 73-66 victory.

Webb led Western Washington with 16 points. Zach Bruce and Anderson added 12 apiece.

Sweet wound up with just five points for the game -- including those three late free throws.

But he pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, one more than his previous best of 12 which he set just one week ago on Feb. 11 in an 89-69 victory against Western Oregon.

Seattle Pacific seemed to take command early in the second half, building a 48-36 with 15:17 play. But during the next 4½ minutes, Western Washington went on an 11-2 run to get within 50-47 at the 10:48 mark.

The Vikings, who hadn't led since 11-9 early in the game, finally went back in front at 57-54 on a three-pointer by Anderson with 7:44 to go. From there, the lead changed hands five more times and the score was tied twice.

Montana State Billings 74, Northwest Nazarene 72

DeAndre Chambers made three three-pointers in the final 94 seconds as Montana State Billings rallied from a 70-65 deficit to edge Northwest Nazarene 74-72 at Alterowitz Gym

Chambers, who made five of seven treys and finished with 20 points, pulled the Yellowjackets to within two points with 1:34 left and then following a layup by Brian Barkdoll with 1:20 showing on the clock, he repeated his long-range artistry cutting Northwest Nazarene's lead to one with 1:07 remaining

The Yellowjackets then needed a defensive stop and got one - from Derrick Wright. Wright blocked a layup try by Barkdoll and also grabbed the rebound with 37 seconds left on the clock.

Then with 14 seconds remaining Chambers once again drilled one in from the outside. NNU tried to match it but Anthony Golden missed from three as time expired

Point guard DaVell Jackson matched Chambers' point total of 20 and also had seven assists, five rebounds and five steals. Wright finished with 17 points on seven of 10 shooting and Mike McCrary had 11, making three of four including all three of his three-point tries.

In all, MSUB made nine of 15 from the arc and 25 of 51 overall (49 percent). Northwest Nazarene had similar numbers from the floor, cashing in on 28 of 58 but was just seven of 18 from the three-point line.

Barkdoll led the Crusaders with 15 points, while Golden and Drew Eisinger had 14 and 12 points, respectively, in the closely contested game, which featured 14 ties.

MSUB's largest lead was six and NNU never led by more than its five-point margin inside the final two minutes

Alaska Anchorage 90, Western Oregon 81

Casey Robinson exploded for a career-high 30 points to lead Alaska Anchorage to a critical 90-81 road victory at Western Oregon.

The Seawolves – ranked No. 9 in the current West Region poll – also got 14 points apiece from Drew Robinson and Brandon Walker as they posted a season-high scoring total.

Guard Blair Wheadon led the Wolves (11-12, 4-8) with 20 points on seven-of-11 shooting Wheadon also had five assists, but the Wolves couldn't overcome a 39-32 rebounding disadvantage.

UAA – which trailed throughout its 76-65 home loss to WOU last month – turned the tables Thursday, using an early three-point barrage to earn a 19-6 lead.

The Wolves sliced their deficit to just 35-34 with under five minutes in the half before the Seawolves stretched to 49-41 at the break, getting a trey from Casey Robinson at the buzzer.

The Seawolf lead grew to 76-58 with nine minutes to play as Robinson converted a three-point play.

Robinson finished with 10 of 17 shooting, including six of 13 on treys, while making all four of his free throws.

Kevin White also reached double figures with 12 points and matched his career-high with eight rebounds, while Walker had a solid all-around stat line with 14 points, seven rebounds, a career-high-tying six assists and just one turnover in 34 minutes.

Saint Martin's 91, Alaska Fairbanks 75

Blake Poole scored 30 points and also had 11 rebounds and freshman Brady Bomber had perhaps the finest game of his young career as Saint Martin's (13-10, 3-9) overcame an early 8-0 deficit to defeat Alaska Fairbanks 91-75 at Marcus Pavilion.

Poole, who leads the GNAC in scoring (20.8) and rebounding (12.3), scored 18 of his points in the second half on eight of 10 shooting including six during a 12-1 late run in the contest as the Saints broke away from a 70-70 deadlock.

Poole started the run with a layup at 7:55 and later finished it with a basket with 2:41 remaining. He also had a hoop in the middle.

Poole's 30-point output was his league-best fourth 30-point game of the season. He also recorded his 16th double-double moving into a tie for fifth on the GNAC all-time single-season double-double list. The conference record of 20 has been accomplished twice by Fred Hooks of Humboldt State.

Bomber played almost flawless basketball, scoring a season-high 15 points without missing a field goal attempt and also passing for nine assists, one short of his season-high of 10 without turning the ball over.

He was five of five from the floor, two of them three-pointers He also made three of four free throws

Also in double figures for the Saints were Jeremy Green and Galen Squiers with 18 and 15 points, respectively. Green had eight rebounds; all of Squiers points came from outside as he made five of seven treys

Nashorn Maynard led Alaska Fairbanks (6-15, 1-11) with 23 points and seven rebounds making 10 of 20 shots. Emmanuel Jenkins had 20 points and Jon Moe had 11

Saint Martin's shot at a 55.9 percent pace (33-59), including 50 percent (9-18) in recording their third conference win of the season.

February 13

CWU Beats UAA To Earn Sweep

JC Cook scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the second half and Central Washington fought off a late surge by Alaska Anchorage to defeat the Seawolves 62-57 Saturday at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex .

The win completed CWU's first-ever road sweep of the two Alaska GNAC schools and left the Wildcats in the thick of the conference pennant race.

Central (14-7, 8-3) trails first-place Seattle Pacific (9-1) by 1 ½ games and is tied in the loss column and just half a game back of second-place Western Washington (22-4, 9-3).

The nationally 17th ranked Vikings, who lost Thursday at Anchorage, moved to within one game of No. 15 SPU - albeit two losses - rallying from a five-point halftime deficit to defeat Alaska Fairbanks 82-71 at the Patty Center.

Elsewhere Northwest Nazarene (13-8, 5-5) and Montana State Billings (11-8, 5-5) employed the three-ball to post victories against Saint Martin's and Western Oregon and move into a three-way tie for fourth-place with Alaska Anchorage (14-7, 5-5).

The Crusaders made 15 of 22 treys in outscoring Saint Martin's 91-72, while the Yellowjackets were 15 of 26 from the arc in a 103-95 win at Western Oregon.

Cook made four of nine second-half three-pointers including one to give CWU a 51-40 lead with 5:45 remaining in its victory. A minute later, Shane Miller's layup stretched the Wildcats' advantage to 53-40 with 4:35 remaining.

UAA, however, wasn't quite done yet as Central made just one of three field goal attempts, one of four free throws and turned the ball over three times in the next four minutes.

The Seawolves took advantage cutting CWU's lead to one point at 56-55 on a pair of free throws by point guard Steve White with 20 seconds left.

UAA then quickly fouled and Riley Sivak made two foul shots to reestablish Central's lead at three.

But White – who had scored four points on UAA's two previous possessions – was called for traveling with 10 seconds to play, and the Wildcats sealed it with two more foul shots by Sivak and two by Jon Clift.

In addition to Cook's 19 points, Central got 14 points from Clift and eight from Chris Sprinker, who also had a game-high seven rebounds as Central controlled the backboards 33-24, getting 15 at the offensive end. Sprinker also blocked three shots.

Brandon Walker led UAA with 20 points, making six of 14 from the field and eight of 11 at the free throw line. UAA also got 11 points from Casey Robinson, who made three of five three-pointers.

The game marked the fewest points for CWU in a winning effort since 2002 and earned the Wildcats a split of the season series. Central never trailed after going up 11-10 on a layup by Miller at the 12 minute mark of the first half.

Central eventually built a 22-12 lead as UAA missed 15 of its first 19 shots, though the Seawolves did climb back to within four points (24-20) at halftime.

The win, coupled with Thursday's victory at Fairbanks, completed Central's best road trip to Alaska since 1990 when it swept Sheldon Jackson, Alaska Southeast and Alaska Pacific, three schools that no longer sponsor intercollegiate sports.

Western Washington 82, Alaska Fairbanks 71

Guard Morris Anderson scored 19 points and forward Derrick Webb added 18 as Western Washington used a late surge to defeat Alaska Fairbanks 82-71 at the Patty Center.

The Vikings also got 12 points off the bench from forward Rory Blanche to stay within one game of first-place Seattle Pacific.

Alaska Fairbanks (6-14, 1-10), which has lost six straight, was led by Nashorn Maynard who scored a game-high 30 points, hitting 11 of 16 from the field along with eight of 10 foul shots.

Maynard also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, 11 off the offensive glass, just one off the GNAC single-game record of 12.

UAF made nine of its first 10 field goal attempts and held a 44-39 advantage at halftime, outscoring the Vikings 12-4 over the last seven minutes. Maynard had 19 points during that period.

The Nanooks still led by six points (58-52) with 11:02 left in the game. WWU then outscored UAF 19-5 over the next seven minutes to lead 71-63 with 3:55 to go and the Nanooks never got closer than six after that.

Reserve center Chris Mitchell scored all seven of his points during that run.

The Vikings, who have beaten the Nanooks six straight times, shot 56.3 percent (27-48) from the floor, hitting 14 of 23 three-pointers. Anderson made six of nine shots from beyond the arc, and Webb was four of seven.

Webb scored 16 of his points in the first half, and Anderson had 13 of his in the second.

UAF, which had 13 steals, was 10 of 32 (31.3 percent) in the second half after hitting 50 percent (18-36) in the first period.

Northwest Nazarene 91, Saint Martin's 72

Northwest Nazarene shot a scorching 68.2 percent from the three-point line (15 of 22) in defeating Saint Martin's 91-72 at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa.

The Crusaders (13-8, 5-5) attack was led by Kendall Gielow and Louie Beech with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Gielow made eight of 11 shots, including his only two three-pointers. Beech, meanwhile, came off the bench to make six of nine, including five of seven from outside the three-point line.

Anthony Golden also came off the bench to score 15, converting of six of eight shots, three of four from the arc. Jamie Eisinger reached double-figures with 10 points, while Drew Eisinger finished with eight points and a game-high six assists.

The Crusaders, who shot 59.0 percent (36-61), had 21 assists and a season-low nine turnovers.

Saint Martin's (12-10, 2-9) was led by Jeremy Green's game-high 24 points on 10 of 16 shooting, while Blake Poole finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Roger O'Neill added 17 points and pulled down six boards.

The game was tied at 19-19 with 11:51 left in the first half, before the Crusaders constructed a 14-3 run that included six points from Golden, a jumper from Jamie Eisinger, and three-pointers from both Beech and Gielow.

SMU was held to three free throws from Poole in that stretch as the Crusaders opened a 33-22 with 7:33 left in the period.

Green hit a jumper in the paint for the Saints to cut it back to single-digits (33-24) with 7:04 left, but Jamie Eisinger answered with another lay-in off the dribble to push the lead to double-digits at 35-24.

The Crusaders retained the double-figure margin the remainder of the game, leading by as many as 25 (70-45) midway through the second half.

Montana State Billings 103, Western Oregon 95

Montana State Billings won a shoot-out with Western Oregon (11-11, 4-7) as DeAndre Chambers scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to rally the Yellowjackets from a 49-44 halftime deficit.

The two teams combined to make 28 of 50 three-point shots and both teams flirted with the 60 percent figure before a late 11-2 run by MSUB finally decided it.

Chambers was five of six from the three-point line in the second half and made seven of nine treys overall as MSUB converted on 15 of 26.

MSUB also got 23 points on eight of 10 shooting from Brad Hodge and 20 points on seven of 11 shooting from Lasha Parghalava, who made five of eight treys. Point guard DaVell Jackson added 16 points and a game-high seven assists.

Six of the seven players who saw action for the Wolves ended up in double figures led by Kyle Long with 21 and Matt Schmidt with 19. Blair Wheadon scored 15, Josh Johnson added 13 and Rico Myles and Tarance Glynn finished with 11 and 10, respectively.

Myles also had 11 rebounds as WOU won the boards 34-30. MSUB, however, had a plus five takeaway advantage, turning the ball over just eight times.

Both teams had 60 percent shooting halves. In the first period, Western Oregon, which made 13 of 24 treys, shot 64.5 percent (20-31). They fell to 45.5 (15-33) in the second period, ending up at 54.7 (35-64).

MSUB shot 63.3 percent (19-30) in the second period and finished the game at 58.3, making 35 of 60 overall.

Appropriately, it was a three-pointer that ignited MSUB's final push as Chambers knocked down a trey with 3:23 left to snap a 88-88 tie and begin an 11-2 run that gave the Yellowjackets a 99-90 lead with 35 seconds remaining.

February 11

Sweet's Double-Double Paces SPU

Ryan Sweet had career highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds leading Seattle Pacific to a 89-69 win over Western Oregon Thursday at Brougham Pavilion.

SPU, which is ranked 15th in this week's NABC national poll and No. 2 in the West Region, overcame a sluggish start to earn its ninth conference win in 10 starts. The Falcons are now 18-3 overall.

The win also enabled Seattle Pacific to add a full game to its conference lead as second-place Western Washington scored just 17 second-half points in losing at Alaska Anchorage 68-53.

The Falcons lead Western Washington (21-4, 8-3) by 1 1/2 games. Central Washington (13-7, 7-3), which defeated Alaska Fairbanks 89-77, is two games back.

Elsewhere Saint Martin's (12-9, 2-8) ended a eight-game losing streak with a 87-72 win against Montana State Billings at Marcus Pavilion.

Sweet surpassed his previous high marks of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Point guard Chris Banchero, meanwhile, also had 20 points, while wings Brandon Larrieu and Jeff Downs chipped in with 15 and 12, respectively.

Western Oregon (11-10, 4-6) was led by the 22 points of Rico Myles. The Wolves also got 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds from Kyle Long.

SPU found itself down 32-23 late in the first half before getting within 38-37 at the break.

The Falcons went ahead for good at the outset of the second half when Sweet, after missing a pair of free throws, hit lay-in off a feed from Larrieu when Seattle Pacific corralled the offensive rebound.

The Falcons scored the first seven points of the half, keeping Western Oregon off the board until the 16:34 mark. SPU eventually stretched its lead to as many as 27 points late in the game.

Alaska Anchorage 68, Western Washington 53

Brandon Walker scored a game-high 22 points and Alaska Anchorage ended the game with an 18-0 run to beat Western Washington at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (14-6, 5-4) knocked off the defending league champions and the current top-rated squad in the NCAA Division II West Region as they also got 13 points from forward Nick Pacitti and a career-high 10 points from forward Aaron Stevens.

The nationally 17th ranked Vikings were led by 13 points from guard Derrick Webb, who did all of his damage in the first half. WWU held a 12-point advantage three times in the opening stanza – shooting 59 percent from the field and six of 10 on three-pointers.

UAA's defense then stepped up in the second half, holding the Vikings to 21 percent marksmanship, including zero of eight on treys.

Stevens, a 6-8 junior college transfer who played at South Anchorage High, had the best game of his young career, making five of six shots and grabbing four rebounds. His steal and breakaway dunk with 12:33 remaining made it 47-40 and sparked the Seawolves' late surge.

WWU forward Zach Bruce answered with a dunk of his own on the next play, but that would be the Vikings' final field goal of the night as they missed their last 13 shots from the field.

Walker gave UAA its first lead of the night on a spinning layup in the lane with 3:17 remaining, drawing the foul and converting the three-point play to make it 55-53.

After a pair of empty possessions on either side, Pacitti nailed a straightaway three with 2:03 left, and UAA sealed the game with eight straight free throws.

Walker made eight of 16 shots from the floor and seven of eight from the free throw line to post his seventh effort of 20 or more points this year.

Central Washington 89, Alaska Fairbanks 77

Shane Miller, who came in averaging 5.5 points per game, came off the bench to score 25 points to lead Central Washington to a 12-point road win against Alaska Fairbanks at The Patty Center.

Miller, who made six of nine shots and 11 of 12 free throws, scored 16 of his points in the first half when the Wildcats built a 39-27 lead.

CWU also got 22 points from JC Cook, including 13 in the second half. Cook made five of six shots including all three of his three-point attempts after the break.

After shooting just 36.4 percent in the opening period, the Wildcats missed just seven shots in posting a 66.7 second-half shooting percentage (14 of 21). They were five of seven on treys and 17 of 21 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes.

While Miller and Cook were the only double-figure scorers for the 'Cats, Chris Sprinker, Humberto Perez and Toussaint Tyler all had nine. Sprinker also had eight rebounds and three blocks.

Perez didn't miss a shot, converting on two treys and three free throws. Tyler was five of six from the free throw line.

Nashorn Maynard led the Nanooks (6-13, 1-9) with 29 points and 10 rebounds. UAF also got 16 points from Emmanuel Jenkins and 10 from Bo Edwards.

CWU used a 10-0 run in building a 30-15 first-period lead. UAF scored the first four points of the second half to close to within eight at 39-31.

Central later built a 20-point lead at 64-44 only to have the Nanooks cut the difference to single digits again at 79-70. The Wildcats, however, didn't let the Nanooks any closer.

Saint Martin's 87, Montana State Billings 72

The Saints snapped an eight-game losing streak as Blake Poole and Galen Squiers combined for 54 points and Brady Bomber had 10 assists in a 15-point home win over Montana State Billings.

Poole led the way scoring 28 points on 10 of 12 shooting and also grabbing 12 rebounds. Squiers made seven of 11 treys and scored 26.

SMU converted on 10 of 26 three-pointers. The Saints made half of their total shots, 30 of 60, and turned the ball over only six times.

Joining Poole, who recorded his conference-best 13th double-double (eight more than any one else in the conference), and Squiers in double figures were Jared Howard with 15 points and Jeremy Green with 12.

DeAndre Chambers scored 21 points to pace Montana State Billings (10-8, 4-5). Two players - Brad Hodge and Lasha Parghalava - had 13 points each.

Hodge also had a game-high 14 rebounds, while Parghalava made three of five treys.

February 6

Banchero, Diederichs Lead Seattle Pacific; Wolves Edge Central Washington

Chris Banchero scored 24 points, and Rob Diederichs handed out a career-high 12 assists as Seattle Pacific rolled to an 87-68 victory against Northwest Nazarene in a GNAC men's basketball game Saturday at Brougham Pavilion.

Elsewhere Blair Wheadon scored eight points in the final 87 seconds as Western Oregon rallied from four points back in the final minute to upset Central Washington 77-74 at Monmouth.

Alaska Anchorage, meanwhile, earned a 56-42 road victory at Alaska Fairbanks holding the Nanooks to a UAA record low defensive scoring total for the series.

Rory Blanche connected on nine of 20 shots and scored 20 points as Western Washington (8-2 in the GNAC) defeated Saint Martin's 88-68 in the only night game to stay just one-half game back of Seattle Pacific in the conference race.

Seattle Pacific 87, Northwest Nazarene 68

Banchero was one of five SPU players in double figures as the first-place Falcons (17-3, 8-1) bounced back from their first conference loss of the season Thursday at Ellensburg.

Ryan Sweet added 17 points, Jeff Downs chipped in 16 and Jake Anderson and Brandon Larrieu had 10 each.

Sweet made it a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds. That was his team-leading third double-double of the season.

Diederichs surpassed his previous career high of 11 assists, which he set on Nov. 25, 2008 against Division I Southern Utah.

Anthony Golden was the only player in double figures for the Crusaders (12-8, 4-5) finishing with 16 points. NNU also got nine points from Lateef Williams and eight each from Kendall Gielow and Louie Beech.

The Crusaders, however, were outshot 56.9 percent to 41.7 by Seattle Pacific, which made 29 of 51 and also cashed in on 22 of 24 free throws. NNU was nine of 13 from the foul line. SPU was nine of 20 on three-point shots compared to seven of 18 by the Crusaders.

Western Oregon 77, Central Washington 74

Western Oregon trailed 74-70 inside the final minute following a three-pointer by Wheadon at 1:27 and a layup by CWU's Toussaint Tyler with 1:04 remaining.

But the Wolves (11-9, 4-5) went ahead 75-74 as Wheadon got two free throws and a three-pointer and then employed some strategy to hand CWU (12-7, 6-3) its first loss on an opponent's home court this season.

After Wheadon hit two free throws with 42 seconds left, Rico Myles blocked a layup attempt by Tyler, who scored nine of CWU's final 12 points.

Wheadon then nailed a three-pointer from the left corner to give WOU a 75-74 lead with 21 seconds left.

CWU's Shane Miller got a good look on a three-pointer from the top of the key with seven seconds left but he missed and Tarance Glynn was quickly fouled after grabbing the rebound.

Glynn missed the front end of a one-and-one and the long rebound came out to Miller breaking down the left side. WOU's Kyle Long, however, grabbed him to prevent a shot.

It was only WOU's fifth team foul of the half and CWU had to take the ball out of bounds with less than two seconds remaining. The Wolves then intentionally took their sixth foul with 0.7 seconds left.

On the next inbounds which was a catch-and-shoot situation, Central's only real option was a lob to Chris Sprinker, who already had 21 points and 10 rebounds.

But the ball went out-of-bounds and after a quick foul, WOU's Matt Schmidt hit two free throws to establish the final three-point margin.

Wheadon finished with 18 points to lead six different Western Oregon players in double figures. The Wolves also got 13 points and 11 rebounds from Myles, 12 points from Glynn, 11 from Long and 10 each from Schmidt and Nelson.

In addition to Sprinker's 21, the Wildcats who are 4-4 on neutral courts in addition to their 3-1 away record, also got 21 points from Tyler and 12 from Jon Clift.

Sprinker also blocked six shots as the Wildcats rejected 11 Western Oregon attempts in the closely contested game that was played without either team managing a double-digit lead.

In the first half, WOU led by as many as eight after trailing early by six. The Wolves were ahead most of the second half by as many as nine before CWU used a 10-0 run to go ahead 72-67 on a three-pointer by Clift with1:51 remaining.

For the game, CWU outshot Western Oregon 44.3 to 36.5 percent, but were outrebounded 51-42 though the 'Cats did control the backboards 19-17 in the second half (9-3 off the offensive glass). Myles finished the contest with a game-high six offensive boards.

Western Oregon, which held CWU leading scorer JC Cook to four points, snapped a eight-game losing streak to the Wildcats with the victory. Cook was just two of 12 from the floor.

Alaska Anchorage 56, Alaska Fairbanks 42

Brandon Walker scored 20 points and Alaska Anchorage used its best defensive effort ever against rival Alaska Fairbanks to post a 56-42 victory at the Patty Center.

The Seawolves (13-6, 4-4) also got 11 points from guard Donnie Lao as they snapped a three-game losing streak and evened their GNAC record at the midway point of the schedule.

UAA – ranked No. 8 in the NCAA Div. II West Region – plays five of its final eight remaining regular-season contests at home.

Alaska Fairbanks (6-12, 1-8) was led by forward Nashorn Maynard with 13 points, but the Nanooks shot just 32 percent from the field and 12 percent on three-pointers. UAF's previous low point total in 86 all-time games UAA against came in a 96-45 loss on Feb. 24, 2001.

Despite entering the game with seven straight wins over UAF, the Seawolves fell behind 14-2 early before regaining their composure. Lao drained a three-pointer to even the game at 18-18, and Walker then led a UAA run that produced a 29-20 lead with 19 minutes remaining.

The Seawolves used a 40-31 rebounding advantage to keep the Nanooks at bay in the second half, keeping the game a double-digit affair for the final 14:26.

Walker was easily the offensive star of the game, sinking five of nine shots from the field and nine of 10 at the free throw line. He also tied with teammate Nick Pacitti and UAF's Joe Powell for game-high rebounding honors with eight.

Lao shot three of seven from long range and sank both of his free throws to improve his season average to .943 at the charity stripe. Pacitti added eight points and a block off the bench.

Western Washington 88, Saint Martin's 68

Forward Rory Blanche came off the bench and hit his first nine shots from the field in scoring a team-high 20 points as Western Washington defeated Saint Martin's at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The win was the 21st in 24 starts for the Vikings, while the Saints (11-9, 1-8) lost for the eighth straight time since beating WWU 94-86 in triple overtime at Lacey on Jan. 7.

Blanche entered the game midway through the first half and poured in 16 points by halftime, helping the Vikings pull away from an 18-18 tie with 9:33 left in the period to open up a 43-36 lead at halftime.

Blanche was seven of seven from the field in the half and also converted both his free throw attempts.

Saint Martin's opened the second half with a 9-2 run to pull within a point (45-44) with 16:12 to play, but the Vikings ran off the next seven points, as guard Morris Anderson drove for a layup, fed Andrew Ready for another and then hit a three-pointer, giving WWU a 52-44 advantage with 14:25 left.

The Saints never got closer than six points after that, and the margin was never less than 16 points in the final four minutes.

Forward Derrick Webb had 19 points for the Vikings, who won for the fifth straight time in improving to 11-1 at home.

Anderson had 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and Ready added 11 points. The Vikings shot 62.7 percent (37-59) from the field, their second-best mark of the season.

Forward Blake Poole led the Saints with 22 points and 13 rebounds, recording his league-best 13th double-double of the season.

Jared Howard scored 15 points, center Jeremy Green had 12 and guard Galen Squires added 10.

February 4

Central Washington Ends Seattle Pacific Win Streak at Seven

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball race got considerably tighter Thursday night.

JC Cook scored 24 points as Central Washington ended Seattle Pacific's seven-game win streak with a 85-72 victory at Nicholson Pavilion, defeating the Falcons for the eighth consecutive time in regular-season play.

Western Washington got 21 points and 10 rebounds from Zach Bruce and broke out of a 45-45 tie early in the second half on the way to a 81-61 home conquest of Northwest Nazarene.

Meanwhile, Rico Myles scored the final five points of the game and finished with 29 as Western Oregon overcame a six-point halftime deficit in a 80-77 overtime win at Lacey against Saint Martin's improving to 3-2 in conference road games.

Nationally 18th ranked Western Washington (20-3, 7-2) climbed to within one-half game of the ninth-ranked Falcons (16-3, 7-1) with its victory. Central Washington (12-6, 6-2) is just one game back.

All three teams were regionally ranked this week - the Falcons at No. 1, Seattle Pacific at No. 2 and Central Washington at No. 9.

Central Washington 85, Seattle Pacific 72

Cook hit nine of 13 shots including four of five three-pointers in producing his 24 points and leading Central Washington, which turned back a second-half rally by Seattle Pacific to claim the 13-point victory.

The short-handed Falcons lost for the first time in eight conference games as CWU improved to 8-2 in their last 10 contests with SPU, including 8-0 in regular-season contests.

In addition to Cook, Ellensburg's Riley Sivak contributed 14 points and the Wildcats also got 10 points each from both Chris Sprinker and Humberto Perez.

Brandon Larrieu paced the Falcons with 28 points, making five of seven treys. Chris Banchero added 19 points.

The Falcons were already without 6-foot-9 center Rafael Moreira, who has missed the last four games with a knee injury. At Central they also missed guard Jeff Downs due to an illness.

Downs was the hero in Saturday's 88-68 home win over Alaska Fairbanks with six 3-pointers and 20 points.

The SPU roster was further depleted Thursday when Adam Wardell was ejected with 12:36 left along with the Wildcats' Toussaint Tyler.

Those two got into a scuffle under the SPU basket in response to a hard-foul on Banchero by Central's Coby Gibler.

At the time, the Wildcats held their biggest lead of 22 points (63-41) - the largest deficit faced this season by the Falcons.

After the ejections, SPU quicky got back into the game going on an 18-2 run to narrow the margin to 65-59 with 8:40 to play.

Perez, however, stopped the surge with a three-pointer, sending Central on a 9-2 run. The Wildcats scored seven of their final nine points from the free throw line during the final 5:06 to secure the win.

Early on, Larrieu made a jump shot to bring SPU into a 2-2 tie. The Wildcats followed with seven straight points to take the lead for good. Cook capped the run with a three-pointer and a put-back shot to give Central a 9-2 lead.

The Falcons drew within 19-18 on a three-pointer by Larrieu with 9:50 left until halftime. CWU, however, responded with an 11-3 run and closed the half with seven unanswered points to forge a 47-30 halftime advantage.

Larrieu scored half (15) of SPU's first-half points, including three of four shooting from three-point range.

SPU came into the game ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage shooting 51.9 percent, but the Wildcats held the Falcons to a 41.4 percentage (24-58), while shooting 50 percent (29-58).

Western Washington 81, Northwest Nazarene 61

Forward Zach Bruce had game-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds as Western Washington broke open a tight game midway through the second half in defeating Northwest Nazarene 81-61 at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The contest was tied at 45-45 with 11:30 to go before the Vikings broke the game open going on an 18-2 run to take a 63-47 lead with seven minutes left.

Guard Morris Anderson, who finished with 13 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals, had six points and four assists in the charge. NNU never got closer than 14 points after that.

The Vikings shot 67.7 percent (21-31) from the field in the second half, and 54.8 percent (34-62) for the game. Guard Andrew Ready had 12 points, hitting four of five shots from the field.

Forwards Rory Blanche and Derrick Webb each had 10 points. Blanche also grabbed seven rebounds as Western posted a 36-27 advantage on the boards.

Drew Eisinger led the Crusaders (12-7, 4-4) with 17 points, but no one else was in double figures. Anthony Golden had nine points.

The Vikings had a 24-12 lead with 7:36 left in the first half, but NNU used a 12-2 run to narrow the margin to two (26-24) with 1:19 left in the period. Western held a 30-26 lead at halftime.

The win gave Viking head coach Brad Jackson his 11th 20-win season during his 25 years at Western, and the school's 13th overall.

Western Oregon 80, Saint Martin's 77

Tarance Glynn scored the final five points in overtime and Rico Myles had a career-high 29 points to lead Western Oregon to a 80-77 win at Saint Martin's.

WOU (10-9, 3-5) handed the Saints (11-8, 1-7) their seventh straight loss since beating Western Washington in triple time in their GNAC opener.

The Wolves trailed 77-75 with 32 seconds remaining in overtime before Glynn hit a layup and made a free throw to complete a three-point play.

Then after grabbing a rebound at the other end, he was fouled and sank to two more foul shots to give WOU the three-point win.

"Tarance played very well down the stretch," WOU head coach Craig Stanger said. "He is good at attacking the basket, and on (his three-point) play he was able to go the rim when their defense wasn't set."

Myles recorded his third double-double of the season also grabbing 12 rebounds. He scored 18 of his 29 points in the first half when he made seven of eight shots.He finished 12 of 16.

"Rico was consistent for us all game," Stanger added. "He really kept us in it in the first half."

WOU got into the overtime by holding Saint Martin's scoreless over the final 3:53. The Wolves got just three points in that time span, a layup by Myles off an assist by Matt Schmidt with 1:24 left and one of two free throws by Schmidt. But it was enough to get their into the extra five-minute period.

In the extra session, Glynn and Myles scored all 11 points for Western Oregon as it held Saint Martin's without a free throw or a three-point field goal. "Our guys willed their way to this win," Stanger said.

For the game, Western Oregon shot 50 percent for the field (32-64) and outrebounded Saint Martin's by four (43-39). On the other side of the ball, WOU's defense held SMU to seven of 31 from three-point range (23 percent) and only allowed them to reach the free throw line 11 times.

In addition to Myles and Glynn, Western Oregon also received double-digit scoring performances from Schmidt with 13 points and Kyle Long with 10.

Jeremy Green led Saint Martin's with 20 points, while Blake Poole had 19 points and 18 rebounds. Jared Howard chipped in with 13 points and Galen Squires had 10.

February 3

Taylor Rallies MSUB Past UAF

Junior guard Brett Taylor came off the bench to rally Montana State Billings from an early 13-2 deficit leading the Yellowjackets to a 75-58 home win over Alaska Fairbanks Thursday at Alterowitz Gym.

Taylor scored 14 first-half points and finished with 17, connecting on six of eight shots, including five of seven three-pointers as MSUB (10-7) snapped a brief two-game losing streak leveling its conference record at 4-4.

“The first six or seven minutes when they went into a zone we played out of sorts and we didn't settle down,” MSUB head coach George Pfeifer said. “When Brett came into the game and provided us with a shooting punch, we stretched their zone out."

Taylor's first two treys narrowed nine-point deficits to six at 13-7 and 18-12. Later the 5-8 Billings West High School product had a layup to pull his team within two points at 20-18.

Guard Lasha Parghalava then hit back-to-back threes to account for his only points of the game and give the 'Jackets leads of 21-20 and 24-22. Taylor then knocked down consecutive threes giving MSUB an eight-point advantage at 30-22.

MSUB, which took a five-point lead into halftime, scored the first eight points to start the second half and later opened up a pair of 22-point advantages, first at 61-39 and then at 63-41.

Joining Taylor, who also had a game-high three steals, in double figures were Derrick Wright with 13 points, Brad Hodge with 12 and DeAndre Chambers with 10.

Wright also had seven rebounds, while Hodge had a double-double, pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. He also had a game-high two blocks. "Brad had a great game," Pfeifer said.

Emmanuel Jenkins led UAF (6-11, 1-7) with 15 points (scoring seven of the Nanooks' first 13 points) and seven assists. Nashorn Maynard had eight points and nine rebounds, while Mason King had eight points.

Led by Taylor, MSUB hit on 12 of 27 treys on the way to a 48.1 percent shooting night (26-54). DaVell Jackson had five of his team's 21 assists. The Yellowjackets also had a 40-27 rebounding advantage.

January 30

Downs Helps Seattle Pacific Stay Perfect

Jeff Downs poured in 20 points and tied his career high with six three-pointers and Ryan Sweet had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, powering 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific to an 88-68 victory against Alaska Fairbanks on Homecoming Saturday in Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (16-2, 7-0), who have never started a conference season 8-0, go for a sweep of their first-half conference schedule Thursday when they travel to Ellensburg to face Central Washington.

Central Washington (11-6) will bring a 5-2 conference record - and a seven-game regular-season winning streak against SPU dating back to the 2005-06 season - into the game after improving to 3-0 in away contests with a 83-68 win at Saint Martin's Saturday.

The Wildcats are in third place half a game back of Western Washington (19-3, 6-2) which outscored Montana State Billings 100-75 behind a 33-point effort from Derrick Webb.

Meanwhile, Northwest Nazarene (12-6, 4-3) moved into fourth place defeating Alaska Anchorage 79-74, dropping the Seawolves (12-6, 3-4) into a fifth-place tie with Montana State Billings (9-7, 3-4).

Downs hit six of 10 shots from the arc, tying his career high set against Cal State San Bernardino on Nov. 22, 2008 at home. The double-double for Sweet was his second of the season.

Downs sparked a game-clinching scoring run for the Falcons, who were up by just eight at 70-62 with 6:38 left. He hit a three-pointer from the left of the lane to make it 73-62, starting an 8-0 surge.

Sweet added a pair of free throws and guard Brandon Larrieu buried a three-pointer from 24 feet away on the right side, pushing the lead to 78-62.

After Joe Powell of the Nanooks put in a short shot from right in front of the hoop, Downs drained a trey from the left of the lane, then hit a pair of free throws, effectively putting the game out of reach at 83-64 with just 2:23 remaining.

Larrieu and Rob Diederichs joined Downs and Sweet in double figures with 13 and 12 points each. Diederichs and Chris Banchero, who had eight points, each had six assists.

Nashorn Maynard paced Alaska Fairbanks (6-10, 1-6) with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Emmanuel Jenkins had 10 points. SPU doubled UAF's point total from the three-point line, making 12 of 30 compared to six of 13 for the Nanooks.

Central Washington 83, Saint Martin's 68

Chris Sprinker scored all 15 of his points in the second half and JC Cook scored 13 of his 15 in the first half leading Central Washington to a 83-68 win over Saint Martin's at Marcus Pavilion.

Sprinker made six of seven second-half shots, including four in the opening five minutes of the second period when the Wildcats went eight for eight, stretching a three-point halftime lead (42-39) to 16 (62-46) at the 15:12 mark.

Saint Martin's (11-7, 1-6), which has lost six straight, did manage to scratch back within six at 73-67 on a three-pointer by Brady Bomber with 3:34 left, but the Wildcats then ended a stretch in which it made only three of 16 shots, cashing in on its last three attempts and outscoring SMU 10-1 in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Joining Sprinker and Cook in double figures were Humberto Perez with 12 points. Four other players - Jon Clift, Roby Clyde, Coby Gibler and Toussaint Tyler - each had eight.

Clyde also had nine rebounds as CWU controlled the backboards 49-29, despite a 14-rebound effort by the Saints' Blake Poole. Sprinker and Gibler had nine and eight, respectively.

Poole led the Saints with 19 points along with his 14 rebounds. Jared Howard had 15 points, while Bomber and Jeremy Green each had 10. Bomber had a game-high seven assists while Clift had six for CWU.

The Wildcats led by 11 points in the first half before SMU went on a 12-0 run to go ahead 39-38 run late in the period. Central, however, then got a jumper by Tyler and a layup by Cook in the final 1:54 to take a 42-39 lead into the locker room.

Western Washington 100, Montana State Billings 75

Forward Derrick Webb scored 33 points and also had a team-high seven rebounds as 21st ranked Western Washington handed Montana State Billings its second straight home loss.

Webb hit on 12 of 16 shots including four of seven three-pointers. The Vikings also got 25 points and six assists from Morris Anderson and 10 points each from Zach Bruce and Harold McAllister.

Derrick Wright led the Yellowjackets with 21 points, and DeAndre Chambers added 19. DaVell Jackson was also in double figures with 14 points. Jackson also led MSUB with eight rebounds and six assists.

Webb, who had 40 points in a victory over Western Oregon on Thursday, scored 21 of his points Saturday in the first half, including nine in the final 2:40 of the period.

Western trailed only twice, both early in the contest, and took the lead for good on a three-pointer by guard Andrew Ready 6:11 into the game.

The Vikings held a 51-38 lead at halftime, and never led by less than 18 points after scoring the first seven points of the second half.

Western shot 59.0 percent (36-61) from the field for the game, including 63.2 percent (12-19) from three-point range.

The Vikings, who outrebounded MSUB 39-28, reached the 100-point mark for the second straight game.

Northwest Nazarene 79, Alaska Anchorage 74

Drew Eisinger scored 14 of his team-high 17 points in the second half as Northwest Nazarene defeated regionally third-ranked Alaska Anchorage 79-74 at the Johnson Sports Center handing the Seawolves their third consecutive loss.

Eisinger hit a three-pointer with 6:14 left to give NNU the lead for good at 60-58 after a spinning layup by Brandon Walker had capped off a 12-5 run rallying UAA from a six-point deficit with 12:50 left.

Two free throws by Robert Lippman and a jumper by Brian Barkdoll made it 64-58 and NNU maintained at least a four-point lead the rest of the way until the Seawolves cut it to a one-possession game (77-74) on Casey Robinson's three-pointer with 6.7 seconds left.

However, Jamie Eisinger, who finished with eight points and six assists, sealed the victory by making two foul shots.

In addition to Drew Eisinger, the Crusaders also got 16 points from Louie Beech, 13 from Anthony Golden and 11 from Brian Barkdoll in the win. Beech, who made six of eight shots (four of six three-pointers) scored 10 of his points in the opening half.

Guard Donnie Lao scored a career-high 21 points connecting on nine of 15 including three of seven treys to lead Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves also got 12 points from Walker and 11 from Robinson.

For the game, NNU shot at a 55.3 percent clip, making 26 of 47 shots. The Crusaders were 11 of 20 from the three-point line and 16 of 17 from the charity stripe. UAA made 28 of 60 (46.7) but were just eight of 25 from the arc.

January 28

Huge Nights for WWU's Webb, SPU's Banchero

Derrick Webb and Chris Banchero had huge nights leading Western Washington and Seattle Pacific to Great Northwest Athletic Conference home victories Thursday night.

It wasn't a bad night either for Central Washington center Chris Sprinker who scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the Wildcats handed Montana State Billings its first home loss defeating the Yellowjackets 73-57 at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

Webb scored 40 points, making a GNAC-record tying 10 three-pointers in just 12 attempts, to power Western Washington (18-3, 5-2) to a 112-78 win over Western Oregon (9-9, 2-5) at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Meanwhile, regionally top-ranked Seattle Pacific (15-2, 6-0) knocked off No. 3 Alaska Anchorage 80-71 at Brougham Pavilion as Banchero hit on 13 of 17 shots on the way to a 33-point night.

Northwest Nazarene (11-6, 3-3) also earned a home victory, outscoring Alaska Fairbanks 86-70 at Nampa as Kendall Gielow and Brian Barkdoll each scored 16 points.

Webb, whose point total is the most ever by a Viking at Carver Gym, set school records for most three-pointers made and for most consecutive three-pointers made. He hit six in a row during an eight-minute span in the first half.

He also equaled the GNAC record for treys set by Issac Gildea of Humboldt State against Saint Martin's during the 2002 season.

Webb's 40 points also equaled the fourth highest total in school history and the 10th best figure in GNAC history. Webb was 13 of 16 overall from the field and also added seven rebounds and four assists.

In addition to Webb's total, Western Washington, which is ranked second in the West Region and 21st nationally, also got 16 points on eight of 11 shooting from Rory Blanche, 15 points, 14 assists and six steals from Morris Anderson, 13 points from Andrew Ready and 12 from Chris Mitchell.

Anderson's assist total equaled the seventh best total in GNAC history. Four of the top six assist totals belong to former UAA point guard Luke Cooper.

Freshman center Kolton Nelson, making his first career start, connected on 11 of 12 shots and finished with 25 points to lead Western Oregon. Matt Schmidt had 15 points and Rico Myles had 14 points and seven rebounds. Zach Bruce grabbed eight rebounds for WWU to lead all players.

The Vikings shot 66.7 percent (42-63) from the field, including 65.4 percent (17-26) on three-pointers, tying the school record for most three-pointers made. Anderson and Mitchell were both three of four from the arc.

For all of the Vikings' hot shooting, the game, however, was still in doubt early in the second half. Western Oregon , which trailed by as much as 18 in the first half, closed to within seven (59-52) 2:30 into the second period, and was down by just eight (65-57) with 15:30 to play.

But WWU then went on a 17-2 run in a six-minute span, to take an 82-59 lead with 9:06 to play, and was never threatened after that by the Wolves, who made only two of 13 treys and shot 46 percent (29-63) overall.

Seattle Pacific 80, Alaska Anchorage 71

Chris Banchero pumped in a career-high 33 points -- setting a career scoring high for the second game in a row -- as the nationally 11th ranked Falcons stayed unbeaten in conference play.

Banchero, coming off a 27-point performance in last Saturday's 79-69 win against Montana State Billings, scored the most points for the Falcons since Dustin Bremerman tallied 33 against Saint Martin's on Feb. 17, 2006.

Up just 33-25 at halftime, the Falcons opened the second half on a 13-2 run, with Banchero getting nine of those points. Then, he drained a three-pointer to make it 49-29 with 15:52 remaining.

But Anchorage (12-5, 3-3) stormed back, going on a 25-10 run during the next 8½ minutes, closing to 59-54 with 7:28 still on the clock. It was still a five-point game at 65-60 with 4:09 to play, but Seattle Pacific never let the Seawolves get any closer.

The Falcons, who are the fifth-best shooting team in all of NCAA Division II, took just 43 shots from the floor, but hit 25 of them for a 58.1 percentage. Banchero was 13 of 17, including three of five from three-point range.

SPU also got 13 points from Jeff Downs and 11 from Brandon Larrieu. Leading Alaska Anchorage were Brandon Walker with 22 points and Casey Robinson with 19.

Walker was nine of 13 from the floor and also had four assists. Robinson made seven of 10 shots, three of four from the arc.

While UAA couldn't match SPU's 58.1 percent shooting which is 17.3 percentage points above UAA's season opponent field goal percentage, they did post a respectable percentage of their own making 50.0 percent (29-58).

The Seawolves also turned the ball over only nine times compared to 12 for SPU. That left little opportunity for steals. Banchero with three and UAA's Nick Pacitti with two were the only players to have more than one.

Central Washington 73, Montana State Billings 57

Chris Sprinker scored a season-high 20 points and Central Washington (10-6, 4-2) made 15 of 27 second-half shots in earning a double-digit victory at Montana State Billings, handing the Yellowjackets (9-6, 3-3) their first home loss after six victories.

MSUB came into the contest ranked seventh in the NCAA West Region, while the Wildcats were ninth.

The win improved CWU's record against regionally ranked opponents to 3-4, including victories over Fort Lewis and Colorado Christian, who are ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, in the Central Region.

Sprinker made nine of 11 field goals and added a game-high nine rebounds. Guards Jon Clift, Humberto Perez and JC Cook also scored in double figures with 13, 11 and 11 points, respectively.

Central, which shot at a 50 percent clip (28-56) held MSUB to its lowest-scoring effort of the year, and held the Yellowjackets to a 29.4 shooting percentage with just 15 made field goals.

It was the best defensive effort by a CWU squad against a Division II opponent since holding Shaw (N.C.) to 55 points in a Dec. 13, 2008 win at Nicholson Pavilion.

DeAndre Chambers led the Yellowjackets with 15 points and seven rebounds, while guard Davell Jackson had 11 points and matched Sprinker's nine rebounds for game-high honors. Chambers made four of nine three-point shots.

Central. which outrebounded MSUB 42-33, led for all but 2 minutes, 21 seconds in the contest, but didn't take control of the contest until the second half.

CWU led 34-30 at halftime, then scored the first seven points of the second half and began to break away from the Yellowjackets with a 23-12 run in the first eight minutes of the period.

The margin remained in double digits the rest of the game, peaking at a 17-point margin (70-53) on a Clift three-pointer with 2:49 left before the final 16-point differential.

Northwest Nazarene 86, Alaska Fairbanks 70

Brian Barkdoll and Kendall Gielow each scored 16 points from the paint to lead Northwest Nazarene to a 16-point win over Alaska Fairbanks.

It was NNU's first home conference victory as it leveled its GNAC record at 3-3. The visiting team had won all five previous conference games involving the Crusaders.

The post duo of Barkdoll and Gielow led five Crusaders into double-figures as Drew Eisinger added 13 points and both Jamie Eisinger and David Reeher scored 10.

Drew and Jamie Eisinger both finished with a game-high six assists as NNU handed out 21 assists against 16 turnovers.

Gielow posted his first double-double of the season, adding a game-high 10 rebounds to his 16-point effort.

Emmanuel Jenkins led Alaska Fairbanks (6-9, 1-5) with 17 points, while both Nashorn Maynard and Jon Moe scored 15.

The game was tight in the early minutes with UAF leading 24-23 with 8:25 left to play in the first half when Barkdoll hit two free throws, starting an 8-0 Crusader run that included a bucket by Lateef Williams, a jumper from Gielow and a nice finish in the paint by Barkdoll.

NNU built on that run going ahead 46-33 at the half. The Nanooks closed the lead to nine twice in the second half, the last time on a Jenkins jumper with 14:15 remaining (56-47).

However the Crusaders answered with six straight points as Barkdoll hit a jump-hook in the key and Drew Eisinger converted back-to-back jumpers from the outside to push it to a 15-point lead at 62-47 with 13:11 remaining.

NNU finished the contest with a 56.7 shooting percentage (34-60), while UAF was 26 of 69 (37.7 percent).

January 23

Wolves Beat Alaska Anchorage To Complete Rare Alaska Sweep

Rico Myles

Six-nine forward Rico Myles scored 16 points and Western Oregon shot at a 58.1 percent clip in upsetting Alaska Anchorage 76-65 Saturday at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex in Anchorage.

The Wolves (9-8, 2-4), who also won at Fairbanks Thursday, became just the seventh team in the GNAC's nine-year history to post back-to-back victories on the same road trip to Alaska.

WOU's win also enabled Seattle Pacific (14-2, 5-0) to open up a two-game lead in the loss column in the GNAC race over four other teams, including Western Washington (17-3, 4-2), Alaska Anchorage (12-4, 3-2), Central Washington (9-6, 3-2) and Montana State Billings (9-5, 3-2).

SPU stayed unbeaten with a 79-69 win over MSU Billings. Meanwhile, WWU moved into second place with a 84-70 road victory against CWU.

In an afternoon game, Alaska Fairbanks (6-8, 1-4) earned its first conference victory of the season defeating Saint Martin's 77-76.

In addition to his team-high 16 points, Myles also tied for game-rebounding honors with eight as the Wolves handed UAA its first home loss on its primary court since last February when the Seawolves lost to Western Washington.

WOU missed just 18 shots all night cashing in on 25 of 43, including five of 11 from the arc. In addition to Myles' six of nine effort, center Mike McLaughlin and reserve Kolton Nelson each made four of five and forward Matt Schmidt was two of three.

Schmidt (14 points) also made nine of 11 free throws to join Myles and reserve Kolton Nelson (10 points) in double figures. Both Myles and McLaughlin had game highs of eight rebounds.

Guard Kevin White led Alaska Anchorage with 19 points. Also in double figures were Donnie Lao with 13 points and Brandon Walker with 12. UAA was outshot by 17 points by the Wolves as it made 24 of 58 (41.4 percent). The Seawolves were eight of 27 from the arc.

WOU took control from the outset and never trailed, forging a 37-28 lead at halftime. UAA pulled to within 43-40 on a driving layup by Lao with 13:07 remaining but the Wolves answered with six straight points.

Nelson's layup with 6:18 remaining made it 60-46 and the Seawolves could not scrape closer than six points despite three consecutive treys by White, who finished the game making four of nine.

Seattle Pacific 79, Montana State Billings 69

Ryan Sweet registered his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds leading short-handed Seattle Pacific to its fifth straight GNAC victory.

SPU was playing without 6-foot-9 starting post player Rafael Moreira, who missed his first game due to an injury. Moreira, who is averaging 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds, is expected back for the next game.

Sweet, a 6-foot-7 junior from Port Orchard's South Kitsap High School, filled the void. He grabbed 11 of 25 boards for the Falcons, who were outrebounded by 13. Sweet hit four of seven shots from the field and contributed three assists.

SPU rallied from an 11-point, first-half deficit on the strength of sensational second-half shooting. The Falcons shot 75 percent (18 of 24) after halftime, including nine of 13 accuracy from three-point range.

Chris Banchero broke a 35-35 tie with a three-pointer, giving SPU the lead for good with 14:19 left in the game. That ignited a 22-8 run that was completely comprised of four three-pointers and five layups.

The run concluded with four unanswered layups for the Falcons, who claimed a 57-43 lead with 8:14 remaining. The Yellowjackets never got closer than seven points after that.

SPU senior Rob Diederichs distributed eight of his season-high 10 assists during the second half.

Banchero shot nine of 14 from the field, including four of six treys, en route to a career-high 27 points. Brandon Larrieu added 16 points for the Falcons and also made four of six three-pointers.

DaVell Jackson fell three points short of posting a triple-double for MSUB, amassing seven points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

Derrick Wright and DeAndre Chambers each scored 19 points to lead Billings, which also got 11 from Brad Hodge and 10 from Mike McCrary.

Western Washington 84, Central Washington 70

Guard Andrew Ready scored a game and career-high 23 points as Western Washington overcame an early deficit to defeat arch-rival Central Washington 84-70 at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats jumped to an early lead, using a run of 14 straight points to go ahead 16-5 less than seven minutes into the game.

But Western chipped away, eventually taking a 35-34 lead with 1:15 left in the first half on two free throws by guard Morris Anderson and the Vikings held a 38-34 lead at halftime.

Western led the entire second half, although the Wildcats narrowed the margin to one on four occasions.

The last of those was at 56-55 with 10:57 left, but Western went on an 11-2 run, capped by a Ready three-pointer, to take a 67-57 lead with 7:47 to go.

Central never got closer than six points after that, and was never within eight points in the final four minutes.

Anderson had 18 points for Western, and forward Derrick Webb had 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. The Vikings were 32 of 44 (72.7 percent) on free throws, including 22 of 28 in the second half (78.6 percent).

CWU was led by guard Humberto Perez with 16 points. Toussaint Tyler had 12 points including 11 in the first half. Chris Sprinker added 11 points and Roby Clyde had a game-high 15 rebounds, helping the Wildcats hold a 51-38 advantage on the boards.

Ready was eight of 11 from the floor, including four of five from three-point range. He also grabbed five rebounds.

The win was the 14th victory for the Vikings, who turned the ball over only six times, in the last 21 meetings between the long-time rivals.

Alaska Fairbanks 77, Saint Martin's 76

Alaska Fairbanks gave up a 21-point lead, but came back to score the game's final five points to nip Saint Martin's Saturday afternoon at The Patty Center and earn their first conference victory of the season.

Trailing 76-72 in the final minute, the Nanooks (6-8, 1-4) got a three-pointer from Emmanuel Jenkins and then following two missed free throws by Galen Squiers, Cole Daniel, who played just four minutes, made two foul shots to give UAF the one-point victory. It was Daniel's only points of the game.

The free throw misses for Squiers were his first of the game after three successful tosses. Squiers finished with 20 points, including 18 in the second half.

SMU had rallied from a 37-16 first-half deficit overcoming a two-for-19 shooting start during which it fell behind 24-4. By halftime the Saints had rallied to within 14 points at 39-25.

Saint Martin's (11-6, 1-5) caught Fairbanks for the first time at 55-55 with 9:50 left on a pair of free throws by Blake Poole and later took a five-point lead with 2:18 left on a four-point play by Squiers.

But, they were unable to hold the lead, losing for the fifth time in a row since opening their conference season with a triple overtime win over Western Washington.

Jenkins finished as the game's leading scorer, netting 27 points, 18 of them in the first half. UAF's Jon Moe was perfect in 14 free throw attempts and finished with 25 points, 15 in the second period while teammate Joe Powell had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

The Saints were led by Poole with 26 points, 16 in the second period. Poole also had 11 rebounds.

After shooting 24.2 percent (8-33) in the opening period, SMU made 15 of 32 in the final 20 minutes, seven of 14 from the arc where it missed all nine of its attempts in the first half.

UAF shot at a 44.4 percent pace (24-54), making 12 of 26 and 12 of 28 in the two halves.

January 21

Seattle Pacific Beats Western Washington to Remain Unbeaten

Brandon Larrieu scored 18 points, including a fall-away 15-foot jumper with 1:12 remaining that gave 12th-ranked Seattle Pacific the lead for good in a 73-66 victory over No. 15 Western Washington Thursday at Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham.

The first-place Falcons (13-2) remained undefeated in four Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests. Defending league champion WWU (16-3), which lost for the first time in nine home games this season, dropped to 3-2 in conference play.

In other Thursday games, Montana State Billings earned another road victory defeating Northwest Nazarene 76-74 at Nampa, Alaska Anchorage beat Saint Martin's 62-45 and Western Oregon outscored Alaska Fairbanks 83-68.

Seattle Pacific trailed 62-57 before outscoring Western Washington16-4 inside the final five minutes in its victory.

Larrieu started the game-ending surge by driving into the lane, stopping and leaning back for a free-throw line shot that put SPU ahead 68-66 with 1:12 remaining.

After WWU's Morris Anderson nailed two free throws at 1:32 to tie the scored 66-66, the Falcons closed out the game with seven straight points.

A senior wing, Larrieu scored 12 of his team-high 18 points during the first half.

SPU junior Chris Banchero poured in 12 of his 17 points in the second half. He converted five of six free throws over the final 35 seconds to complete the scoring.

Rafael Moreira and Jeff Downs each contributed 14 points for SPU, which shot 56.3 percent from the field (27 of 48) while limiting the Vikings to 40.6 percent (26 of 64). That helped the Falcons overcome 35-31 and 17-12 rebound and takeaway deficits, respectively.

Downs made four of six treys, leading the Falcons to a seven of 15 performance from behind the three-point line. WWU made just three of 20 from the arc.

Anderson finished with 22 points to pace the Vikings, who also got 13 points from Zach Bruce, 11 from Derrick Webb and 10 from Andrew Ready. Ready had a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Falcons were ahead from midway through the first half until the 10:55 mark of the second half when WWU used a 10-4 run to capture the lead.

The Vikings pushed their margin to as many as five points at 62-57 on a dunk by Bruce with 5:08 remaining but they scored only four points the rest of the way.

WWU scored the game's first four points and led 14-13 before SPU went on a 13-5 run, ignited by five straight points from Downs. He hit a jumper and a three-point to start the surge that netted the Falcons a 26-19 lead with 7:20 left in the first half.

SPU lead the rest of the half. WWU drew within 31-30 on a Richard Woodward layup at 1:45. SPU tallied the final five points, including a long three-pointer at the buzzer to claim a 36-30 halftime advantage.

Montana State Billings 76, Northwest Nazarene 74

Derrick Wright scored 10 second-half points, including a three-pointer with 2:06 left to snap a 72-72 tie, as Montana State Billings overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to beat Northwest Nazarene 76-74 at the Johnson Sports Center.

It was MSUB's third road win this winter and its second in three conference away games. The Yellowjackets went a combined 1-16 in conference road games the past two seasons.

Wright finished with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds and was one of four MSUB players in double figures. DeAndre Chambers led the 'Jackets with 21 points, 13 in the opening half when MSUB trailed 44-35.

The 'Jackets (9-4, 3-1), who moved into a three-way tie for second place in the GNAC with Alaska Anchorage and idle Central Washington, also got 15 points from Lasha Parghalava and 12 from point guard DaVell Jackson. Jackson had six assists and three steals.

Kendall Gielow led Northwest Nazarene (10-6, 2-3) with 20 points, including 14 in the first half when he made seven of nine shots as the Crusaders remained winless in three conference home games. The visiting team has won all five conference games in which NNU has been involved.

"Right now it seems like we are playing a little better away," NNU coach Tim Hill said.

"Tonight it was our defense. . . The game plan was make them dribble it to score, and we didn't make them dribble to score," Hills said.

Down 24-12 in the opening half, and 52-39 in the second, the Yellowjackets hit seven of 12 three-pointers in the second half to pull out the win.

In addition to Gielow, Northwest Nazarene also got 11 points from Anthony Golden and 10 each from Lateef Williams and Louie Beech. Drew Eisinger had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.

After Wright's three-pointer had given MSUB a three-point lead, Gielow made two foul shots with 13 seconds left to pull the Crusaders within one point.

A quick foul sent Chambers to the charity stripe where he made one of two. NNU then had a chance to win it but Eisinger's three-point try was blocked by Parghalava.

After building a 44-35 halftime lead, NNU stretched its advantage to 13 early in the second half. MSUB, which also rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit in a home win last Saturday against Saint Martin's, then went on a 22-9 run to tie it with 9:07 left.

The game remained tight the rest of the way until Wright gave MSUB, which made 10 of 20 three-point shots, the edge with his trey.

"In the first half we were out of formation for almost 20 minutes," MSUB head coach George Pfeifer said. "In the second half, we played with a lot more energy, focus and intelligence.

"I thought DeAndre (Chambers) was the best player on the floor without question tonight, he came off the bench and played really well. We were really fortunate to win this game."

Alaska Anchorage 62, Saint Martin's 45

Brandon Walker and Casey Robinson combined for 35 points and Alaska Anchorage used perhaps its best defensive effort of the season to post a 17-point victory over Saint Martin's at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

UAA (12-3, 3-1) also got strong all-around efforts from Nick Pacitti and Kevin White as it outshot the Saints 46 percent to 24 percent and out-rebounded them 41-33.

Saint Martin's (11-5, 1-4), which suffered its fourth straight loss, was led by 12 points and five rebounds from forward Blake Poole, plus seven points and eight rebounds from reserve forward Jeremy Green.

Poole, the GNAC's No. 2 scorer and leading rebounder, was held well under his averages (20.5 ppg,12.3 rpg) as he shot just four of 12 from the field and battled foul trouble in the second half.

The Seawolves took control from the outset, holding the Saints without a field goal for almost seven minutes midway through the first half while they built a 27-14 lead.

The Saints cut it to 30-21 at halftime, but Robinson nailed a three-pointer right after the break to stretch the lead to double digits for good.

Robinson, a 6-6 junior forward, finished with 16 points on six of 11 shooting (4-9 3FGs), topping the 15-point barrier for the third straight game.

Western Oregon 83, Alaska Fairbanks 68

Matt Schmidt scored 22 points to lead Western Oregon to a 83-68 win over Alaska Fairbanks at The Patty Center.

The Wolves (8-8, 1-4) earned their first conference victory of the season, keeping Alaska Fairbanks (5-8, 0-4) winless in the GNAC.

The Nanooks, who played the game without Parrish West, the GNAC's leading scorer at 22.3 points per game, were paced by Nashorn Maynard, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds.

West was ruled academically ineligible by UAF school officials earlier this week.

In addition to Schmidt Western Oregon was paced by Kolton Nelson who came off the bench to score 13 points and grab six rebounds, and by Kyle Long and Blair Wheadon. Long had 11 points and Wheadon had 10 points and eight assists.

Joining Maynard in double figures were Jon Moe and Bo Edwards with 11 points. Moe scored all 11 of his points in the first half. Edwards had nine rebounds.

The game was tied six times in the first half before WOU went on a 14-0 run getting two treys from Long and one each from Schmidt and Wheadon to go ahead by 10. For the game, the Wolves made eight of 16 three-pointers.

UAF, which trailed by 37-32 at the break, scored the first five points of the second half to create the game's seventh time, but WOU took the lead for good with 15:22 left on a basket by Nelson and eventually stretched its lead back to double-digits with 5 1/2 minutes to go.

January 16

Eisinger's 33 Leads Northwest Nazarene Past Western Oregon

Drew Eisinger made his last eight shots and finished with 33 points to lead Northwest Nazarene to a 101-86 win over Western Oregon Saturday at the NPE Building in Monmouth.

The win completed a weekend road sweep for the Crusaders (10-5), who evened their conference record at 2-2. NNU beat Saint Martin's 76-59 Thursday at Lacey.

Elsewhere in the GNAC, Alaska Anchorage (11-3, 2-1) got two free throws by Casey Robinson with 0.4 second left to edge Central Washington 67-66, Montana State Billings (8-4, 2-1) overcame a 16-point first-half deficit in defeating Saint Martin's 74-67 and Western Washington (16-2, 3-1) outscored Alaska Fairbanks 87-71.

Eisinger made 11 of 13 shots, including back-to-back three-pointers early in the second half to finish off a 12-2 run, stretching a four-point lead to 14 (59-45) with 14:13 remaining. WOU (7-8, 0-4) never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

NNU never trailed in the game after opening up a 11-1 lead though the Wolves closed to within two points twice in the first half at 17-15 and 27-25.

After the latter occasion, the Crusaders went on a 10-2 run going ahead 37-27 on another Eisinger three-pointer before settling for a 43-34 lead at halftime. Eisinger made five of his six three-point attempts and was six of six from the foul line.

Drew's brother, Jamie, added 18 points on eight of nine shooting. Jamie also had eight assists and three steals.

Anthony Golden chipped in with 17 points, making five of eight three-pointers as NNU finished 10 of 16 from the arc. Also in double figures were Kendall Gielow with 16 points and David Reeher with 10.

Blair Wheadon led Western Oregon with 25 points. The Wolves also got 11 points from Josh Johnson on perfect shooting (4-4 FGs, 1-1 3FGs, 2-2 FTs) and 10 each from Matt Schmidt, Mike McLaughlin and Kolton Nelson.

McLaughlin also had a game-high 10 rebounds as Western Oregon outboarded the Crusaders 33-27. But the Wolves, who shot 48.4 percent (31-64) couldn't match NNU's 61.8 percentage (34-55) from the field or its 88.5 performance (23-26) from the foul line.

Alaska Anchorage 67, Central Washington 66

Forward Casey Robinson scored a game-high 18 points, including two free throws with 0.4 second remaining, to lead Alaska Anchorage to a dramatic one-point win at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Seawolves also got 14 points and nine rebounds from forward Nick Pacitti and 12 points from guard Donnie Lao as they snapped Central's five-game winning streak and handed the Wildcats (9-5, 3-1) their first conference loss of the year.

Central - led by 14 points apiece from forward Riley Spevak and reserve guard Toussaint Tyler - claimed all of the momentum out of the gate and seemed to take more into the locker room when Shane Miller hit a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the home team a 31-25 lead.

Trailing 36-29 in the second half, the Seawolves made their move when Robinson scored four straight points and Kevin White and Pacitti hit consecutive three-pointers, giving UAA its first lead (39-38) with 13:41 remaining.

The Seawolves built their lead to seven points before the Wildcats scrapped back to tie it at 54-54 with 7:36 remaining. UAA had yet another answer, however, and Lao gave the Seawolves their biggest lead - 62-55 - with a layup at the five-minute mark.

Clinging to a 65-64 lead in the final minute, the Seawolves finally fell behind with 35.8 seconds showing when Tyler nailed a pair of free throws. CWU made 26 of 33 free throws in the second half (after going two for three in the opening period) as three Seawolves - Pacitti, Liam Gibcus and Brandon Walker - fouled out.

With just one active player remaining on the bench, the Seawolves ran down the clock for a chance at the final shot.

White drove the lane and missed a reverse layin with about seven seconds remaining, and Robinson secured a loose-ball scramble for the offensive rebound with 1.7 seconds showing.

After two timeouts, Lao inbounded to Robinson outside the three-point arc, and CWU's Coby Gibler, who had 13 points, was whistled for a foul with 0.4 left -- 25 feet from the basket.

The foul was ruled a non-shooting foul - allowing Robinson two chances instead of three - but Robinson nailed both free throws.

A three-quarter-court heave was no good at the buzzer as the Seawolves claimed just their second win in Ellensburg in the last seven years.

The victory tied the all-time series between the schools at 10-10 and marked the first time that the road team had prevailed since 2007.

Montana State Billings 74, Saint Martin's 67

Lasha Parghalava scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half as Montana State Billings rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to defeat Saint Martin's.

Figuring out the change in fortunes between the first and second half for the two squads was as simple as looking at the shooting percentages.

In the opening period, which ended up with the Saints ahead 38-27, SMU made 13 of 30 shots, while holding MSUB to 10 field goals in 30 attempts.

But in the second period, the Yellowjackets shot at a 70 percent clip (14 of 20), while limiting the Saints, who gave up a double-digit first half lead for the second time in three nights, to 10 field goals in 38 tries.

Despite the shooting disparities, Saint Martin's stilled trailed by just one point with 37 seconds left after Blake Poole hit a pair of foul shots.

DaVell Jackson, however, reestablished MSUB's lead at three points four seconds later with two foul shots and then after three-point SMU misses, MSUB's DeAndre Chambers and Mike McCrary each cashed on on a pair of free throws to establish the final score.

Jackson ended up with 17 points, including 10 in the second half when he made all three of his field goal attempts. He also had eight assists and six rebounds.

McCrary, who had 10 rebounds, was also three of three in the second period when he had 10 of his 15 points. Brad Hodge chipped in with 14 points.

The Saints, who led 36-20 with 2:26 left in the first half, got 17 points and 10 rebounds from Poole, 12 points each from Galen Squiers and Jeremy Green and 10 from Roger O'Neill.

Saint Martin's (11-4, 1-3) was in control until MSUB used a 15-2 run early in the second half to go ahead 45-43. Later they extended that run to 25-6 grabbing a 55-47 lead with 8:28 left.

The Saints, however, battled back getting a three-pointer from Squiers and two free throws by Poole before MSUB put the game away at the foul line.

Western Washington 87, Alaska Fairbanks 71

Guard Morris Anderson scored 14 of his team-high 23 points in the first half leading Western Washington to a 16-poimt home win over Alaska Fairbanks at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The Vikings, rated No.19 in this week's NABC NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, remained perfect in eight home contests. The Vikings host Seattle Pacific, the lone remaining unbeaten team in conference games, next Thursday.

Forward Parrish West had a game-high 27 points for UAF. Forward Nashorn Maynard added 20 points.

The Vikings took control early in the contest, jumping to a 23-4 lead midway through the half while holding the Nanooks to just two field goals in their first 13 attempts.

UAF (5-7, 0-3) used a 17-5 run over the next five minutes to close the gap to seven at 28-21 with 4:43 left in the period, but Western pushed the lead back to 39-25 at halftime. The Vikings never led by less than 10 points in the second half.

Forward Derrick Webb had 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for Western. Guard Harold McAllister added 11 points on 11 of 11 free throw shooting, and forward Zach Bruce had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Vikings had a 45-39 advantage in rebounds and committed only 11 turnovers to 14 for UAF.

January 14

Full Court Pass Sets Up Seattle Pacific Win

Chris Banchero converted a layup at the buzzer off a length-of-the court inbounds pass by Jake Anderson lifting Seattle Pacific to a 79-77 GNAC victory over Western Oregon Thursday at the NPE Building in Monmouth.

Elsewhere Western Washington overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to beat Alaska Anchorage 68-62, Central Washington won a shootout with Alaska Fairbanks 120-103 and Northwest Nazarene used a big second period to beat Saint Martin's 76-59.

Tarance Glynn had capped a furious late rally for Western Oregon against the nationally 15th ranked Falcons (12-2, 3-0), tying the score 77-77 on a pair of free throws with 1.9 seconds left to play.

Anderson, however, grabbed the second free throw as it dropped through the net, stepped out of bounds and heaved a pass over the top of the WOU defense to the streaking Banchero.

The Falcons' point guard caught the ball in stride, just inside the free throw line, and took one dribble before banking in the game winner as the horn sounded.

Banchero, a product of Seattle's O'Dea High School, tallied 13 of his team-high 17 points during the second half. Brandon Larrieu chipped in 13 for the Falcons and Rafael Moreira added 14.

The Wolves (7-7, 0-3) were led by the 24 points of Blair Wheadon, who hit five of six shots from three-point range. Glynn finished with 14 points and Kolton Nelson had 11. Matt Schmidt scored all nine of his points in the final 3:34 to help fuel WOU's late comeback.

SPU shot 52 percent for the game (32 of 62), but just four of 19 on three-pointers. They made treys when it mattered most though, converting their last two.

Larrieu and Rob Diederichs hit back-to-back three-pointers around the three-minute mark to briefly turn away a surge that had brought WOU within 66-63.

The Wolves, however, answered the SPU treys with 14-3 run over the final 2:19, punctuated by Glynn's game-tying free throws.

WOU, which trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, shot 49 percent for the game (30 of 61), including eight of 17 on three-pointers. The Wolves, however, were outrebounded 38-27 as Ryan Sweet led SPU with nine caroms.

Western Washington 68, Alaska Anchorage 62

Forward Derrick Webb scored a game-high 20 points and Western Washington overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to beat Alaska Anchorage at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The Vikings (15-2, 2-1), who are ranked 19th in the latest NABC national poll, remained perfect in seven home games this season snapping a seven-game Seawolf winning streak in the process. UAA (10-3, 1-1) also sustained its first Division II loss of the season.

Forward Casey Robinson had 17 points for the Seawolves, while Nick Pacitti came off the bench to contribute 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

UAA held a 38-25 lead a little over three minutes into the second half and were still up by 11 (49-38) with 10 minutes remaining. But the Vikings rallied, running off 15 straight points in a 4:04 span to take a 53-49 lead with 5:38 to play and led the rest of the way.

The Seawolves went nearly seven minutes of the second half without a field goal, not breaking the drought until Donnie Lao, who finished with 12 points, hit a three-pointer with 3:13 to go, cutting Western's lead to 58-55.

It was the closest UAA got in the last four minutes, as the Vikings hit seven of eight free throws in the final 68 seconds to preserve the lead.

Forward Zach Bruce had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Western. Guard Morris Anderson added 10 points.

The Vikings shot just 25.0 percent (7-28) from the field in the first half, including missing all nine of their three-point attempts as UAA grabbed a 30-20 lead at halftime.

Central Washington 120, Alaska Fairbanks 103

Guards Toussaint Tyler and Humberto Perez had season-highs of 26 and 22 points, respectively, powering Central Washington to a 120-103 home win over Alaska Fairbanks.

The two JC transfers combined to make nine of 15 three-pointers - Perez, who also had a game-high seven assists, was six of 11 and Tyler made three of four - as the Wildcats (9-4, 3-0) extended their win streak to five games with their seventh victory in their last eight starts.

CWU, which played its second game in a row without leading scorer JC Cook (15.5 ppg) because of a knee injury, also got outstanding performances from center Chris Sprinker, guard Jon Clift and forward Roby Clyde.

Sprinker had 18 points and 15 rebounds, while Clift had 14 points and five assists and Clyde had 12 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.

Led by Clyde, CWU, which reached the 100-point mark with 7:57 left in the game, finished the game with more blocked shots (9) than turnovers (8).

All five Alaska Fairbanks starters scored in double figures led by Parrish West with 25 points and Jon Moe with 21. Emmanuel Jenkins had 15 points, while Nashorn Maynard (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Joe Powell (11 points, 13 rebounds) had double doubles.

Powell, a 6-8 post player from Inglewood, N.J., was playing in only his second game with the Nanooks. He made his debut last Thursday against Montana State Billings, but didn't take a shot and had only four rebounds in 23 minutes.

CWU never trailed in the contest jumping to 8-0 and 21-8 leads. But, the Nanooks twice pulled to within four points and trailed by just six at halftime (52-46).

Central, however, put the game away early in the second half as Sprinker ignited an 18-2 run with a dunk. Tyler then hit two and three-points shots and Sprinker and Perez followed with a tipin and a trey, respectively.

The Wildcats, who had 24 offensive rebounds, then closed out the run with layups by Ryan Snowden and Tyler to go ahead 81-61 with 12:27 left and eventually stretched their lead to 27 at 113-86 with 4:24 remaining.

Northwest Nazarene 76, Saint Martin's 59

Northwest Nazarene used a 32-8 second-half run to overcame 42-31 deficit on the way to a 17-point victory over Saint Martin's at Marcus Pavilion.

Louie Beech helped key the surge scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including a driving layup to tie the game at 46-46 with 14:13 to play. He then hit two treys and another layin during a 13-3 burst which gave NNU a 61-50 lead with 8:33 remaining.

Anthony Golden led the Crusaders (9-5, 1-2) with 19 points, including 12 in the opening period. Drew Eisinger matched Beech's 14-point total and Kendall Gielow had 13 points. Beech also led NNU with nine rebounds, while David Reeher had eight.

Saint Martin's (11-3, 1-2) was led by Jared Howard with 19 points and Jeremy Green with 18. Blake Poole had a game-high 13 rebounds, but the GNAC's leading scorer was held to just eight points. He did have five assists.

NNU, which outrebounded SMU 42-40 and had three fewer turnovers (17-14), held the Saints to just 10 second-half field goals in 30 attempts. For the game, Northwest Nazarene outshot Saint Martin's 42.6 percent (26-61) to 37.5 (24-64).

Jamuary 9

Clift Keys Central Washington Win Over Northwest Nazarene

Jon Clift scored a career-high 23 points including 16 in the second half to lead Central Washington to a 85-81 Great Northwest Athletic Conference road win at Northwest Nazarene Saturday afternoon.

In another afternoon game, Western Washington (14-2, 1-1) made 15 of 28 three-point shots and also set a GNAC single-game record for fewest turnovers in a 93-60 road win at Western Oregon.

In night games, Seattle Pacific and Alaska Anchorage earned home-court victories to join CWU as the only unbeaten teams at the end of the opening week of conference play.

SPU (11-2, 2-0) defeated Saint Martin's 81-63 extending its home court win streak over the Saints to 18. SMU hasn't won at Brougham Pavilion since the 1981-82 season.

Alaska Anchorage, playing without two starters, won its conference opener defeating Montana State Billings 80-72.

The Seawolves were without point guard Drew Robinson, who is out four to eight weeks with a stress fracture in his foot and center Malcolm Campbell who has left the team. Campbell was averaging 14.6 points and 5.5 rebounds.

Central Washington (8-4, 2-0), which has won six of its last seven games, trailed Northwest Nazarene 61-57 before Clift scored eight straight points to key a 12-2 run as the Wildcats went ahead 69-63 with 6:20 left.

NNU later bounced back to tie the game at 72-72, but CWU took the lead for good at 76-72 on a Toussaint Tyler free throw with 3:50 left and a Tyler three-pointer with 3:05 remaining.

The Crusaders climbed back to within one with 22 seconds remaining on a three-pointer by Drew Eisinger and then after Tyler hit one of two free throws with 17 seconds remaining had a chance to win it.

But Eisinger missed a three-pointer and Riley Sivak then hit two free throws with one second showing on the scoreboard to account for the final four-point margin.

In addition to Clift, Central, whose 69-63 lead was the biggest of the game by either team, also got 14 points from Chris Sprinker and 10 by Tyler. Sprinker also had a team-high seven rebounds.

Five players were in double figures for the Crusaders (8-5, 0-2), including Anthony Golden with 18 and Drew Eisinger with 16.

Brian Barkdoll had 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Kendall Gielow and Jamie Eisinger had 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Western Washington 93, Western Oregon 60

Derrick Webb and Morris Anderson combined for 11 three-pointers and 41 points to lead Western Washington to a 33-point road win over Western Oregon.

The nationally 14th ranked Vikings also committed just three turnovers breaking the GNAC single-game record for fewest turnovers of four set two years ago by Alaska Anchorage against Montana State Billings.

Webb made five of seven treys and had 21 points and Anderson finished with 20 points, making six of 13 three-pointers as WWU shot 53.6 percent (15-28) from the arc.

Also scoring in double figures for the Vikings were guard Andrew Ready with 15 and reserve forward Rory Blanche who had 12 points. Blanche made six of seven two-point attempts.

Forward Matt Schmidt led WOU (7-6, 0-2) with 12 points. Guard Mike McLaughlin had 10 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and reserve Kolton Nelson added 11 points.

Ahead by nine at halftime, Western Washington gradually improved its lead to 19 (65-46) with 12:19 to go. WOU got to within 13 (65-52) at 11:13, but WWU finished the game with a 28-8 run that began with three three-pointers, one by Anderson and two by Webb.

In the first half the Vikings used a 16-3 run following a 9-9 tie to lead by 13 (25-12) with 11:29 to go in the period. Ready had five points during that stretch, opening it with a three-pointer.

WWU was outrebounded 43-32 but more than made up for the rebound deficit with a plus 15 takeaway advantage (18-3) and a 45-15 point edge on three-point field goals.

Seattle Pacific 81, Saint Martin's 63

Chris Banchero had 17 points, and Ryan Sweet, Brandon Larrieu and Rafael Moreira tallied 15 apiece as Seattle Pacific took charge early in a 81-63 win over Saint Martin's.

The Falcons were on top for all but 25 seconds of the game. Saint Martin's (11-2, 1-1), which had won six in a row, had a brief lead at 11-10, but SPU, which was up by as many as 25 during the second half, then went on a 19-5 run to take control.

SMU, coming off a 94-86 triple-overtime victory against Western Washington Thursday, was led by Blake Poole with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Poole, who didn't get his first field goal until 1:13 remained in the first half, and Jeremy Green accounted for all but two of their team's points in the first half which ended with SPU ahead 43-28.

Green had 15 of his 17 points in the period, while Poole had 11 points at the break.

Rob Diederichs, who took just one shot, handed out nine assists and pulled down seven rebounds for SPU. Moreira also had seven boards as the Falcons controlled the backboards 38-29.

Seattle Pacific shot 53 percent (35 of 66), and got 62 of its 81 points in the paint, with 10 coming on second-chance opportunities. Saint Martin's hit 41.4 percent (24 of 58).

Alaska Anchorage 80, Montana State Billings 72

Brandon Walker scored all 19 of his points in the second half and Nick Pacitti delivered an impressive double-double as Alaska Anchorage began league play with an 80-72 win over Montana State Billings at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (10-2, 1-0) also got a combined 30 points and five assists from starting guards Donnie Lao and Kevin White to run their winning streak to seven.

The Yellowjackets (7-4, 1-1) were led by a game-high 28 points from guard DaVell Jackson, who also dished six assists without a turnover.

MSUB, which played the game without starter Derrick Wright who sustained a knee injury in Thursday's win at Alaska Fairbanks, stayed close throughout the game thanks to a mere six turnovers, but UAA pulled out the win with statistical advantages in shooting (54.0 percent to 42.4 percent) and rebounding (36-25).

Pacitti, a 6-6 forward, posted his third double-double in five games with 19 points (7-10 FG, 5-6 FT) and 14 rebounds, helping UAA out-board MSUB 19-8 in the final 20 minutes.

The game appeared to turn into a blowout late in the first half when UAA guard Kevin White drained a deep three-pointer to make it 29-14 with 3:07 remaining. But the Yellowjackets used an 11-2 run to close the stanza and go in trailing just 31-25 at halftime.

After another White three-pointer made it 39-27, MSUB sliced its deficit back to 40-37 in less than two minutes, and the game would stay close.

Leading 59-56, the Seawolves got two big plays from Pacitti, who banked in a short jump shot at the 7:02 mark, then followed with an off-balance, put-back basket while being upended by MSUB's Brad Hodge.

Pacitti finished the three-point play to make it 64-56, and the Yellowjackets would get no closer than six points from there.

Pacitti's 19 points and Lao's 16 were both career-highs, while White finished with a season-best 14 points. Lao shot four of six from three-point land, while White was four of eight from beyond the arc.

Walker, who shot 0 of 4 in the first half, regained his form in the second half, nailing seven of 10 shots and finishing with a team-high five assists.

January 7

Saint Martin's Ends Western Washington Winning Streak at 12

Blake Poole scored 30 points and pulled down 14 rebounds leading Saint Martin's to a 94-86 triple overtime win over nationally 14th-ranked Western Washington Thursday at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.

The Saints (11-1) extended their own win streak to six games and ended Western Washington's win streak at 12, matching the third longest game in GNAC history in the process.

Elsewhere in the conference, Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings earned road victories and Central Washington posted a win at Nicholson Pavilion as the 2010 GNAC conference race got underway.

Seattle Pacific bounced back from a two-point halftime deficit to defeat Northwest Nazarene 82-71. Meanwhile, Montana State Billings earned a historic win defeating Alaska Fairbanks 82-68 at The Patty Center. At Ellensburg, Toussaint Tyler came off the bench to lead Central to a 82-70 win over Western Oregon.

Poole, who also had six assists and three steals, reached the 30-point level for the third time this season in Saint Martin's victory.

The Saints also got 22 points and nine rebounds from Jeremy Green, 14 points from Galen Squiers and 11 from Roger O'Neill.

Derrick Webb led Western Washington (13-2) with 26 points, including 17 in the three extra periods. Zach Bruce connected on 10 of 14 shots and netted 20 points. Dave Vanderjagt had 10 points.

Morris Anderson was held to seven points, making just two of 14 shots, including a three-pointer with 10 seconds left in the final period.

Both teams had opportunities to win the game before the Saints scored the first seven points of the final period to take a commanding 82-75 lead.

WWU climbed back to within four on a jumper by Webb with 1:52 left, but Ryan Votaw then banked in a three-pointer with 1:15 remaining and the Saints then made seven of eight free throws to close out the contest in the final minute.

Saint Martin's, which is 8-4 in overtime games under head coach Keith Cooper, had a 56-50 lead in regulation but the Vikings closed out the period with a 10-4 run, including an off-balance three-pointer by Harold McAllister with 7.9 seconds left.

Neither team led by more than six points until the third overtime or by more than two points in the first overtime, but in the second OT Webb gave the Vikings a 74-68 lead with a three-pointer and a three-point play.

But Western missed three of four late free throws enabling Poole to tie the contest with a three-pointer - his first of the season - from deep in the left corner with 18 seconds remaining.

WWU made just 18 of 28 free throws, which in the end proved costly. The Saints cashed in on 25 of 31 and also outboarded the Viks 48-42.

The game, which featured 17 ties, was the second three-overtime contest in GNAC history and the first since Alaska Anchorage beat Caldwell 92-87 in its 2004-05 season opener.

The only longer games occurred in 2003 when Seattle Pacific outlasted Humboldt State in four extra periods and in 2006 when Western Oregon lost to CSU Monterey Bay in four OTs.

Seattle Pacific 82, Northwest Nazarene 71

Chris Banchero scored 21 points and Jeff Downs added 15, including six straight during a second-half scoring surge that put Seattle Pacific ahead for good as the Falcons opened GNAC play with a victory at Northwest Nazarene.

Banchero hit nine of 15 shots from the floor as SPU (10-2), which halted a two-game losing streak, handed the Crusaders (8-4) their first home court loss in five games this season at the Johnson Sports Center.

Downs drained five of 10, including two of five from behind the three-point arc, while center Rafael Moreira chipped in 15 points and six rebounds. SPU, which is ranked 17th nationally, also got 11 points from Brandon Larrieu and seven rebounds, seven assists and six points from Rob Diederichs.

Meanwhile Brian Barkdoll led the Crusaders with 19 points, while Drew Eisinger chipped in with 12.

After shooting just 35.1 percent in the first half (13 of 37), SPU hit at a 69.6 percent clip during the final 20 minutes (16 of 23), while holding the Crusaders to 11 field goals in 40 attempts (27.5 percent).

SPU wound up at 48.3 percent for the game (29-60), while NNU finished with a 35.7 percentage (25-70).

Down 36-34 at halftime, the Falcons scored the first six points of the second half as Northwest Nazarene missed its first seven shots. The Crusaders eventually edged back in front, the last time at 49-48 with 13:56 left.

That's when Seattle Pacific started a 17-6 scoring run. Diederichs put the Falcons in front for good at 51-49 on a three-pointer from deep in the right corner. Downs gave SPU its first double-digit lead at 65-55 when he converted a pass from Diederichs for a lay-in, then made it a three-point play.

Montana State Billings 82, Alaska Fairbanks 68

DeAndre Chambers came off the bench to score 18 points and Brad Hodge scored nine of his 17 points in the second half as Montana State Billings recorded its 1,000th all-time victory with a 14-point win over Alaska Fairbanks.

Perhaps more significant is that the milestone victory came on the road where the Yellowjackets have historically struggled. Over the past three seasons, MSUB came into the contest with just two road wins - one of them on a neutral court - in 30 starts.

MSUB also overcame the loss of starter Derrick Wright, who came in averaging 12.2 points per game, to a knee injury. Wright played just three minutes and hit his only shot before sitting out the remainder of the contest.

The Yellowjackets, who got double-figure production from DaVell Jackson (15 points) and Lasha Parghalava (10 points) and nine points each from Mike McCrary and Tyler Hentzen, used a 9-1 run early in the second half to open up a 60-51 lead.

Leading 51-50, a three-pointer by McCrary, two baskets by Hodge, who made six of eight shots, and a hoop by Hentzen gave the 'Jackets some breathing room.

Later MSUB stretched its lead to 14 points on three different occasions before Hodge hit two foul shots with 1:06 left for the 'Jackets biggest margin of the night at 82-66.

Alaska Fairbanks got double-figure production from four players including Parrish West (20 points), Nashorn Maynard (17 points), Emmanuel Jenkins (12 points) and Jon Moe (11 points).

However, MSUB outshot the Nanooks, who had won three straight, 54.2 percent (32-59) to 41.9 (26-62) and also outboarded UAF 39-29 as Hodge led the way with eight. Jenkins had a game-high four steals to lead the Nanooks defensively.

Central Washington 82, Western Oregon 70

Tyler scored 15 of his career-high 17 points in the second half leading the Wildcats (7-4) to their fifth win in their last six starts.

Tyler connected on six of 10 shots, including five of seven in the second half, to join four other players in double figures.

Starters J.C. Cook, Jon Clift and Chris Sprinker had 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Humberto Perez also came off the bench to contribute a dozen points. Perez also matched Sprinker for team rebounding honors with seven each.

Blair Wheadon, meanwhile, led Western Oregon (7-5) with 17 points. Center Mike McLaughlin had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Rico Myles and Matt Schmidt had 14 each. Myles also had nine rebounds and five assists. Wheadon had five steals.

Except for a pair of early one-point deficits, the Wildcats, who scored 10 more points off turnovers than the Wolves, led all the away after scoring eight straight points as part of a 13-3 run in building a 20-11 lead.

Central, which had a 38-3 advantage in bench points, led by seven at halftime and the lead hovered around 10 points until a 9-1 spurt gave the 'Cats a 17-point advantage (72-55) with 6:18 remaining. The Wolves later closed to within nine but never got closer during the final six minutes.

January 2

Western Oregon Nips Colorado Mines 63-62

Freshman Tarance Glynn banked in a contested 10-foot jumper with four seconds left earning Western Oregon a 63-62 win over Colorado Mines in the final game of the Colorado Mines/Metro State New Year's Classic Saturday at Golden, Colo.

In Saturday's first game, Metro State held on to defeat Northwest Nazarene 76-74 to finish the tournament with a 2-0 record. The Wolves (7-4) and Crusaders (8-3) each ended up 1-1.

Dale Minschwaner gave the Orediggers a 62-59 lead on a layup with 46 seconds left. WOU, however, then pulled back to within one point with 32 seconds left on a layup by Kyle Long off an assist from Mike McLaughlin

Blair Wheadon fouled Gordon Galloway with 22 seconds left. Galloway, however, missed the front end of the one-and-one and Rico Myles grabbed the rebound setting the stage for Glynn's game-winner.

"Tarance made a play after our set (play) broke down," said WOU head coach Craig Stanger. "He was able to put the ball on the ground, find some space and will the ball in the hoop over the defender."

Following Glynn's jumper, Myles came up with a steal against Drew Hoffman to clinch the victory.

Myles had a big night, scoring a season-high 22 points on eight of 10 shooting - his previous high had been 20 in a 94-86 loss to BYU-Hawaii - and grabbing eight rebounds. Glynn was the only other Wolf in double figures with 10 points.

Minschwaner led the Orediggers with 22 points. Hoffman and Galloway each had 11 points.

The game was played close to the vest. Colorado Mines' biggest lead was five points, which it accomplished four times in the first half. WOU's biggest lead was four at 28-24 late in the first half.

Brian Minor scored 20 points and had seven steals to lead Metro State (10-2) to its victory over Northwest Nazarene.

The Roadrunners had nine-point leads on three different occasions and were still up by six going into the final minute. NNU, however, got a three-point basket by Drew Eisinger with 12 seconds left to cut its deficit to one point at 75-74.

Reggie Evans then made just one of two free throws with nine seconds left to leave an opening for the Crusaders. However, Shakir Johnson came up with a steal with two seconds left to secure the victory for the RMAC school.

In addition to Minor, Metro got 15 points from Donte Nicholas, 12 from Evans and 10 from Jonathan Morse. Nicholas also had 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Kendall Gielow led the Crusaders with 15 points, while Drew Eisinger and Louie Beech each added 12 points. Jamie Eisinger chipped in with 11 points.

Grand Canyon Edges Seattle Pacific With Last-Minute Rally

Marco Ramos' put-back layup with three seconds remaining capped a late rally for Grand Canyon, which overcame a six-point deficit during the final minute to claim a 69-68 NCAA West Region win over Seattle Pacific Saturday at Antelope Gymnasium.

The Falcons (9-2) lost for the second straight time after opening the season with nine consecutive victories. One of those wins was a 70-57 decision against Grand Canyon on Dec. 19 in Seattle.

SPU went ahead 67-61 on a pair of free throws from Adam Wardell with 56 seconds left to play.

The Antelopes (6-10) answered with two free throws by Ramos and got the ball back after SPU's Jeff Downs was trapped in the corner and turned the ball over. Brad Carroll put back a missed shot to draw GCU within 67-65.

Wardell hit the second of two free throws with 30 seconds remaining for a 68-65 SPU margin before Carroll drew the Antelopes within one point on a jumper.

Colby Vranes then missed two potential clinching free throws for the Falcons, who were ranked sixth nationally prior to their two losses, with 19 seconds remaining.

GCU rebounded the second miss and ran the clock down before Alyx Foster attempted a short jumper. His shot missed, but Ramos rebounded and banked in a layup while being fouled with 3.1 seconds to play.

Ramos missed the subsequent free throw, SPU rebounded and called a timeout. The inbounds pass from under the far basket went to Brandon Larrieu, who dribbled past mid court before launching a shot that caromed off the rim at the buzzer.

Larrieu scored 24 points to lead the Falcons, who also got 16 from Chris Banchero. Ryan Sweet, making his first SPU start, contributed seven points and 11 rebounds.

Nick Witherill came off the bench to pace GCU with 15 points while Ramos finished with 14. Steven Morin added 13 points and Carroll had 12.

Neither team led by more than three points during the first half that finished with Larrieu grabbing an offensive rebound and quickly sinking a 12-foot jumper at the buzzer for a 30-28 SPU edge.

The Antelopes won despite hitting just 8 of 21 free throw attempts. SPU made 23 of 35.

Western Washington Extends Win Streak To 12 Games

Guard Morris Anderson had 11 points and a season-high 11 assists as Western Washington won its 12th consecutive game defeating the State University of New York - Geneseo 75-63 Saturday at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Forward Derrick Webb had a team-high 13 points for the Vikings (13-1), who were ranked 16th in the latest NABC Division II national poll. The 12-game winning streak is the fourth longest in school history and equals the sixth longest in GNAC history.

Forward Brandon Simpson paced the Blue Knights (1-5) with game highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Western trailed once (at 4-3) but with the score tied at 5-5, the Vikings went on a 28-6 run in a little over nine minutes to take a 33-11 lead with 7:31 left in the first half. Anderson had all 11 of his points in the charge.

SUNY pulled to within 16 (42-26) at halftime as Mike Baker closed the half with a shot from just in front of the half court line, then opened the second half with a 9-2 run to narrow the margin to nine (44-35).

But the Vikings put the game away with a 9-2 run (six of the points by Webb) to take a 53-37 advantage with 12 minutes left. The lead was never less than 11 after that, but never exceeded 19.

Rory Blanche had 12 points on six of nine field-goal shooting and Andrew Ready added 10 points for the Vikings. WWU center Dave Vanderjagt had team-highs of nine rebounds and three blocks.

The Vikings had 13 steals, four by Anderson, and made 10 of 24 three-pointers (41.7 percent). SUNY-Geneseo was just two of six from beyond the arc.

Yellowjackets Beat Great Falls In Non-Conference Finale

Derrick Wright led four players in double figures with 17 points as Montana State Billings closed out its non-conference schedule with a 88-61 home win over Great Falls Saturday.

The Yellowjackets will take a 6-3 record into the conference season which begins Thursday.

Joining Wright, who also had a game-high eight rebounds, in double figures were Lasha Parghalava with 15 points, Brett Taylor with 13 and DaVelle Jackson with 12. Taylor connected on four of six three-pointers.

Marko Lakic led Great Falls with 14 points. Also in double figures was JayTee Tarpley with 10 points.

MSUB, which shot 50.9 percent (27-53), led 45-25 at halftime and maintained a double-digit lead for all but 22 seconds of the second half.

January 1

Crusaders Edge Colorado Mines

Drew Eisinger scored 21 points and Louie Beech added 19 as Northwest Nazarene built a 16-point second-half lead and then held on to defeat Colorado Mines 82-80 in Day 1 of the Metro State/Colorado Mines Classic Friday at Denver.

In Friday's second game, Metro State built an early 38-15 lead on the way to a 84-66 win against Western Oregon. The tournament concludes Saturday in Golden, Colo., with Metro State playing NNU and the Orediggers hosting Western Oregon.

NNU had one of the best team shooting performances in GNAC history as it improved to 8-2. The Crusaders made 33 of 49 shots (67.3 percent), including eight of 10 three-pointers. Beech was five of six from the arc.

NNU's overall percentage is the seventh best in GNAC history and its three-point percentage ranks second all-time in conference history for teams attempting at least 10 three-pointers.

Eisinger, who also had team-highs for assists (5) and steals (3), made nine of 13 shots, while Beech, who led the Crusaders with six rebounds, was seven of nine.

Also in double figures were Brian Barkdoll and Anthony Golden with 12 each and Kendall Gielow with 10. Golden made all five of his shots, including two treys.

Dale Minschwaner led Colorado Mines with 18 points. Drew Hoffman scored 17 and Sean Armstrong finished with 16.

Though the final margin was two points, NNU, which shot 80 percent in the second half (16-20), was comfortably ahead for most of the final period leading 61-45 with 12:43 left.

The Orediggers, however, went on a 21-6 run to pull within one at 67-66 with 7:16 remaining.

NNU then scored 11 of the next 12 points to go back on top 78-67 with 2:18 remaining and still led by seven with 23 seconds left. CSM then used a three-pointer and two foul shots to cut the final margin to two points.

Metro State used a 20-3 first-half run to take control against Western Oregon (6-4) as Jonathan Morse scored 17 of his 19 points in the opening period. Reggie Evans finished with a game-high 25 points, 14 in the second half. Donte Nicholas chipped in with 17.

The Wolves got 16 points from Tarance Glynn and 15 from Matt Schmidt, but shot just 29.6 percent (8-27) in falling behind by 19 (46-27) at the break.

Metro State (9-2) made 18 of 31 first-half shots (58.1) and finished at 50 percent (30 of 60). WOU ended up at 38.5 percent, making 20 of 52.

December 31

Saints Finish Pre-Conference At 10-1; Seawolves Topple Trinity

Galen Squiers scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to lead Saint Martin's to a 77-65 win over the State University of New York - Geneseo Thursday at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.

The Saints used 15-3 and 16-6 scoring runs in the first half to take a 37-28 halftime leading after trailing 11-4 in the early going.

SMU (10-1) had a double-digit lead for most of the second half though the Blue Knights did go on a 12-2 run to pull within six points (50-44) early in the second period before falling back.

In addition to his career-high 24 points, Squiers also had eight rebounds. It was his second 20-point game of his career. He had 22 in SMU's season opener in November against Hawaii Hilo.

The Saints were also led by Jeremy Green and Blake Poole. Green had 15 points and six rebounds, while Poole had 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

SUNY-Geneseo (1-4) was paced by Brandon Simpson with 24 points and Abe Miller with 19.

The Division III school made 54 percent (27-50) of its shots, but Saint Martin's had 11 more rebounds (38-27) and five fewer turnovers in posting its second five-game win streak of the season.

All 10 of SMU's wins have been either at home (5-0) or on a neutral court (5-0). Its lone loss came to Grand Canyon on the Antelopes' home court.

Seawolves Complete Sweep of Trinity International

Forward Nick Pacitti came off the bench to contribute 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists Thursday boosting Alaska Anchorage to an 89-71 victory over Trinity International at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (9-2) also got 15 points apiece from Brandon Walker and Casey Robinson and committed a season-low eight turnovers in stretching their winning streak to six games.

The Trojans (2-15) came out with blazing shooting 52 percent (26-50) both overall and from the three-point line (12-22). Center Ignas Verbus and guard Tyrone Smith notched 21 points apiece for the NAIA club, which led through much of the first half and held a 47-42 lead with 17:30 to play.

After TIU took a 49-46 advantage on a Verbus jumper, UAA wrested control with a 9-0 run, capped by a fast break layup and a three-pointer from guard Kevin White (13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists).

The Seawolves finally stretched their lead permanently to double digits at 71-60 on a Walker three-pointer with 8:23 remaining.

Center Malcolm Campbell finished with 14 points on six of 10 shooting and five rebounds, while guard Steve White had five assists.

Pacitti, a 6-6, 225-pounder from Los Angeles, made an immediate impact after entering the game midway through the first half, making six of 11 shots and four of five free throws and committing no turnovers in 21 minutes.

UAA, which outrebounded the Trojans 40-21, ended the non-conference season perfect against in eight games against non-Division I competition.

December 30

Colorado Christian Shocks Seattle Pacific; CWU's Cook Selected MVP

Jobi Wall pumped in 28 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as Colorado Christian shocked previously unbeaten and nationally sixth-ranked Seattle Pacific 73-69 Wednesday in the final game of the Falcon Invitational at Brougham Pavilion.

In Wednesday's first game, Central Washington (6-4) defeated Academy of the Art 96-61 to finish as the tournament's only unbeaten team. CWU guard JC Cook had eight points, 10 rebounds and three assists and was selected the tournament MVP.

Colorado Christian, which came into the game with a 1-7 record, scored its first seven field goals of the first half and its first three of the second half from beyond the arc in outscoring Seattle Pacific 42-9 from the three-point line.

CCU made 14 of 31 treys while holding SPU to just three three-pointers in 21 attempts as the Falcons (9-1) saw their school-record season-opening winning streak end at nine games.

Wall hit five of nine three-pointers and also led CCU to a 42-29 domination of the backboards. He also made nine of 10 free throw shots.

Abram Ziemer added 17 points, and was five of eight from the arc. Wall was named to the all-tournament team, as was teammate Justin Neuhaus, who had eight points and four rebounds after scoring 21 points in Tuesday's 84-77 loss to CWU.

Guards Chris Banchero and Brandon Larrieu, who had a game-high six steals, led Seattle Pacific with 22 and 18 points, respectively. The two made 15 of 17 free throws, but were just one of 10 on three-pointers.

The Falcons also got 10 points, five rebounds and three steals from Ryan Sweet. Sweet, who scored a season-high 18 points in Tuesday's 89-70 victory against Academy of Art, was named to the all-tournament team.

Colorado Christian, which had a 40-34 halftime lead, went up by as many as 12 points during the second half, the final time at 66-54 with 4:23 left.

The Falcons climbed back in, getting as close as 71-69 on a driving lay-in by Larrieu with 18 seconds left. But SPU was forced to foul, and Daniel Lemburg hit both ends of a double-bonus with 16 seconds to play.

The Falcons had two more shots from three-point range, but both bounced away.

Central Washington used an early 15-0 run, which included eight points by Humberto Perez and seven by Roby Clyde, in building a 26-10 lead on the way to a 49-25 halftime lead in its win over the Academy of the Art.

Perez finished the game with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals and was not charged with a turnover in earning all-tournament honors.

The Wildcats, who have won four of their last five, also got 19 and 11 points, respectively, from reserves Shane Miller and Ryan Snowden and a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double from center Chris Sprinker, who also blocked six shots. Perez, Miller and Snowden all had season scoring highs.

CWU finished with a 56-31 rebounding advantage in handing the winless Urban Knights their 10th straight loss.

Alaska Anchorage Beats Trinity For Eighth Victory

Malcolm Campbell had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead a balanced offensive attack as Alaska Anchorage cruised past Trinity International 87-57 Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

The Seawolves (8-2) earned their fifth straight victory thanks to 59 percent shooting and a 42-17 rebounding advantage.

The Trojans (2-14) got 13 points apiece from guard Tyrone Smith and forward Ignas Verbus, but the NAIA visitors from Deerfield, Ill., could not keep up in the second half.

UAA led just 38-30 at the break as TIU used an 11-0 run to end the first half. But the Seawolves got back-to-back dunks by Campbell around the 18-minute mark to take a 45-31 advantage, and Donnie Lao made it a 58-37 game with a three-pointer with 13:21 left.

Lao finished with a career-high 15 points, knocking down five of seven three-pointers, while forward Nick Pacitti came off the bench with an impressive stat line of 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Casey Robinson scored 12 points and dished five assists and Brandon Walker had 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists as five Seawolves scored in double figures.

Moody Leads Marauders Past Montana State Billings

Anthony Moody scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the second half as the University of Mary (5-5) overcame a five-point halftime deficit to cruise past Montana State Billings 76-62 at the McDowell Activity Center in Bismarck, N.D.

The Marauders shot 64 percent in the second half, making 16 of 25 shots and also cashed in on 15 of 17 free throws in outscoring MSUB 49-30.

All five Mary starters finished in double figures, including forward Eric Erdmann, who netted 11 of his 13 points in the final 20 minutes. Erdmann also had six rebounds and five assists.

Jordan Wilhelm contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Danny Sandvig and Cameron Lee each netted 10 points.

Lasha Parghalava, who has led MSUB in scoring in each of the past four Yellowjacket games, had 19 points and a team-high six rebounds. Ten of his points came during a 12-0 run to end the first half, which gave MSUB a 32-27 lead.

Derrick Wright had 14 points and DeAndre Chambers, making his first start, scored 12 points. It was Chambers' eighth straight double-digit scoring performance.

December 29

Western Washington Streak at 11

Guard Morris Anderson scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as Western Washington rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat Dixie State 81-73 in a NCAA West Region game Tuesday on Haggen Court.

The win was the 11th in a row for the Vikings (12-1), who are ranked 16th in the latest NABC Division II Top 25. WWU equaled its fourth longest win streak in school history and the seventh longest in GNAC history.

Dixie State (5-3) was led by forward Tom Whitehead with 22 points and eight rebounds. Forward Andy Palmer added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Dixie State held a 36-33 lead at halftime, then opened the second half by hitting four of its first five shots from the field to take a 46-35 advantage with 17:35 to go.

Western was still down by seven (52-45) with 13:16 to play, but went on a 12-2 run over the next 3:27 to take a 57-54 lead on a layin by forward Rory Blanche with 9:49 left.

Anderson, who made eight of 13 shots including four of eight treys, had six of the first eight points in the charge with a pair of three-pointers.

The Vikings, who shot 56.7 percent (17-30) from the field in the second half, led the rest of the way, but didn't take full control of the game until running off seven straight points to lead 74-64 with 3:50 to play.

Forward Derrick Webb had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Blanche added 12 points and Andrew Ready, a 6-1 guard, had nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Cook, Clift, Sivak Pace Wildcats; SPU Remains Perfect

JC Cook scored 24 points, including seven of his team's final 13 points, and Central Washington also got 18 points from Jon Clift and 17 from Riley Sivak in defeating Colorado Christian 84-77 in the opening game of the Falcon Invitational Tuesday at Brougham Pavilion.

Host Seattle Pacific clubbed Academy of the Art 89-70 in the second game of the tournament to remain perfect on the season at 9-0.

CWU trailed by one point at halftime (42-41), which equaled its biggest deficit of the half. The 'Cats then fell behind by four points early in the second half, and were still down by one with five minutes remaining.

Clift, Humberto Perez and Sivak, however, then got consecutive baskets to put the 'Cats up 71-66 with 3:43 remaining. Eventually, CWU went up by as many as nine, leading 81-72 inside the final minute.

Sivak, an Ellensburg High product, scored 14 of his 17 points and had five of his team-high seven rebounds in the second half as CWU, which had 15 fewer turnovers (24-9) to help offset a 44-29 rebound deficit, improved to 5-4.

Jobi Wall and Justin Neuhaus led Colorado Christian with 21 points, while Joel Morris finished with 13 points.

Post players Ryan Sweet and Rafael Moreira scored 18 and 13 points, respectively, leading nationally sixth-ranked Seattle Pacific to its victory.

Sweet, whose point total was a career high, also had seven rebounds one behind team-leader Jake Anderson who had eight as the Falcons dominated the backboards 44-26.

Sweet, who joined the Falcons this year after earning all-region honors last season at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, hit six of 11 from the field and five of six from the foul line.

Guards Brandon Larrieu and Chris Banchero chipped in 12 points apiece as SPU continued to close in on the best start in school history. The 1993-94 team won its first 11 games.

Ryan Looney is the only Seattle Pacific men's basketball coach to win his first nine games.

The Urban Knights (0-9), a Pacific West Conference member and in just their second year of competition, were led by Josiah Jungsten's 14 points. Ivan Prema added 13.

Crusaders, Wolves Lose To Division I Teams

Boise State pulled away from Northwest Nazarene late in the second half in earning a 76-58 victory over the Crusaders in a men's collegiate basketball game Tuesday at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise.

In another game matching a GNAC school against a NCAA Division I opponent, Utah State easily disposed of Western Oregon 78-42 holding the Wolves to 12 second-half points in front of a crowd of 9,368 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Ogden.

Northwest Nazarene (7-2) never led against Boise, but trailed by just one point at halftime (31-30), despite falling behind by 11 (17-6) early in the contest.

The Crusaders used a 9-1 run to close the first half, including a three-pointers by Drew Eisinger with 31 seconds left in the period.

In the second half, NNU remained within single digits, trailing by a 61-53 count with 6:28 remaining before the Broncos used an 11-2 run to open up a 72-55 lead with 1:51 left.

Eisinger led NNU with 14 points, while three other players - Anthony Golden (11), Brian Barkdoll (10) and Kendall Gielow (10) - were also in double figures.

Barkdoll had seven rebounds and Gielow had six as NNU battled Boise State to a 32-32 standoff on the backboards.

Paul Noonan led Boise (9-4) with 17 points. Ike Okoye had 15 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. La'Shard Anderson netted 14 points and also had a game-high five steals.

The Broncos built most of their lead from the three-point line, converting on 10 of 29 - Noonan was five of eight - compared to NNU's five of 19 from the arc.

Utah State 78, Western Oregon 42

Jared Quayle led four players in double figures with 18 points as Utah State defeated Western Oregon to earn its 10th win in 14 contests. The Wolves fell to 6-3.

Utah State led 46-30 at halftime, then held the Wolves to just 12 second-half points. WOU made only five of 26 second-half shots, including one of 10 three-pointers.

Rico Myles finished with 12 points for WOU, while Blair Wheadon had 10 points. Tai Welsey had 14 and Tyler Newbold and Brady Jardine had 11 each for the Aggies.

Newbold also had 11 rebounds as the Aggies controlled the backboards 42-24, while finishing with a plus five takeaway advantage (16-11).

December 21

Men's Basketball: MSUB Holds Off Dixie 63-60

Guard Lasha Parghalava scored 11 of his game-high 14 points in the second half as Montana State Billings held off Dixie State to earn a 63-60 NCAA Division II West Region victory Monday at Alterowitz Gym.

The Yellowjackets improved to 5-2, including 4-2 in region counters. GNAC teams now a cumulative 40-9 record in region contests.

MSUB twice had an 11-point lead in the second half, but Dixie State pulled ahead 48-47 with six minutes left on a pair of free throws by Donovan Plunkett.

The Yellowjackets, however, regained control getting a layup by Parghalava with 5:18 remaining, a three-pointer by DeAndre Chambers with 4:48 left and a layin by Brad Hodge with 3:53 on the clock to go ahead 54-48.

Dixie, however, had one more run in it. After two free throws by MSUB's DaVell Jackson gave the 'Jackets a six-point lead with 37 seconds left, Dixie got a three-pointer by Tom Whitehead and two free throws by Plunkett to pull within one with 22 ticks remaining.

Plunkett then stole the ball with 15 seconds left, but turned it back over six seconds later and a layup by Chambers put MSUB ahead by three at 63-60. Dixie then missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

Chambers and Jackson joined Parghalava in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Jackson also had six assists, four steals and a block.

Whitehead paced Dixie (5-2) with 13 points, while Andy Palmer had 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Jeremiah Barnes had 10 points for the Red Storm, which has now split two games each with MSUB and Northwest Nazarene.

Nineteen Rebounds For Saints' Blake Poole in 79-58 Victory

Blake Poole scored 21 points and pulled down a GNAC season-best 19 rebounds to lead Saint Martin's to a 79-58 non-conference win over Pacific Lutheran Monday at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.

Poole missed just two shots, one from outside the three-point line. He has nine of 11 overall and also had three assists and a block.

The Saints (9-1) also got 17 points from Jeremy Green and 11 from Brady Bomber. James Conti had 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals to lead the Lutes.

SMU shot 52.5 percent from the floor, converting on 31 of 59. From inside the arc, it shot 70 percent (28 of 40). The Lutes were just 20 of 55 (36.4 percent).

December 20

Seawolves, Nanooks Go 2-0 in AT&T Jamboree

Emmanuel Jenkins scored 27 points, including 17 in the opening half when Alaska Fairbanks built a 53-43 lead, and the Nanooks went on to beat Western New Mexico 106-93 in the UAA AT&T Jamboree at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex Sunday in Anchorage.

In the final game of the Jamboree, Brandon Walker, who was selected the tournament MVP, scored 20 points to lead Alaska Anchorage to a 75-53 victory over Chaminade, completing a four-game sweep for the two Alaska schools. The win was the 100th career coaching victory for UAA head coach Rusty Osborne.

The two GNAC schools also made a clean sweep of the all-tournament awards. Representing UAF on the squad were Jenkins, Jon Moe and Parish West. Joining Walker as UAA's all-tourney selections were Kevin White and Nick Pacitti.

Jenkins, who made 10 of 13 shots including five of six three-pointers in Sunday's game, finished the tournament with 48 points and 12 assists as the Nanooks improved to 5-4.

UAF also got 23 points from Moe, 17 points and six assists from West, 13 points and 12 rebounds from Nashorn Maynard and 10 points and seven rebounds from Tony Wilson in Sunday's contest.

The Nanooks had a series of runs in building a 10-point halftime lead. Trailing 17-11, UAF scored 10 straight points, seven by Moe, to go ahead by four.

Later they scored seven straight to stretch a two-point lead to nine at 28-19. Then after the Mustangs had battled back into a 41-41 tie, UAF went on a 9-0 run, getting six points from West and three from Jenkins.

The Nanooks built on that lead in the second half going ahead by 24 (79-55) with 10:43 left. Western New Mexico was able to close the gap to 12 at one point, but couldn't get any closer.

UAF shot 56.9 percent (41-72), including 10 of 19 on three-pointers in earning the victory. It also finished with a 40-36 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over only 12 times.

Stefan Mirabal had 26 points and Justin Williams had 25 for WNMU (3-7). The Mustangs also got 19 points from TJ Riley and 10 from Jeron McIntosh.

In addition to Walker's 20 points, Alaska Anchorage (7-2) got 14 points from center Malcolm Campbell, a career-high 10 points from freshman center Liam Gibcus and seven assists from Drew Robinson in its victory.

Chaminade (3-6) was led by point guard Steven Bennett with 20 points on nine of 15 shooting. The rest of the Silverswords connected on just 12 of 35 shots from the field (34.3 percent).

Alaska Anchorage did much of its damage from long range, connecting on 11 of 25 three-pointers. Walker nailed four of seven treys, while Kevin White (3 of 5), who had nine points and four assists, and Donnie Lao (2 of 4) combined for five of nine.

Pacitti had seven points, three assists and a team-high eight rebounds, following a 14-point, 15-rebound showing in Saturday's win over Western New Mexico.

Sunday's game was tied early at 5-5 before the Seawolves, who improved to 4-0 in Division II games, scored 13 consecutive points on the way to a 40-19 halftime lead. Their biggest lead was 27 at 51-24 with 16:34 remaining.

December 19

Nanooks Beat Chaminade 83-77

Parish West scored 27 points and Emmanuel Jenkins added 21 to lead Alaska Fairbanks to a 83-77 win over Chaminade in the AT&T Jamboree at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex in Anchorage Saturday.

Host Alaska Anchorage won the second game defeating Western New Mexico 69-39 to complete another outstanding day for GNAC teams.

Also posting wins Saturday were Seattle Pacific and Western Oregon. The nationally sixth-ranked Falcons (8-0) stayed unbeaten with a 70-57 home win over Grand Canyon, while the Wolves (6-2) defeated Colorado Mines 71-66.

All four games were West Region counters bringing the GNAC's cumulative won-loss record in region games to 37-9.

West connected on 13 of 16 shots and also had seven rebounds and four steals as Alaska Fairbanks evened its record at 4-4.

West scored 21 points on 10 of 11 shooting in the first half. However, UAF still trailed 48-43 at the break to the PacWest school. The Nanooks, however, limited the Silverswords to eight field goals in 28 second-half attempts and got 10 second-half points from Jenkins to pull out the victory.

Trailing 59-51, UAF went on a 10-0 run to go ahead 61-59 with 13:20 remaining and later scored seven points in a row, getting a two-pointer from West and a two and three-pointer from Jenkins to go ahead for good at 68-62 at the midway point of the period.

In addition to West and Jenkins, who made four of 11 three-pointers, UAF was also led by Jon Moe with 12 points.

Chaminade, which knocked off pre-season No. 1 BYU-Hawaii last Saturday, was led by Matt Cousins with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Steven Bennett scored 16 points and Waly Coulibaly had 13.

It was the first loss for the Silverswords (3-5) to a Division II team as its previous four defeats were to Division I teams, including three in the Maui Invitational.

Brandon Walker scored a game-high 19 points and Alaska Anchorage got a strong defensive effort in its win over Western New Mexico.

In addition to Walker, UAA was also led by forward Nick Pacitti, who had 14 points and 15 rebounds.

The Mustangs (3-6) were led by guard Justin Williams with 12 points and four assists. WNMU, however, was held to 26.5 percent shooting and was outrebounded 50-30 by the Seawolves.

UAA, which remained unbeaten against Division II schools, jumped to an 18-1 lead before WNMU scored its first field goal at the 9:27 mark. Walker scored 17 of his points in the first half while the Seawolves built a 38-15 advantage at the break.

Walker made seven of 13 shots from the floor and made all four of this free throws, while Pacitti came off the bench to convert on five of seven.

Along with its 67-38 win last week over Grand Canyon, UAA has held consecutive opponents to less than 40 points for the first time in program history. It is also the Seawolves' 10th straight victory over the Mustangs, who were members of the PacWest Conference with the Seawolves until the 2000-01 season.

Seattle Pacific 70, Grand Canyon 57

Brandon Larrieu scored 17 points, including four during a decisive second-half scoring run, leading Seattle Pacific to a 70-57 home victory against Grand Canyon.

Larrieu converted on six of 12 shots as the sixth-ranked Falcons improved to 8-0. Point guard Chris Banchero added 14 points and freshman post Ryan Sweet had a career high 13 points. Sweet also pulled down a team-leading six rebounds.

SPU, which led for all but a few moments of the game, saw Grand Canyon (4-10) close to 49-47 with 9:19 to play. But the Falcons then went on a 15-4 run during a stretch of 5 minutes, 20 seconds to open up a 64-51 lead with 2:51 remaining.

Seattle Pacific, which came into the game as the fifth-best shooting team in all of NCAA Division II at 53.3 percent, hit at a 56.3 percent clip making 27 of 48, including 12 of 19 in the second half. Grand Canyon hit 46.8 percent (22 of 47).

Gaby Ngoundjo led the Antelopes with 16 points. T.J. Benson added 14, and Steven Morin added 10.

Western Oregon 71, Colorado Mines 66

Guard Blair Wheadon scored 21 points, including 14 in the first half to lead Western Oregon to a Division II West Regional win over Colorado Mines at the New PE Building in Monmouth.

The Wolves (6-2) built a 47-23 lead scoring the final 12 points of the first period and the first five points of the second half.

But, WOU then had to hold on dearly as the Orediggers (4-5) went on a 25-3 run to pull to within two points (52-50) on a three-pointer by Gordon Galloway with 10:02 left.

The Wolves, however, then pulled away again going ahead 69-59 with 2:33 left. Still, the win wasn't secured until Rico Myles sank one of two free throws to give WOU a four-point cushion with seven seconds left.

Wheadon added an insurance point after a CSM turnover with one tick left on the clock.

Wheadon made seven of 14 shots, including four of nine treys, to lead three Wolf players in double figures. Matt Schmidt added 15 points and Kyle Long scored 12.

Sean Armstrong paced Colorado Mines, which made 17 of 29 second-half shots, with 24 points, keying its second half comeback with 17. He was 10 of 16, four of six from the arc. Galloway had 11 points and seven rebounds.

WOU, which was just seven of 21 from the floor in the second half finishing with a 40.0 percentage (22-55), held Dale Minschwaner scoreless. The Colorado Mines player came in averaging 20. 4 per game.

December 18

Western Washington Wins Great Western Shootout

Western Washington used a red-hot start to gain control and went on to defeat Fort Lewis 82-61 in the final game at the third annual Great Western Shootout at the Doolittle Community Center in Las Vegas Friday.

The Vikings (11-1), who have won 10 straight, finished as the only unbeaten team in the tournament as Washburn beat Central Washington 82-68 in Friday's first game. Both the Ichobods and the Wildcats ended up 1-1.

Western Washington jumped out to a 24-4 lead and maintained a double-digit margin the remainder of the way, leading by as many as 33 (73-40 with 10:31 left in the second period).

The closest the Skyhawks (8-3) got was 12 (34-22) late in the first half. Western, however, then scored the final six points of the period to take a 38-22 lead into the break.

Forward Derrick Webb led five Viking players in double figures with 22 points and also had eight rebounds. Western also got 15 points and seven assists from Morris Anderson, 13 each from Rory Blanche and Dave Vanderjagt and 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists from Harold McAllister.

Guard DeAndre Lansdowne had a game-high 23 points for Fort Lewis. David Kanyinda was the only other Fort Lewis player in double figures with 12 points..

Anderson, who was named the tournament MVP, made his first two free throw attempts, giving him a school-record 39 in a row before missing an attempt early in the second half on the first of a two-shot technical foul. The old record was 37 set by Jared Stevenson in 1997-98.

Joining Anderson on the all-tournament team were Webb, Lansdowne, Jon Clift from Central Washington and De'Andre Washington and William McNeill from Washburn.

The tournament title was the fourth tie or outright tourney title for the Vikings this season.

Washburn 82, Central Washington 68

Forward De'Andre Washington had game highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds leading Washburn to an 82-68 victory over Central Washington.

The Ichabods (7-3) also got 19 points from guard William McNeill. Central (4-4) was led by the 16 points of guard Jon Clift. Center Chris Sprinker added 13 points and forward Riley Sivak had 11 points.

The Wildcats jumped to a 16-7 lead less than five minutes into the game, but the Ichabods recovered to tie the score at 16-16 with 13 minutes left in the half, then used a 16-5 run over the final 4:24 of the period to hold a 50-36 lead at halftime.

Central twice pulled within seven points in the second half, but got no closer. The Wildcats shot a season low 38.2 percent (21-55) from the field, including 31.8 percent (7-22) in the second half.

Saint Martin's 71, Colorado Mines 68

Saint Martin's let a 16-point second-half lead disappear before rebounding to defeat Colorado Mines 71-68 in a NCAA Division II region counting game Friday at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.

Freshman Brady Bomber led the 8-1 Saints, with 14 points, including five during a 7-0 run after the Orediggers had outscored the Saints 18-2 to erase a 59-43 deficit.

After CSM had pulled into a 61-61 tie, Bomber made two free throws, Galen Squiers scored a field goal and Bomber hit a three-pointer as SMU jumped back on top 68-61 with 1:50 left.

Colorado Mines did manage to pull within two points on a three-pointer by Drew Hoffman with 47 seconds left. Squiers then made one of two free throws with 11 seconds left before the Saints survived a three-point try by the Orediggers' Dale Minschwaner at the buzzer.

All five SMU starters were in double figures including Blake Poole, who had 12 points and 15 rebounds and Squiers who had 11 points and six assists. Jeremy Green and Jared Howard scored 13 each. Hoffman, who made five of six three-pointers, led Colorado Mines with 20 points, while Minschwaner had 19.

December 17

Impressive Wins For Vikings, Wildcats at Las Vegas

Western Washington and Central Washington posted impressive wins in Day 1 of the third-annual Great Western Shootout at the Doolittle Community Center in Las Vegas Thursday.

Guard Morris Anderson scored a game-high 20 points, 13 in the second half, and tied a school record for consecutive free throws made as Western Washington defeated Washburn, Kans., 71-56.

Central Washington got 16 points from guard Humberto Perez and 15 from three other players in defeating Fort Lewis, Colo., 91-82 in a NCAA West Region counting contest.

The Skyhawks came into the contest with a 8-1 record and were among "others receiving votes" in this week's NABC Division II national poll.

Western Washington (10-1), which is ranked 17th in the latest NABC poll, won its ninth straight.

In addition to Anderson, the Vikings got 15 points and four blocked shots from center Dave Vanderjagt and 10 points each from forwards Zach Bruce and Derrick Webb. Webb also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

Guard William McNeill had a career-high 23 points for Washburn, which fell to 6-3. Forward De'Andre Washington added 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Vikings trailed by as much as five in the second half and led by just (50-49) with 8:48 to go before going on a 10-2 run to take a 60-51 lead with 6:06 left. Anderson had the final six points of the run on free throws, the last two after a technical foul against the Washburn bench.

The Ichabods closed to within five (60-55) on two McNeill free throws with 4:59 to go, but scored just one more point the rest of the way.

The Vikings, who entered the game ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense (55.4), 11th in field-goal percentage defense (53.3) and seventh in three-point percentage defense (24.6), held Washburn to 35.1 percent (20-57) field-goal shooting, including 21.1 percent (four of 19) on three-pointers.

Western made 26 of 31 free throws as Anderson converted on seven of seven extending his string to 37 and tying the school record set by Jared Stevenson in 1997-98.

Anderson's streak is the fourth longest in GNAC history trailing only three separate streaks of 50, 45 and 44 by Saint Martin's Jake Linton.

Central Washington 91, Fort Lewis 82

Humberto Perez made five of seven shots leading a balanced offensive attack with a career-high 16 points as the Wildcats improved to 4-3 with their best offensive showing of the young season.

Central had season-highs for field goal and three-point percentage shooting 57.7 percent from the floor (30-52) and 72.7 percent from the arc (8-11).

In addition to Perez, CWU got 15 points each from Jon Clift, JC Cook and Toussaint Tyler and 10 from Riley Sivak. DeAndre Lansdowne led the Skyhawks (8-2) with 28 points and eight rebounds, while David Kanyinda and Matt Morris had 16 and 12, respectively.

Central Washington, which led 43-40 at halftime, used a 21-9 run to break out of a 46-46 tie and open up a 67-55 lead with 13:12 remaining in the second half.

Fort Lewis, however, rallied back to within one point (75-74) with 6:14 remaining on a fast break dunk by Lansdowne.

The Wildcats, who entered the game shooting just 63 percent at the free throw line, made all 12 of their foul shots the rest of the way in outscoring Fort Lewis 16-8.

In the second half, CWU made 14 of 22 field goal attempts (63.6), four of four three-pointers and 16 of 20 free throws.

Perez and Tyler helped ice the game for the Wildcats at the foul line, making four free throws apiece down the stretch. CWU was just seven of 14 from the foul line in the opening period before making 80 percent of its second-half chances.

December 14

Long Leads WOU To 84-61 Win

Kyle Long connected on six of seven second-half shots and scored a career-high 25 points to lead Western Oregon to a 84-61 win over Northwest Christian Monday at the New PE Building in Monmouth.

Long, whose previous high had been 19 last season against Saint Martin's, missed only three shots all night, converting on eight of 11 field goal attempts, including three of four treys. He was six of six from the foul line.

Northwest Christian jumped to an early 9-2 lead before the Wolves rebounded to take the lead for good on a three-pointer by Matt Schmidt with 10 minutes left in the opening half.

Schmidt's trey gave WOU a 17-15 lead. The Wolves then pulled away opening up a 12-point lead at the break (42-30) and maintaining a double-digit advantage the entire second half.

Joining Long in double figures were Schmidt with 15 points and Blair Wheadon and Tarance Glynn with 11 each. Andrew Miller led three Northwest Christian players in double figures with 17.

The Wolves (5-2) outshot the Beacons (9-4) 54.7 percent (29-53) to 37.0 percent (20-54) and also controlled the backboards 40-26 as Rico Milles had 10. Schmidt had a game-high five assists.

WOU also utilized the three-point shot, making 10 of 15 including seven of nine in the first half. It also held NCU to just three of 16 from long range.

"They were giving us looks from the outside and we were able to knock down our shots," said WOU head coach Craig Stanger.

December 12

SPU, UAA Earn West Region Wins

Chris Banchero scored 20 points, including 12 on three-pointers in the opening five minutes, carrying 12th-ranked Seattle Pacific to an 89-60 NCAA Division II West Region basketball victory over Cal State East Bay Saturday at Pioneer Gymnasium.

The win was one of five for GNAC teams Saturday as both Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks posted victories in the Glacier Classic in Fairbanks and Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin's also earned victories.

At the Patty Center, Alaska Anchorage defeated Grand Canyon 67-38 as Casey Robinson had 15 points on six of eight shooting - all in the first half - to lead the Seawolves to a West Region victory. The host Nanooks outlasted Grace Bible 108-105 in overtime in the tournament's final game.

In the College of Idaho Classic in Caldwell, Northwest Nazarene defeated Portland Bible 77-53. Saint Martin's outscored Corban 75-57 at Marcus Pavilion at Lacey to complete the GNAC sweep.

Seattle Pacific improved to 7-0 with its West Region win and is off to its best start in 16 years. The 1993-94 SPU squad reeled off 11 consecutive wins to start the season.

The win also gave a GNAC a 7-0 record against CCAA opponents as the season series between the two West Region conferences came to a close.

Seattle Pacific accounted for four of the seven wins, also defeating Cal State Monterey Bay, Sonoma State and Chico State.

Banchero's early marksmanship helped SPU jump to an early 14-6 lead. The Falcons stretched the margin to 49-31 by halftime as Banchero had 16 at the break. SPU shot 60 percent in the first half (15-25 including eight of 14 treys).

Post Rafael Moreira scored 18 points on seven of nine shooting. SPU also got 12 from Ryan Sweet. Mark Samuels led the Pioneers with 16 points, while Donavon Jackson added 10.

The Falcons opened the second half with an 18-7 run, featuring points from six different players. SPU shot 56 percent for the game (31 of 55), while limiting the Pioneers to 40 percent (23 of 58).

Alaska Anchorage 67, Grand Canyon 38

Casey Robinson's first-half offensive exploits and a record-setting defensive effort led Alaska Anchorage to an impressive 29-point win over Grand Canyon at the Patty Center in Fairbanks.

In addition to Robinson's 15 points, the Seawolves (5-2) also got 13 points, six rebounds and three assists from guard Brandon Walker as they held the Antelopes scoreless for the game's first nine minutes and took a dominating 33-10 lead at halftime.

The 10 points allowed was the second fewest in a half in UAA school history, trailing only the seven points allowed in this year's opener against American Sports University.

The previous record for points allowed against a Division II team was 13 against Sacramento State on Dec. 18, 1984.

"I thought it was one of the best defensive efforts we've had in my 19 years here," said Rusty Osborne, who is in his sixth season as head coach after spending 13 as a Seawolf assistant. "We really challenged the players with their individual defensive assignments, and they all did a great job tonight."

UAA held the Antelopes (4-9) to 32.6 percent shooting and forced 18 turnovers as the 38 points tied for the fourth fewest ever allowed by a Seawolf team.

Robinson started the game with three three-pointers in the first seven minutes, propelling UAA to a 13-0 lead before GCU's Rony Tchatchoua sank a short jumper at the 11-minute mark.

Marco Ramos scored a team-high nine points for the Antelopes, who shot just 20 percent (4 of 20) and missed all six of their three-point tries in the first half.

UAA center Malcolm Campbell scored all 11 of his points in the second half and point guard Drew Robinson had a solid night with seven points, seven assists and no turnovers.

Alaska Fairbanks 108, Grace Bible 105

Parish West scored 36 points and had 10 rebounds and Alaska Fairbanks twice overcame fairly substantial deficits to defeat Grace Bible 108-105 in overtime in the final game at the Glacier Classic.

After battling back from a 32-15 first-half deficit, the Nanooks pulled into a 56-56 tie early in the second half only to fall back again by nine (90-81) with 7:09 left.

However, UAF got a rebound basket from West with 16 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then overcame a 105-104 deficit in the extra period as West scored with 1:35 remaining and Emmanuel Jenkins converted on two free throws with 10 seconds left.

UAF, which improved to 3-4, had to survive final possessions by Grace both at the end of regulation and overtime before getting the win.

In addition to West, who made 14 of 23 shots, the Nanooks also got 27 points from Jon Moe, 24 from Jenkins and 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven steals from Nashorn Maynard. Both Jenkins (8 attempts) and Moe (12 attempts) made five treys.

Six different players scored in double figures for Grace, the defending National Christian College national champions. Allen Durham led the way with 21 points, while Brandon Herlein had 20.

Northwest Nazarene 77, Portland Bible 53

Lateef Williams, Kendall Gielow and Louie Beech combined for 42 points to lead Northwest Nazarene to a 24-point win over Portland Bible.

Williams led the way with 15, while Gielow had 14 and Beech chipped in with 13 as the Crusaders won their fourth straight.

NNU (7-1) led by just four at halftime before pulling away in the second half as they limited the Wildcats to 17 second-half field goal attempts. NNU, which launched 37, made more field goals (18) than Portland attempted in the second period.

NNU's extra possessions were due to a 35-26 rebounding lead and a plus 11 turnover advantage (22-11).

Leading the rebounders was Brian Barkdoll, who had seven. Barkdoll also scored eight points and had four of NNU's 12 steals. David Reeher and Gielow each had six rebounds.

Michael Cooper had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double to pace Portland. The Wildcats also got 11 points from Joseph Johnson and 10 each from Stephen McCall and Maycol Rivera.

Saint Martin's 75, Corban 57

Blake Poole had another huge night and Jared Howard chipped in with 17 points to lead Saint Martin's to a 75-57 win over Corban at Marcus Pavilion.

Poole scored 28 points and also had 13 rebounds and five steals as the Saints fought off a second-half challenge to win their seventh game in eight starts.

Poole had 18 points in the second half, including a pair of putback baskets to key a 17-2 closing run for the Saints after Corban had cut a deficit that reached 17 points late in the first half to three.

The Saint forward started the final push with a free throw, then twice scored baskets off rebounds. A three-pointer by Galen Squires gave SMU a 66-55 lead.

After a Corban basket, Saint Martin's closed out the game with nine consecutive points.

Joining Poole and Howard in double figures was Squiers with 14 points. Brady Bomber chipped in with eight points. Ben Potloff paced Corban with 15 points. Ian Logan had 15 and Erik Cronrath tossed in a dozen points.

December 11

NNU's Hills Records 500th Win

Louie Beech scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the first half to lead Northwest Nazarene to a 81-78 win over Montana Western Friday in the opening game of the 2009 Wendy's Holiday Classic at the J.A. Albertson's Activities Center in Caldwell, Idaho.

The win was the 500th for Crusader coach Tim Hills at the men's four-year collegiate level and his 626th overall, including 95 at the JC level and 31 coaching four-year women's basketball.

In other games involving GNAC teams Friday, Montana State Billings and Alaska Anchorage recorded victories, while Alaska Fairbanks lost a NCAA West Region game to Grand Canyon.

MSUB defeated Northern New Mexico 85-64 at Alterowitz Gym to improve to 4-2. In the Glacier Classic at Fairbanks, Alaska Anchorage defeated Grace Bible 81-69 and UAF lost 77-72 to the Antelopes.

Northwest Nazarene 81, Montana Western 78

Beech helped Northwest Nazarene overcome an early 12-3 deficit and then had a layup and three-pointer as the Crusaders broke away from a 33-33 tie to take the lead for good late in the opening half.

After taking a 41-36 lead at the break, NNU gave up the first four points of the second half, but then went on an 11-2 run in building a 10-point advantage.

The Crusaders maintained a six to 14-point lead the rest of the way until Terry Hauser's three-pointer at the buzzer established the final margin of five. Hauser scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.

In addition to Beech, NNU was led by Drew Eisinger with 13 points. Eisinger, who made three of four treys, also had five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Three different players - Jamie Eisinger, Kendall Gielow and David Reehler - all had eight. Jamie Eisinger had five assists.

Hill's win was his 59th against 56 losses in five seasons at NNU. He was also 47-34 in three seasons at Western Oregon and 394-360 in 23 campaigns at Western Baptist (now Corban).

He also posted a 95-22 record between 1983 and 1987 at Chemeketa Community College and was 31-23 in two seasons as the women's coach at Western Oregon (2000-03).

Montana State Billings 85, Northern New Mexico 64

Lasha Parghalava scored 18 points and Derrick Wright had 17 as Montana State Billings improved to 4-2 with a 21-point home win over Northern New Mexico at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

The Yellowjackets closed the first half with a 14-2 run to take a 43-24 lead at the break, then used a 14-4 finish to the second half to stretch a 11-point lead to its final margin of 21.

Wright scored 13 of his points and Parghalava had 11 in the second half as MSUB maintained a double-digit margin for all but 59 seconds of the period.

MSUB also got 14 points from DeAndre Chambers, 13 points from Brad Hodge and a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double from Mike McCrary.

Charles Williams led Northern New Mexico with 20, including 17 in the second period. Eddie Williams had 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Alaska Anchorage 81, Grace Bible 69

Malcolm Campbell notched his first career double-double and Casey Robinson scored 15 points as Alaska Anchorage fended off an upset bid by Grace Bible College.

The Seawolves (4-2) got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Campbell as they erased an early 30-17 deficit against the defending National Christian College Athletic Association national champions.

Forward Allen Durham had game-highs of 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers (12-5), but the Grand Rapids, Mich., squad could not capitalize on hot early shooting.

Facing their biggest hole late in the first half, guard Drew Robinson sparked the Seawolves with seven points in a 10-0 run that lasted just 80 seconds.

Tied at 38-38, UAA wound down the clock and converted an alley-oop from Kevin White to Campbell just before the halftime buzzer to take the lead for good.

Campbell scored the first basket of the second half and guard Brandon Walker (10 points, 8 rebounds) nailed a three-pointer with 14:09 remaining that made it 56-45. The Tigers were not able to slice it to single digits the rest of the way.

Kevin White finished with 13 points and a game-high six assists, while Drew Robinson had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Seawolves. Casey Robinson added six rebounds and a UAA season-best five steals.

Grand Canyon 77, Alaska Fairbanks 72

T.J. Benson's three-pointer with 43 seconds left gave Grand Canyon the lead and the Antelopes then added six more points on free throws in the final 25 seconds to defeat Alaska Fairbanks.

Benson's trey - his sixth in eight attempts from outside the arc - came after Bo Edwards had made one of two foul shots to put UAF ahead for the first time since early in the second period.

Benson then made two free throws - his 19th and 20th points of the game - and Grand Canyon got four more free throws to cap their last minute 9-0 run. A three-pointer by Edwards with four seconds left closed out the scoring.

In addition to Benson, Grand Canyon (5-8) also got 13 points and 13 rebounds from Gaby Ngoundjo, 13 points from Brad Carroll and 10 points from Justin Wesolowski.

The Nanooks were led by Jon Moe with 23 points. Parish West had 17. Emmanuel Jenkins added 13 and Edwards had 12.

UAF was outscored 33-15 from the three-point line as Grand Canyon made 11 of 23 and 18-11 from the charity stripe. The Antelopes also outrebounded the Nanooks 37-30.

December 9

Cook Leads Central Washington Past Walla Walla 100-73

JC Cook scored 27 points and Central Washington shot 60.6 percent from the field in the second half en route to a 100-73 victory over Walla Walla Wednesday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Wildcats, who evened their record at 3-3. Walla Walla fell to 4-11 on the season.

Central played close with the visiting Wolves in the first half. The Wildcats spent all but 3:19 of the period with either a single-digit lead or a deficit, and led by just five inside the final minute. Cook, however, knocked down a fast-break trey to give Central a 46-38 lead at the intermission.

CWU broke the game open early in the second half going on a 16-0 run to go ahead 64-43 with 14:43 remaining. Eventually, the Wildcats led by as many as 30 points.

Central made 20 of 33 second-half shots. Ten of their 13 misses were three-pointers as they converted on 85 percent (17 of 20) inside the arc.

In addition to Cook, Central got 12 points from Roby Clyde, 11 from Humberto Perez and 10 from Riley Sivak. Sivak also had a team-high seven rebounds as the 'Cats controlled the backboards 43-34. CWU also had nine fewer turnovers (23-14).

Walla Walla had three double-figure scorers, led by the 17 points of Gerard Dauphin. Ryan Spady came off the bench to nearly post a double-double as he finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Jonny Long scored 13 for the Wolves.

December 8

Northwest Nazarene Outlasts Coyotes 114-108 In OT

Drew Eisinger scored 28 points, including five in overtime, as Northwest Nazarene outlasted College of Idaho 114-108 in a shoot-out before 2,020 fans and a local television audience at the Johnson Sports Center Tuesday night in Nampa.

The two teams combined for 33 three-pointers, the most ever in a game involving the Crusaders.

College of Idaho made 20 of 42 treys as three different players had six and NNU converted on 13 of 25. Eisinger, who also had eight assists and nine rebounds, was five of eight from the arc, while Anthony Golden, who finished with 23 points, made five of nine treys.

NNU also got 16 points and 13 rebounds from Brian Barkdoll, 12 points from Kendall Gielow and 11 from Lateef Williams.

Steve Peres and Noah Gottlieb led College of Idaho with 29 and 28 points, respectively, while Matt Ballenger had 25 and Kelvin Potts chipped in with 16. Peres, Ballenger and Gottlieb all made six treys.

NNU, which led 13-2 early in the game, made four of six shots in overtime to claim its fifth win in six games. The victory was career win No. 499 for coach Tim Hills.

The win only came after the teams produced 14 ties. There were also 23 lead changes.

The Crusaders had a chance to win the game in regulation after Brian Barkdoll's jumper gave NNU a 101-100 lead with a minute left. Eisinger, however, made just one of two free throws with 21 seconds remaining giving the Coyotes an opening.

Gottlieb grabbed the rebound - his 10th of the game - and came down at got a layup at the other end to tie the contest at 102-102 with three seconds left.

In the overtime, NNU, which outrebounded C of I 52-31, never trailed after taking an early four-point lead on a free throw by David Reeher and a three-pointer by Eisinger.

December 5

Seattle Pacific Upends Top-Ranked BYU-Hawaii 78-72

Chris Banchero pumped in 20 points, including back-to-back baskets inside the final two minutes, and Rafael Moreira added 12 points as 18th-ranked Seattle Pacific defeated No. 1 BYU-Hawaii 78-72 in the final game of a tournament at SPU's Brougham Pavilion Saturday.

Meanwhile, Central Washington fell to Carroll College 78-69 in Saturday's first game. The Wildcats, who lost 94-90 to BYU-Hawaii Friday, fell to 2-3 on the season.

Seattle Pacific (6-0) saw a 15-point first-half lead melt away before the midpoint of the second half. But although the Seasiders (4-1) climbed into three ties, the last time at 71-71 with 2:53 remaining, they never regained the lead.

After a 9-1 scoring run lifted BYU-Hawaii into the final deadlock, SPU scored the next six points.

Brandon Larrieu hit a turnaround 12-footer that bounced off the rim and dropped through to make it 73-71 at the 2:35 mark.

Then, with the shot clock running down, Banchero took the ball around to the right corner and popped in a 12-footer with 1:32 left, making it 75-71.

The Seasiders missed their next shot, and the Falcons quickly took it back down court, with Larrieu hitting Banchero for a fast-break lay-in and a 77-71 lead. Moreira then added a free throw to make it a three-possession game at 78-71 with just 46 seconds left.

Larrieu and Banchero both were selected to the all-tournament team. "Everybody played well, and it feels good to beat the No. 1 team in the country," Banchero said.

"They're fast, and they get up and down a lot. We haven't really played a team of that talent and ability. It's a great win for us and a great win for the school that should boost us up in the rankings."

SPU had a 44-29 lead late in the first half before BYU-Hawaii, which is playing the early portion of its schedule without All-American Lucas Alves who underwent knee surgery on July 23, made it 44-31 just before the buzzer.

The Seasiders then opened the second half on a 19-6 run and got into a 50-50 tie on a three-pointer from the right of the lane by Virgil Buensuceso with 13:46 to play.

Buensuceso led BYU-Hawaii with 20 points. Tsung-Hsien Chang, named the tournament's MVP, added 17 points, following up on Friday's 27-point performance against Central Washington.

Seattle Pacific shot 51.6 percent for the game (32 of 62), and had 39 rebounds, led by the eight of Ryan Sweet. Larrieu had seven. The Seasiders hit 53.8 percent (28 of 52) and pulled down 27 rebounds.

Andy Garland of Carroll College and Chris Sprinker of Central Washington were the other all-tournament team members.

Garland scored seven of his game-high 17 points inside the final five minutes leading Carroll (7-3) past CWU.

The Saints also got 15 points from Casey Rogers who scored 10 of his points from the free throw line Chris Medina hit all eight of his free throw attempts, scoring 14 points for the Saints while Chase Godecke added 11.

Sprinker registered a double-double for the Wildcats with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Roby Clyde and Jon Clift each had 10 points.

The Saints scored their final eight points, and 18 of their last 30 from the free throw line where they had an 18-point advantage, connecting on 29 of 36 compared to 11 of 21 by Central.

The game was tied 54-54 when Medina sank a pair of free throws with seven minutes remaining and Rogers followed with a three-pointer at 5:57 to give Carroll the lead for good at 59-54.

For the game, Carroll shot 50 percent (21 of 42) from the floor with 18 turnovers while Central shot 41 percent (27 of 66) with 11 turnovers.

Northwest Nazarene Beat Dominican, MSUB Falls To Dixie

Drew Eisinger scored a game-high 17 points and Anthony Golden added 16 as Northwest Nazarene (4-1) defeated Dominican (Calif.) 76-63 Saturday in the Dixie State College Classic in St. George, Utah.

In Saturday's second game, Montana State Billings (3-2) lost to Dixie State 78-75 as tournament MVP Tom Whiteside put the Red Storm, who won both of their tournament games, ahead on a three-pointer with 1:21 remaining.

Both Eisinger, who was named to the all-tournament team, and Golden scored most of their points from the arc, combining for seven treys in 13 attempts. Eisinger made three of seven shots from outside the arc, while Golden, who also had a team-high six steals, was four of six from the three-point line.

NNU had a huge 30-3 point advantage from the three-point line, making 10 of 21 while holding Dominican to one in six tries.

In addition to Eisinger and Golden, five other NNU players scored seven or more points, including Kendall Gielow who had nine points and seven rebounds. Jamie Eisinger had seven points, five assists and five steals.

Fox Mulholland led Dominican (2-5) with 14 points and Alex Ward had 12. Xander McNally had eight points, eight assists and 11 steals. He was also charged with nine turnovers.

In the second game, Montana State Billings closed the first half with a 17-4 run to take a 45-40 lead at the break, but Dixie pulled into the 10th tie of the contest on a free throw by Andy Palmer with 2:10 left.

After a jumper by MSUB's Lasha Parghalava put the 'Jackets back ahead 75-73 with 1:38 remaining, Whiteside nailed a three-pointer, then later got a key defensive rebound and sank two foul shots with four seconds left to establish the final three-point margin.

Whiteside finished with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds. Dixie also got 16 points from Nick Howard, 13 from Palmer and 12 from Donovan Plunkett.

DeAndre Chambers, who was selected to the all-tournament team, and Parghalava each scored 19 for MSUB. The Yellowjackets also got 11 points from Brad Hodge. DaVell Jackson had nine points and six assists.

Vikings Extend Win Streak To Eight; Poole Keys SMU Victory

Western Washington shot nearly 60 percent from the floor Saturday in defeating Grand Canyon 67-50 and completing a GNAC sweep of a basketball doubleheader at Antelope Gym in Phoenix, Ariz.

In the first game, Blake Poole scored 30 points and hauled in 16 rebounds leading Saint Martin's to a 90-74 win over Southwestern, Ariz.

Western Washington's victory was its eighth in a row as the Vikings (9-1) beat the Antelopes for the third time this season.

WWU missed only 17 shots all night, converting on 25 of 42 (59.5 percent) including six of 10 three-pointers. Forward Derrick Webb led three players in double figures with 15 points.

The Vikings also got 14 points from Bruce Zach and 11 from Andrew Ready on four of four shooting. Morris Anderson had game highs of seven assists and five steals along with nine points and four rebounds.

Rony Tchatchoua came off the bench to lead Grand Canyon (3-8) with 14 points. Starting center Gaby Ngoundjo scored 12 points, despite playing just 17 minutes.

Western Washington led by 14 points (19-5) after the first 7:30 as Ready connected on his first three shots, including a pair of three-pointers.

The Antelopes cut that advantage to eight (35-27) at halftime by scoring seven of the last eight points in the period. They then scored the first point of the second half, but WWU responded with nine straight points, capped off by an Anderson three-pointer with 15:46 remaining to put the Vikings ahead by 16 (44-28).

Grand Canyon never got closer than 11 after that as Western built a 20-point lead (67-47) inside the final two minutes.

Poole, who had 25 points and 16 rebounds in a 67-58 loss to Grand Canyon Friday, missed just three shots all night, connecting on 12 of 14 field goals and six of his seven foul shots. He also had four assists.

The Saints opened up a 46-25 lead at halftime holding Southwestern to eight field goals in 31 first-half attempts.

The Eagles warmed up in the second half, making 17 of 31 (54.8 percent). Still the Saints were able to open up a 31-point lead before Southwestern closed the contest with a 17-2 run to cut the final margin to 16 points.

In addition to Poole's 30, Saint Martin's (6-1) got 14 points from Jared Howard and 11 from Galen Squiers. Jeremy Green had nine points and six assists.

Nick Sheffield led Southwestern with 20 points. Daniel Stanton contributed 15 and Derek Gossard scored 12.

December 4

Seattle Pacific Defeats Carroll To Remain Lone Unbeaten Team

Brandon Larrieu scored 19 points, and Rafael Moreira added 14, including a three-point play with 1:18 left in the game, as 18th-ranked Seattle Pacific defeated Carroll College 86-73 in the opening round of a tournament Friday at Brougham Pavilion.

Top-ranked BYU-Hawaii survived an upset bid by Central Washington to beat the Wildcats 94-90 setting up a showdown between the 5-0 Falcons and the 4-0 Seasiders Saturday night.

Rob Diederichs and Jeff Downs had 12 and 10 points, respectively, as SPU finished the night as the only unbeaten team in the GNAC.

Downs drained a three-pointer with the shot clock running down to boost SPU's lead to 77-71 at the two-minute mark, starting the Falcons on a game-clinching 6-0 scoring run.

The win was the 100th coaching victory for Ryan Looney who had a 99-55 in five seasons at Eastern Oregon.

Carroll (6-3) was led by Andy Garland, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Chase Godecke added 13 for the Fighting Saints, who shot 65.2 percent during the first half (15 of 23), but cooled down to 45.5 percent during the second half (15 of 33) and wound up at 53.6 percent for the game.

"It definitely wasn't one of our best efforts," said Larrieu who added five assists to his team-high 19 points. "We defended pretty well in the first half. In the second half we kind of got away from our defense and they got some easy buckets on us."

Seattle Pacific hit a blistering 66 percent from the field (31 of 47), and missed just five shots during a 77.3 percent shooting second half (17 of 22).

Tsung-Hsien Chang scored 27 points and helped fuel a late surge for BYU-Hawaii in its victory.

CWU (2-2) lost despite outshooting (53.1 to 48.4) and outrebounding (36-35) the Seasiders. The Wildcats also had the same number of turnovers (16 each), but were outscored from the foul line 25-12, giving up 17 more attempts.

Central tied the game 83-83 on a free throw by Noble'D Shelton with 4:51 left to play.

BYUH, however, scored the next six points, five of them by Chang, to take the lead for good at 89-83. The Seasiders scored their final five points from the free throw line.

Rory Patterson hit six of nine shots from three-point range, finishing with 20 points. Virgil Buensuceso added 17 points and Anthony Reilly had 12.

JC Cook scored 21 points to pace the Wildcats, who also got 18 from Chris Sprinker and 12 from Roby Clyde.

Reserves Humberto Perez and Toussaint Tyler had 14 and 10 respectively, helping CWU post a 33-18 advantage in bench points.

The game was tied 13-13 when the Seasiders staged a 12-2 surge. Patterson hit back-to-back treys to key the run that gave BYU a 25-15 advantage.

The Wildcats closed the half with a 7-1 run, drawing within 46-41 at intermission. CWU's Cook hit a jumper with two seconds left, capping his 15-point half that included six of seven shooting. He was perfect on three first-half three-point attempts.

Yellowjackets Win, Crusaders Lose In Dixie Tournament

Derrick Wright led five players in double figures with 18 points and Montana State Billings dominated the backboards in defeating Dominican (Calif.) 82-54 Friday in the opening game of a tournament at Saint George, Utah.

Host Dixie State defeated Northwest Nazarene 75-67 in the nightcap, evening their season series with the Crusaders. NNU beat the Red Storm 71-56 last week in Nampa.

"Defense and rebounding were the keys tonight," MSUB head coach George Pfeifer said. "We forced 21 turnovers and out-rebounded them by 20 and played with a lot of energy."

The Yellowjackets got 10 rebounds from Brad Hodge, eight from DeAndre Chambers and seven each from Wright and Kirk Blaine in outboarding the Penguins 47-27.

They also held Dominican to 32 percent shooting (16-50), while cashing in on 28 of 60 of their shots (46.7), including six of 13 from the arc. Chambers, who had 15 points, was three of four from the three-point line.

Wright missed just two shots, converting six of eight two-pointers and all six of his free throws. Also in double figures were Chambers, Lasha Parghalava with 14 points, DaVelle Jackson with 12 and Hodge with 11.

Jackson also had seven of MSUB's 14 steals and four of its 14 assists. Parghalava had four steals.

The Penguins were led by 14 points from Austin Bryan and 10 points from Alex Ward.

Tom Whitehead scored 19 points and Andy Palmer had 17 as Dixie State improved to 3-1 with its victory over Northwest Nazarene. The Red Storm were also led by Jeremiah Barnes with 13 points and seven rebounds.

NNU, which lost for the first time in four outings, got 29 points from Drew Eisinger, including 13 in the first half which ended with the Crusaders ahead by two (38-36).

Eisinger added 16 more after the intermission, but his teammates managed just three field goals on 21 attempts as the Crusaders ended the half shooting 19.4 percent (6-31).

Joining Eisinger in double figures was Brian Barkdoll with 13 points and Jamie Eisinger with 10. Barkdoll also had eight rebounds, six at the offensive end.

Saints Win Streak Ends At Five In Phoenix

Grand Canyon held Saint Martin's to just one field goal over the final 13 minutes of the first half and then used a 15-4 run in the second half to defeat the Saints 67-58 handing SMU its first loss of the season in six games.

The Antelopes (3-7), who host Western Washington Saturday night, got 15 points from T.J. Benson, who made four of six three-point shots.

Nick Witherill had 13 points and six assists, while Justin Wesolowski chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds. Also in double figures was Rony Tchatchoua with 10.

Blake Poole had another huge night for Saint Martin's, netting 25 points and hauling in 16 rebounds. Jeremy Green had 14 points, 12 in the second half, and Jared Howard had 10.

The Saints, who were just three of 17 from the arc, were outscored 15-3 over the final 12:55 of the opening period as the Antelopes grabbed a 29-17 lead.

SMU battled back as Poole had 17 points in the second half, pulling to within one point with 11:54 left on a pair of free throws by Howard. Grand Canyon, however, answered with a three by Witherill and later used a 15-4 run to reopen a double-digit lead.

December 2

Vikings Dominate Simon Fraser

Forward Derrick Webb and guard Morris Anderson each scored 18 points to lead Western Washington to a 96-43 win over Simon Fraser Wednesday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The Vikings shot 60.3 percent from the field, hitting 35 of their 58 attempts as they improved to 8-1 with their seventh consecutive victory.

Simon Fraser fell to 8-4. Forward Chris Parades came off the bench to lead the Clansmen with nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.

The game was the first official, counting contest between the two schools since back-to-back meetings to end the 1998-99 season.

Webb was seven of nine from the field, including four of four on three-pointers. Meanwhile, Anderson was perfect on seven free throw attempts, running his streak of consecutive successes to 30. He also had three of the Vikings' 11 steals.

Forward Rory Blanche had 14 points on six of six shooting. Center Zach Bruce added 12 points and guard Andrew Ready contributed 10 points and a game-high five assists.

The Vikings took control quickly, hitting four of their first six shots and taking a 14-2 lead less than three minutes into the game. Western held a 23-6 lead with 14:34 left in the first half, and had a 55-20 advantage at halftime, shooting 67.9 percent (19-28).

Top-Ranked BYU-Hawaii Holds On To Beat Western Oregon

Guard Tsung-Hsien Chang scored 27 points to lead top-ranked BYU-Hawaii to a 94-86 win over Western Oregon in a NCAA Division II West Region game Wednesday at Monmouth.

Chang led five players in double figures for the Seasiders (3-0), who made 10 of 21 three-point shots. Virgil Buensucesco netted 18 points and Rory Patterson had 15. All three players had three treys.

Also in double figures were Antony Reilly with 11 points and Marques Whippy with 10.

Rico Myles led Western Oregon (4-2) with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Tarance Glynn netted 17 points and Matt Schmidt scored 16. Kyle Long and Blair Wheadon had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

BYU-Hawaii never trailed after the first two minutes, but never really put the Wolves away until the final moments. WOU pulled to within four points three times in the second half, the last time with 11 minutes remaining, and were within single digits most of the second half.

The Wolves, however, couldn't overcome a 63.3 percent shooting performance (38-60) by the Seasiders, despite have 11 more free throws and nine fewer turnovers.

"When they had to have a basket their guys came up with one," WOU head coach Craig Stanger said. "Good teams make you pay, and they were able to take advantage of our miscues and ill-advised shots."

November 28

Barkdoll's 25 Leads Northwest Nazarene Past Dixie

Brian Barkdoll made all six of his second-half shots and scored 16 of his game-high 25 points after intermission to lead Northwest Nazarene to a 71-56 win over Dixie State Saturday and to the title in the NNU Thanksgiving Classic at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa.

In Saturday's first game, Central Washington dominated the early moments of each half in crushing Colorado - Colorado Springs 113-83.

Barkdoll, who was named the tournament MVP, was 10 of 11 from the floor, made all five of his free throws and also had eight rebounds as the Crusaders improved to 3-0 on the season.

NNU also got an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double from Drew Eisinger; nine points, four rebounds, three assists and a game-high four steals from Kendall Gielow and 10 assists from Jamie Eisinger.

Dixie State, which split its two tournament games, was led by Andy Palmer with 14 points. Zach Robbins had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

NNU led by just five points at halftime, but scored the first eight points after intermission including four by Barkdoll and four by Gielow.

The Red Storm twice closed back to within four, but the Crusaders then held Dixie to just two points over the final five minutes pulling away for the 15-point win.

NNU ended up shooting 51.9 percent (27-52) compared to just 38.3 by Dixie (23-50). The Crusaders also had a 42-28 rebounding advantage.

Guard Jon Clift scored a career-high 20 points and forward Chris Sprinker had 18 points to lead five Wildcats in double figures as Central Washington (2-1) earned a split of its two tournament games by defeating UC-Colorado Springs.

Clift (7 of 9) and Sprinker (7 of 10) missed just five shots in leading Central to a 52.6 percent shooting performance. The Wildcats made 41 of 78, including nine of 23 treys.

Central also got 14 points each from Riley Sivak and Humberto Perez. Toussaint Tyler had 10 points. Meanwhile, Roby Clyde had nine points and 11 rebounds as CWU dominated the backboards 52-36.

Ben Feilmeier led five UCCS players in double figures with 16 points. Brent Jones had 15.

Central, which had just 10 turnovers compared to 18 by the RMAC school, jumped to a 21-4 lead and never trailed.

UCCS managed to climb back to within six late in the first period, but then the Wildcats started the second half with a 19-3 scoring spree and led by as many as 37.

Jamie Eisinger, Robbins, Sprinker and Feilmeier joined Barkdoll on the all-tournament team.

Vikings, Saints Run Win Streaks To Six, Five

Forward Derrick Webb had 19 points and 11 rebounds and center Zach Bruce contributed 19 points and eight rebounds in leading Western Washington to a 70-55 win over Grand Canyon at the 11th WWU Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Men's Basketball Classic Saturday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The win was the sixth in a row for the Vikings (7-1), which shared the tournament title with Saint Martin's. The Saints, behind tournament MVP Blake Poole, beat the Academy of Art 73-33 to stay unbeaten with their fifth consecutive victory.

Grand Canyon (2-7) was led by the 14 points of forward Brad Carroll. Guard T.J. Benson added 12 points and forward Justin Wesolowski netted 11.

The score was tied 29-29 at halftime and WWU was up by just four (43-39) after a baseline dunk by Grand Canyon's Steven Morin with a little over 10 minutes left.

But the Vikings went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes with Bruce getting two baskets and Webb and Harold McAllister each hitting two free throws to push the margin to 12 (51-39) with seven minutes to go. Grand Canyon never got closer than nine points the remainder of the way.

Western Washington shot 56.5 percent (13-23) from the field in the second half after hitting just 37.5 percent (9-24) in the opening period and had a 40-19 rebounding advantage.

Webb, Bruce and WWU center Dave Vanderjagt; Grand Canyon's Benson and SMU's Jared Howard joined Poole on the all-tournament team.

Poole, who had 29 points and eight rebounds in SMU's win over Grand Canyon Friday, had eight points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the Saints' 40-point victory over the Academy of Art.

The Saints, who had a 58-27 rebounding advantage, also got a game-high 16 points, including 10 in the first half from Jeremy Green.

SMU was never threatened, taking a 27-7 lead with six minutes left in the first half as AAU missed 12 of its first 13 shots from the field. The Saints had a 38-13 lead at halftime and never led by less than 35 points in the last 10 minutes.

The Urban Knights, who were led by Ivan Prema with nine points, shot just 21.6 percent (11-51) for the game.

Seattle Pacific Wins Title in Chico State Tournament

Rafael Moreira scored eight of his 23 points during a decisive first-half surge that started Seattle Pacific on its way to a 65-44 win over Chico State in the championship game of the Mac Martin Invitational at Chico's Acker Gym Saturday.

Moreira made 11 of 14 shots from the field. The 6-foot-9 post also grabbed 13 rebounds to lead SPU to a 43-27 rebounding advantage.

Chris Banchero and Brandon Larrieu each scored 13 points for the Falcons. Larrieu, who was named the tournament's MVP, was coming off a career-high 32-point performance on Friday. Banchero and Moreira joined Larrieu on the all-tournament team.

Terence Pellum was the only double-figure scorer for Chico (1-1), finishing with 10 points.

The Falcons never trailed, and broke the game's only tie on a Larrieu three-pointer that put them ahead 5-2 just over two minutes into the game.

The margin was 10-9 when SPU used a 17-6 run to extend its advantage to 27-15. Moreira made four baskets during the surge, including a layup that capped the run with 6:38 left in the first half. He tallied 10 first-half points, a figure matched by Banchero.

The closest the Wildcats got in the second half was seven points. They tallied seven straight points to close the gap to 36-29 with 15:54 left to play. The Falcons turned back that rally with a 9-3 run featuring five points from Larrieu.

Later SPU, which outshot Chico 49.0 (24-49) to 31.0 (18-58), scored 10 unanswered points to forge its largest lead at 62-40 with 4:35 remaining.

Schmidt All-Tournament at Notre Dame Classic

Matt Schmidt scored 19 points to lead Western Oregon to a 72-53 win over Notre Dame de Namur in the NDNU Thanksgiving Classic Saturday in Belmont, Calif.

Schmidt, who was selected to the all-tournament team, made eight of 13 shots, including three of six three-pointers. He also had three assists and three steals.

Schmidt scored 15 of his points in the first half as Western Oregon (4-1) bolted to a 43-15 halftime leading, getting 16 consecutive points to open up a 33-9 lead at one point.

In addition to Schmidt, the Wolves also got 14 points and seven rebounds from Tarance Glynn and 12 points, five assists and five steals from Blair Wheadon.

The Wolves shot 50.9 percent in the contest, making 28 of 55, while the Argonauts were 18 of 50 (36.0 percent).

In Saturday's first game, Dominican (Calif.) defeated Cal State East Bay 74-60 as tournament MVP Xavier McNally had a near triple-double, recording 11 points, nine assists and nine steals.

Seawolves Lose To Houston To Finish Fourth

The back court duo of Aubrey Coleman and Desmond Wade accounted for 40 points and 10 assists to lead Houston to a 73-57 victory over Alaska Anchorage and claim third place in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena Saturday.

Washington State (6-0) won the tournament title defeating San Diego 93-56 behind a tournament-record 43 points by Klay Thompson. Oklahoma defeated Nicholls State 81-60 to finish fifth.

UAA (3-2) was led by a season-high 26 points from center Malcolm Campbell. The Seawolves also got 21 points from guard Brandon Walker. Both players were named to the 10-man all-tournament team. Thompson was the MVP.

In addition to Coleman and Wade, the Houston Cougars (3-2) also got 14 points, three assists and four steals from guard Adam Brown.

Coleman shot 11 of 16 from the field and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. Wade had 15 points on six of eight shooting and had seven assists.

Houston never trailed, jumping to a quick 5-0 lead and taking a 37-25 advantage into the locker room. The Seawolves managed to keep it close until the final minutes, but UAA could get not find a third scoring option.

Campbell and Walker both shot eight of 13 from the field, while the rest of the Seawolves combined to make just four of 26 shots. Guard Drew Robinson led UAA with six assists and six rebounds.

Walker's scoring performance gave him at least 21 points in all three Shootout games this year, moving him into 11th place on the tournament's all-time scoring list (114).

Kentucky Wesleyan's Threes Key in Romp of Nanooks

Guard Marico Stinson connected on nine of 14 three-pointers and added a pair of free throws to lead Kentucky Wesleyan to a 113-76 win over Alaska Fairbanks Saturday at Owensboro, Kentucky.

The Nanooks (2-3), who split their two games in the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational, were led by Emmanuel Jenkins, who matched Stinson's 29-point output. Jenkins made nine of 16, including two of seven from the three-point line. He was nine of nine from the charity stripe.

KWC also got 15 points from Desmond Stephens, 12 from Jay Ivey and 11 each from Marps Zuffa and Willie Richardson in improving to 6-1. One of their wins was a 71-58 defeat of Western Washington in the Disney Tip-Off Classic.

The Panthers outscored UAF 39-6 from the three-point line, making 13 of 25 compared to two of 15 by the Nanooks. They also almost doubled-up Fairbanks on the backboards (46-24). Both teams had 19 turnovers.

In addition to Jenkins' 29, UAF, which trailed 53-28 at halftime, got 14 points from Parish West and 11 from Melvin Conn-Baird. Bo Edwards had a team-best six rebounds. West was named to the all-tournament team.

November 27

Saints, Vikings Earn Tourney Wins

Forwards Blake Poole and Jared Howard combined for 51 points leading Saint Martin's to an 81-67 victory over Grand Canyon in the opening game of the 11th Western Washington Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Men's Basketball Classic Friday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Western Washington (6-1) crushed Academy of Art in the second contest 86-23 extending its win streak to five games.

Poole had 29 points, converting on 11 of 17 field goal attempts and seven of seven free throws. Howard added 22 points as Saint Martin's improved to 4-0.

The Saints also got 10 points from Galen Squires and six points, six assists and five rebounds from Brady Bomber. Nick Witherill had 15 points and T.J. Benson added 13 points and eight assists for Grand Canyon (2-6).

The Antelopes led by as much as nine in the first half and held a 38-35 lead at halftime, but Saint Martin's, which shot 55.8 percent (29-52), opened the second half with a 16-3 run to take a 53-41 lead with 13:44 to play. Six of the seven Saints' field goals in the charge were layups.

Grand Canyon pulled within five (61-56) on a basket and free throw by Witherill with seven minutes left, but never got that close again, and the margin remained in double digits throughout the final four minutes.

Western Washington tied its school record for the fewest points allowed in a game in the post-World War II era, a mark matched only in a 45-23 victory over Saint Martin 's on Jan. 19, 1963.

Western's previous low for points allowed in the shot-clock era was 32 in a 110-32 victory over Golden State Baptist last season.

Center Dave Vanderjagt had a game-high 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots. AAU, based out of San Francisco and in only in its second year with a basketball program, fell to 0-3.

Guard Phillip Samuels had six points for the Urban Knights, who shot just 19.6 percent (11-56) from the field.

The Vikings scored the first 19 points of the game, holding AAU off the scoreboard until Samuels hit a jumper from the foul line with 10:40 left in the first half. The Vikings led 31-6 at halftime, setting a school record for fewest points allowed in a half.

All 11 Western players who played scored, with forward Rory Blanche getting 12 points and guard Morris Anderson notching 11 points and five assists.

Western shot 50.8 percent (30-59) from the field, including 60 percent (18-30) in the second half and had a 52-25 advantage in rebounds with Chris Mitchell grabbing a game-high nine.

Larrieu Nets 32 as Seattle Pacific Topples Sonoma State

Brandon Larrieu used scoring outbursts at the start of each half and finished with 32 points to lead Seattle Pacific to a 78-58 victory over Sonoma State Friday in the first round of the Mac Martin Invitational men's basketball tournament at Acker Gym in Chico.

Larrieu netted nine points during the first seven minutes of the game, propelling SPU (3-0) to an 18-5 lead on the way to a 36-26 halftime advantage.

Larrieu then accounted for all of SPU's scoring during the opening six minutes of the second half outscoring Sonoma 12-6 during that span to give the Falcons a 48-32 edge. The margin increased to as many as 21 points after that, and never got smaller than 13.

The 6-foot wing tallied 21 second-half points. The 32-point outburst eclipsed Larrieu's previous career best of 27 points established at Central Washington on Jan. 15, 2009. He shot 10 of 13 from the field and converted nine of 10 free throws.

Chris Banchero tallied 20 points as the only other Falcon in double figures. Sterling Arterberry led the Seawolves with 10 points.

SPU shot 58 percent for the game (25 of 43) while limiting Sonoma to 41 percent (21 of 51).

Moe Scores 30 as Nanooks Even Record at 2-2

Jon Moe poured through 30 points as Alaska Fairbanks defeated Brescia 80-64 in the opening game of the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational basketball tournament Friday in Owensboro, Kentucky.

The Nanooks used a 20-3 run to stretch a one-point lead to 18 (41-23) late in the first half. Eventually the Nanooks lead grew to 22 (49-27) at the break.

Brescia closed to within 11 early in the second half, but UAF then scored 10 straight points to go ahead 66-45 and were in control the rest of the way as they evened their record at 2-2.

Moe made 10 of 17 shots, including five of 10 from the arc. Parish West was also in double figures with 19 points on eight of 14 shooting.

UAF was able to win despite a one for nine shooting performance and nine turnovers from Emmanuel Jenkins. Jenkins did have a game-high six assists.

Brescia (3-3), which is a NAIA school in Kentucky, was led by Andrew Howard with 17 points. Andre Sharp and Hugh Weiskittel each had 12.

Golden Leads Northwest Nazarene Past UC-Colorado Springs

Anthony Golden paced a balanced attack with 19 points as Northwest Nazarene defeated UC-Colorado Springs 81-60 Friday in the NNU Thanksgiving Classic at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa.

In the first game of the tournament, Donovan Plunkett scored 20 points connecting on four of five three-pointers to lead Dixie State to a 78-75 win over Central Washington.

Golden had 12 of his 19 points in the second half as the Crusaders (2-0) successfully protected a 22-point halftime lead. NNU also got 12 points from Kendall Gielow and Lateef Williams and 10 from Louie Beech.

Golden made five of eight shots, including three of five three-pointers. Gielow was six of 11, all from inside the arc. Williams was three of four from the floor.

The Mountain Lions were led by Ben Feilmeier with 14 points. Alex Snyder and Scott Sublousky each had 10.

NNU jumped out to a 17-2 lead and led by double-digits the rest of the way as they limited the Colorado school to 21 field goals in 66 attempts (31.8 percent), while outrebounding them 50-31. Williams, Gielow and David Reeher all recovered six caroms.

Neither team had a double-digit lead in the Dixie-CWU game. In the first half, the game was played in an eight-point swing with each team holding a four-point lead at some point.

The game remained extremely tight in the second half before the Red Storm went on an 8-0 run to go ahead 62-56. Later they grabbed an eight-point lead at 69-61 with 8:21 remaining.

CWU (1-1) was able to pull back to within one on a three-point play by Toussaint Tyler with 15 seconds left. Kacen Smith hit two free throws to establish the final margin, then got the rebound on a miss by Chris Sprinker to clinch the victory.

In addition to Plunkett, Tom Whitehead and Zach Robbins each had 15 points and Andy Palmer had 14 for Dixie. Tyler, JC Cook and Humberto Perez led the Wildcats with 16, 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Perez had 11 of his points in the second half when he made all three of his three-point attempts. For the game, he was four of six from the arc. Springer had seven points, a team-high eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Dominican Hands Western Oregon First Loss

Austin Bryan scored 21 points and Mark Lewis and Alex Ward each had 16 as Dominican (Calif.) defeated Western Oregon 83-69 Friday in the Notre Dame de Namur Invitational at Belmont, Calif.

The win was the first for Dominican after three losses, while Western Oregon sustained its first loss after three wins.

Western Oregon outrebounded Dominican 42-30 as Rico Myles had 18 including 10 at the offensive end. The Wolves, however, turned the ball over 22 times as Dominican, which shot 53.3 percent (32-60), had 18 steals.

Matt Schmidt led Western Oregon with 16 points. Tarance Glynn came off the bench to score 11 points. Point guard Blair Wheadon had 10 points, four rebounds and four assists, but also was charged with eight turnovers.

The Wolves made just 38.8 percent of their field goal attempts (26-67), including only four of 21 from the three-point line.

November 26

Walker Leads Alaska Anchorage Past Nicholls State

Brandon Walker tallied game-highs of 21 points and six rebounds as Alaska Anchorage recorded its 50th all-time win over a Division I opponent, taking a 72-58 decision against Nicholls State in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena Thursday

The Seawolves (3-1) also got 15 points from center Malcolm Campbell and 10 points from Drew Robinson as they shot an impressive 75 percent (nine of 12) from three-point range.

The Colonels (0-6) - the preseason favorite to win the Southland Conference - were led by 17 points on seven of eight shooting from reserve guard Maurice Franklin.

UAA took control from the start, jumping to a 14-4 lead in the first six minutes. Seawolf forward Casey Robinson scored all eight of his points on perfect shooting (3-3 FG, 2-2 3FG) in the opening 20 minutes as the Seawolves built a 37-30 halftime edge.

Bryce Arnott's only bucket of the game - a three-pointer at the 13-minute mark - gave UAA its largest lead at 51-32, but the Seawolves then went the next seven minutes without a field goal.

Foster took advantage of UAA's lull with seven straight points, slicing the deficit to 53-47 for the visitors from Thibadaux , Louisiana.

Nick Pacitti finally answered for UAA with a rebound follow of his own miss, and the lead stretched back to double digits (60-49) on a trey by Drew Robinson with 4:52 to play.

The Seawolves shot a season-best 58.5 percent (24-41) from the field, while holding the Colonels to 43.6 percent (24-55).

UAA guard Kevin White guarded NSU counterpart and fellow Australian Anatoly Bose closely throughout, holing the Colonels' leading scorer to six points - 13 under his average.

UAA improved to 30-65 all-time in its traditional All-Division I, Thanksgiving tourney, and 50-130 against all D-I opponents. The Seawolves also defeated the Colonels in the 1980 Shootout.

In Thursday's second game, Houston defeated Oklahoma 100-93. Houston will play San Diego Friday with the winner advancing to the championship. Washington State can also claim a spot in the championship game with a win over Nicholls State.

A WSU win would put UAA in the third-place game Saturday against the loser of the Houston-San Diego game.

November 25

Wolves Upset No. 22 Humboldt State; UAA Loses In Shootout

Blair Wheadon's three-point play with two seconds left earned Western Oregon a 73-72 win over nationally 22nd ranked Humboldt State Wednesday night at the New PE Building in Monmouth.

Meanwhile, Alaska Anchorage lost 87-68 to Washington State in the opening game of the Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage's Sullivan Arena.

Western Oregon, which led by 14 points early in the second half before Humboldt State went on a 23-6 run, overcame a three-point deficit with 10 seconds left to pull out its third win in three contests.

Kyle Baxter's three-pointer with 1:36 left had given Humboldt a 71-68 lead. Wheadon, who finished with 15 points, was fouled with 10 seconds remaining and made a pair of free throws to pull the Wolves within one.

WOU then fouled Elliot Babcock-Krenk with eight seconds remaining and he made one of two foul shots to give Humboldt a 72-70 lead.

Rico Myles grabbed the rebound on the miss and quickly got the ball to Wheadon who rushed up the left side of the floor. He put his head down and drove hard to the rim, converting the layup and drawing a foul on Zac Tiedeman.

Wheadon converted the free throw to earn the Wolves, who were picked to finish ninth in the GNAC Coaches pre-season poll, the win over the 'Jacks (1-2) who were ranked second in the CCAA coaches' pre-season rankings.

Wheadon scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, while Tiedeman scored all 13 of his points after the intermission.

Matt Schmidt led WOU with 18 points. The Wolves also got 12 points from Myles and 10 each from Kyle Long and Mike McLaughlin. McLaughlin also had 12 rebounds as Western controlled the backboards 35-27.

Brian Morris led Humboldt with 15 points. Also in double figures were Baxter with 14, Tiedeman and Kevin Atkins with 10.

In addition to outrebounding HSU, WOU shot nearly 50 percent (27-55) and had only 12 turnovers.

Klay Thompson led Washington State with 25 points and Reggie Moore had 17 as the Cougars, under the direction of former Seattle Pacific head coach Ken Bone, improved to 4-0 with its victory over UAA. The Cougars also got 10 points from DeAngelo Casto.

Brandon Walker led the Seawolves with 27 points, scoring 19 of them in the second half. Walker made five of eight three-pointers. UAA also got 14 points from Drew Robinson.

The Seawolves (2-1) made 10 of 25 three-pointers, but were outshot 50.9 percent (27-53) to 38.9 (21-54) by the Pac10 school and also had nearly twice as many turnovers (17-9).

November 24

First Half Spurt Costs 'Jackets; Saints, Crusaders Earn Victories

Augustana (S.D.) broke open a close game midway through the first half outscoring Montana State Billings 17-2 over a 4 1/2 minute stretch and the Yellowjackets never recovered in falling to the Vikings 82-63 Tuesday at Sioux Falls, S.D.

The loss was the first of the season for MSUB and it was also the first region loss for a GNAC team after 13 consecutive wins.

Meanwhile, Saint Martin's and Northwest Nazarene earned victories. Blake Poole scored 31 points including a layup with five seconds left to lead the 3-0 Saints to a 74-72 win over Division III Puget Sound.

NNU made its 2009-10 debut with a 115-73 win against Walla Walla as Anthony Golden led five players in double figures with 18 points.

Augustana, a NCAA tournament team from a year ago, led MSUB 20-19 with 10:35 left in the first half before scoring 17 of the next 19 points. They led by 19 at halftime and maintained a lead of between 19 and 25 points during the entire second half in improving to 3-0.

Kenny Brown came off the bench to lead the Vikings with 17 points. David Foster had 16 and Jordan Dalton had 11 for Augustana, which outshot MSUB 54.9 to 42.3 percent. The Yellowjackets (2-1) were just seven of 24 (29.2 percent) in the opening 20 minutes,

Mike McCrary, Brad Hodge and DeAndre Chambers all scored 11 points to lead MSUB. Derrick Wright had 10 points and Lasha Parghalava had nine.

Poole, who also had 16 rebounds, rescued Saint Martin's after Puget Sound, which trailed for all but a three minute stretch of the first half, had overcome a 13-point deficit (66-53) with 7:58 left.

The Loggers pulled even with 27 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Kalen Shelton. SMU, however, came down and Galen Squiers set Poole up for the winning basket earning his third assist of the night.

Poole missed only three of 14 shots on the night. He also had three assists, three blocks and two steals. Jeremy Green (6-8 FGs, 4-4 FTs) was also in double figures with 15 points. Squiers had eight points and a pair of blocks.

Austin Boyce led UPS, which had a 25-13 advantage in points off turnovers, with 13 points. Shelton had 11 points and seven rebounds. Bryce Levin and Edric Egberuare each had 10.

SMU overcame a 26-18 turnover deficit as it controlled the backboards 49-34 with Poole accounting for nearly a third of the caroms. Guard Brady Bomber (5 assists) and Roger O'Neill each had six rebounds.

Golden made seven of 11 shots and also had five assists and three steals in Northwest Nazarene's victory.

The Crusaders, who shot 54.3 percent (38-70), also got 15 points from Kendall Gielow and 10 each from Lateef Williams, David Reeher and Derek Miller.

Brian Barkdoll added nine points and also had 11 rebounds as NNU, which led 51-19 at halftime, controlled the backboards 54-39. Tristan Edwards led Walla Walla, which shot just 34.9 percent (29-83) with 15 points.

November 21

Seattle Pacific's Banchero MVP In Sodexo Tip-Off Classic

Chris Banchero scored 22 points leading Seattle Pacific to an 88-70 victory against Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday in the final game of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic at Brougham Pavilion.

Both Seattle Pacific and Western Washington, which defeated Dominican, Calif., 87-72 Saturday, finished the tournament with perfect 2-0 records.

Banchero, who had 42 points in the tournament and was selected the MVP, made six of 12 field goal attempts and 10 of 11 free throws.

He was one of four double-figure scorers for the Falcons, including Rafael Moreira who had 17 points and seven rebounds.

Moreira, Austin Bryan of Dominican and Western Washington guard Morris Anderson and forward Zach Bruce joined Banchero on the all-tournament team.

Wing Jeff Downs scored 18 points and drained a pair of three-pointers during a 10-0 second half scoring surge that moved the Falcons into command for good. Post Jake Anderson chipped in 12 points and a team-leading nine rebounds.

Keith Wilson led Monterey Bay with 12 points while Davion Berry had 11 and James Albert 10.

Monterey Bay (1-2) had a 54-53 lead early in the final period when a putback by Moreira moved Seattle Pacific in front 55-54 and the Falcons never trailed again.

It was 58-57 when SPU ran off the next 10 points - a three-pointer by Downs, two free throws by wing Adam Wardell, another Downs trey and two free throws by Anderson.

Seattle Pacific shot 49.1 percent from the floor (26 of 53) and took 39 free throws, hitting 31. That came on the heels of a 25 of 32 performance at the line in Friday's victory. The Otters hit 28 of 63 from the floor (44.4 percent), but got just 10 free throws, hitting eight.

Anderson scored 20 points and also had nine assists, six steals, four rebounds and three blocked shots in Western Washington's victory, which was the 450th career win for Viking coach Brad Jackson.

Dominican (0-3) was led by the game-high 28 points of Bryan, a freshman from Wenatchee.

Anderson was one of five double-figure scorers for Western. Bruce had a double-double with 18 points, 16 in the first half, and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Forward Derrick Webb added 16 points, and guard Harold McAllister and forward Rory Blanche came off the bench to score 10 each.

Western opened the game with a 19-4 run over the first 5:24 as Bruce scored eight points and Anderson hit two three-pointers, and the Vikings led 44-34 at halftime.

Dominican outscored Western 16-8 in the first 6:27 of the second half to trail by just two at 52-50 and the Penguins were within one (66-65) with 5:36 remaining. But the Vikings scored 22 of the last 28 points as McAllister and Webb had seven each.

Anderson hit six 12 from the field, including four of nine treys, and made all four of his free throws. Bruce was eight of 12, Blanche made four of seven and McAllister did not miss a shoot, hitting two three-pointers and converting four free throws.

The Vikings were 21 of 28 (75 percent) at the line and had a 38-28 rebound advantage. Alex Ward and Killian Larson, who made five of seven shots, each scored 10 points for Dominican.

WOU's Myles, SMU's Poole Share Phoenix Inn MVP Honors

Point guard Blair Wheadon scored 16 points to lead five players including tournament Co-MVP Rico Myles in double figures as Western Oregon defeated Hawaii Hilo 87-75 in the final game of the WOU/Phoenix Inn D2 Shootout Saturday at the New PE Building in Monmouth.

Both Western Oregon and Saint Martin's finished the tournament with 2-0 records. Jared Howard scored 15 points and Galen Squiers and Blake Poole, who shared the MVP award with Myles, had 14 each as the Saints beat Notre Dame de Namur 76-59 in Saturday's first game.

Western Oregon overcame a five-point halftime deficit in its win outscoring UHH 46-29 after intermission including a 13-4 to close the game.

The Wolves shot 60.7 percent in the second half converting of 17 of 28 shots, including five on nine treys. Myles recorded all 12 of his points and six of his team-high eight rebounds in the second half.

"We did a much better job defensively in the second half," WOU head coach Craig Stanger said.

Joining Wheadon and Myles in double figures were Matt Schmidt with 15 points, Kyle Long with 13 and Marcus Harris with 11. Wheadon, Long and Harris were all three of five on treys as WOU hit 10 of 21 from the arc.

Hawaii Hilo was paced by Bryan Ngo and Justin Smith with 16 each. Lavell Shipman had 15 points and nine rebounds and Smith had eight boards. WOU's Long and UHH's Smith earned all-tournament honors.

Also named to the all-tournament team was Squiers, who led the Saints with 36 points in two contests and Bennie Murray of Notre Dame de Namur, who had a game-high 19 for the PacWest school in Saturday's loss to SMU.

In addition to Squiers, Howard and Poole, who had seven rebounds, Saint Martin's also got 10 points from Jeremy Green. Poole had two-game totals of 31 points and 15 rebounds to win his share of the MVP prize.

The Saints were outshot 44.0 percent (22-50) to 42.2 (27-64) and outrebounded 38-32 as Murray pulled down 10, but had 15 fewer turnovers (24-9) and three times as many steals (9-3), including three by Poole.

Nanooks Lose To Finish Alaska Invitational With 1-2 Record

Travis Williams scored 17 points and Andrew Young had 16 to lead California (Penn.) to a 66-60 win over Alaska Fairbanks in the final game of the Alaska Invitational Saturday at The Patty Center.

California and Bloomfield, N.J., which beat Dominican, N.Y. 85-80 in Saturday's first game, both finished the tournament with 2-1 records with the Nanooks and Dominican ending up 1-2.

Alaska Fairbanks trailed by 14 points at halftime but pulled into a 56-56 tie with 3:06 left following consecutive baskets by Parish West, Nashorn Maynard and Jon Moe.

However, Travis Williams then converted a three-point play to put California back on top and then he later closed out the win with three free throws.

In addition to Travis Williams and Young, California got 12 points from Kelsey Williams and 10 from Jerial Nixon. West led the Nanooks with 18 points and 13 rebounds. UAF also got 14 points from Emmanuel Jenkins and 11 from Moe.

West and Jenkins were named to the all-tournament team along with Kelsey Williams, Young and Leon Porter of Dominican.

Hodge Scores 19 as Yellowjackets Beat University of Mary

A late tip-in by Brad Hodge and a free throw from DeAndre Chambers propelled Montana State Billings to a 72-68 victory over the University of Mary Saturday evening at Alterowitz Gymnasium.

"We found a way to win tonight," head coach George Pfeifer said. "We had different guys step up all night, Mike (McCrary) was big in the first half, while DeAndre (Chambers) was big in the second and Hodge (Brad) gave us an all-around game tonight."

Hodge paced the Yellowjackets with 19 points on nine of 13 from the field. Also in double figures were McCrary with 15 points, Chambers with 14 and DaVell Jackson with 10. Jackson also had eight assists and seven steals.

Derrick Wright, meanwhile, grabbed eight rebounds as MSUB controlled the backboards 31-28.

Mary was led by 19 points from Eric Erdmann. Anthony Moody added 17 points and Jordan Wilhelm had 14 points.

The game saw nine ties and 19 lead changes before MSUB took the lead for good at 69-68 on a tip-in by Chambers with 1:22 left.

The Marauders had three opportunities to go back on top but missed two shots and turned the ball over once before Hodges' basket and Chambers' free throw in the final seconds established the final margin.

November 20

Defense Keys Western Washington Victory

Western Washington allowed just four field goals during the final 16 1/2 minutes of the first half on the way to a 72-58 win over Cal State Monterey Bay in the SPU Sodexo Tip-Off Classic at Brougham Pavilion Friday.

Seattle Pacific made it a sweep for the GNAC defeating Dominican (Calif.) 81-63 in the nightcap.

Offensively, the Vikings (4-1) were led by Zach Bruce with 14 points and by Derrick Webb and Andrew Ready with 12 each. The Otters were led by the game-high 20 points of Keith Wilson.

WWU held the Otters to 31.3 percent shooting (20-64) blocking eight shots, three by 7-foot center Dave Vanderjagt who was making his first start of the season.

Trailing 10-9 after the first five minutes, the Vikings went on a 27-6 run to lead 36-16 with 3:30 left in the first half following two free throws by Cameron Severson.

Freshman Chris Mitchell came off the bench to score six of his eight points during that run.

The Vikings, who led 43-23 at halftime, increased their lead to as many as 24 points (53-29) with 12:34 left after a jumper by Vanderjagt, and were ahead by 21 (64-43) with 5:31 to go.

Viking point guard Morris Anderson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and had four assists and five points.

Chris Banchero scored 20 points, including five straight during a decisive second-half spurt, and Rafael Moreira had a double-double in Seattle Pacific's victory.

Moreira racked up 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Also in double figures for the Falcons were Brandon Larrieu and Ryan Sweet who netted 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Austin Bryan had 20 points to lead Dominican, which is located in San Rafael, Calif., and is in its first year of NCAA Division II play after competing previously in the NAIA. Alex Ward added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Killian Larson had 10 points.

The Falcons shot 45.3 percent from the floor (24 of 53), and went to the free throw line 32 times, hitting 27. Dominican hit 34.9 percent from the floor (22 of 63), but got just 19 free throws, hitting 15.

Squiers, Poole Lead Saint Martin's Past Hawaii Hilo

Galen Squiers and Blake Poole combined for 39 points and took turns leading Saint Martin's to a 84-69 victory over Hawaii Hilo Friday in the Phoenix Inn D2 Classic at Monmouth.

Host Western Oregon won the second game defeating Notre Dame de Namur 84-70 to complete a five-game sweep - in three different tournaments - for GNAC men's teams.

Poole led the Saints in the first half scoring 11 of his 17 points and knocking down all four of his field goal attempts on the way to a perfect six-for-six shooting night.

Squiers then took over in the second half, garnering 17 of his game-high 22 points as the Saints safely protected a 43-25 halftime lead in winning their season opener.

Also finishing in double figures for SMU was Jared Howard with 10 points. Justin Smith and Andrew Gipson paced UHH with 19 and 16 points, respectively.

Poole had a game-high eight rebounds as the Saints controlled the backboards 41-31. Saint Martin's also outshot the Vulcans 52.7 percent (29-55) to 42.1 (24.5).

SMU took control of the game midway through the first half breaking away from a 19-19 tie as Poole had a basket, Dane Henze hit two free throws and Howard scored five points on a pair of foul shots and a trey during an 8-0 run.

That started a 24-3 SMU spree earning the Saints a 43-22 lead following a three-pointer by Brady Bomber with 1:45 left in the period.

In the second half, Saint Martin's built their lead up to as many as 28 points. UHH was able to cut that in half, but never seriously threatened the Saints getting no closer than 13.

An early 12-0 run and great scoring balance enabled Western Oregon to emerge victorious in its season opener. After falling behind Notre Dame de Namur 5-2, the Wolves got consecutive field goals from five different players in going ahead 14-5.

Twice in the opening period Western Oregon built 14-point leads (25-11 and 37-23) before settling for an eight-point advantage at the break. Early in the second half, the Argonauts cut WOU's lead to five, but the Wolves quickly reasserted control and led by double digits over the final 7:51.

Seven different players scored nine or more points for Western Oregon led by Kyle Long with 15. Josh Johnson had 13. Tarance Glynn and Mike McLaughlin had 12 each and Rico Myles had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.

The Wolves also got nine points each from starters Blair Wheadon and Matt Schmidt. Wheadon also had team-highs of four assists and six steals.

Bennie Murray led Notre Dame de Namur with 25 points, while Chris Silzer tossed in 13. Alex Raj and Trent Henwood each contributed 10 points.

Jenkins, West Lead Nanooks To Win Over Bloomfield

Emmanuel Jenkins and Parish West each scored 29 points to lead Alaska Fairbanks to a 102-93 win over Bloomfield in Day 2 of the Alaska Invitational basketball tournament at The Patty Center Friday.

Combined with a 65-47 win by California, Penn., over Dominican, N.Y., UAF's victory left all four tournament teams with 1-1 records.

The tournament concludes Saturday with Dominican playing Bloomfield and the Nanooks taking on California. The two winners will tie for the tournament title.

Jenkins scored 18 of his 29 points in the second half and also had 10 assists, while West had 14 after intermission including a pair of crucial baskets after Bloomfield had cut into UAF's lead.

Alaska Fairbanks used a 12-0 run, including eight points by Jenkins, to snap a 29-29 tie and go ahead 41-29 in the opening period.

That was a lead they never relinquished though Bloomfield cut the Nanooks' lead to two points once and three points twice in the second half.

After closing to within 70-68, Bo Edwards hit a trey for UAF. Later, West answered with a two-pointer and then a three-pointer after the visitors had cut UAF's lead to 83-80 and 89-86.

In addition to Jenkins and West, UAF also got 17 points from Jon Moe on seven of 10 shooting and 12 from Edwards. Deante Jones had eight rebounds and West had seven as the Nanooks controlled the backboards 43-34.

Gage Daye kept Bloomfield close scoring 33 points, including 20 in the first half. Emery Mitchell came off the bench to net 16 points.

November 19

Cook Leads CWU To Victory

JC Cook led five Central Washington players in double figures with 25 points as the Wildcats defeated Portland Bible 99-84 in their season opener Thursday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

In Thursday's only other basketball game involving a GNAC team, Dominican, N.Y. defeated Alaska Fairbanks 73-67 in the opening round of the Alaska Classic at The Patty Center.

Cook and Roby Clyde were Central's most efficient shooters in its victory. Cook made 10 of 17 shots and Clyde, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, converted on five of six.

Chris Sprinker had 18 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals. Noble'D Shelton and Riley Sivak had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Portland Bible (6-3) was led by Austin Hodges and Stephen McCall with 25 and 24 points, respectively. Michael Cooper had 18 points and six rebounds. Cooper was nine of 11 from the floor.

CWU controlled the backboards, especially at the offensive end. They outrebounded the visitors 45-33, corralling 26 of their own misses, just four off the GNAC single-game record of 30.

Zach Huston scored 17 points, including a three-point play with 17 seconds left, in Dominican's victory over Alaska Fairbanks. Huston's trey came after UAF had pulled to within one-point on a three-pointer by Emmanuel Jenkins with 53 seconds left.

After Huston's bucket and free throw, UAF missed a three-point try and Brendan McManus hit two foul shots with eight seconds left to provide the final margin of victory for the New York university.

In addition to Huston, Dominican was led by Leon Porter with 12 and McManus and Almin Hodzic with 10.

Jenkins had a game-high 23 points, including 13 in the second half to lead the Nanooks. UAF also got 19 points from Parish West, a JC transfer from Chicago, and 10 from Nashorn Maynard. Jon Moe, however, was held to five points.

Moe missed all nine of his three-point attempts as UAF, which trailed only once by more than a single digit margin, made only three of 23 from the arc.

November 18

MSUB Wins on Late Layup By DaVelle Jackson

DaVell Jackson's layup with four seconds left lifted Montana State Billings to a 72-70 victory over Colorado Christian Wednesday evening in a NCAA Division II region contest at Alterowitz Gym. The game was the official season opener for the Yellowjackets.

Jackson took the ball from half court with 11 seconds left and dribbled the clock down to four seconds before scoring the game-winner on a reverse layup over two Mary defenders.

Jackson finished the contest with a team-high 17 points to lead four MSUB players in double figures. The Yellowjackets also got 15 points from Derrick Wright on seven of nine shooting, 12 from Mike McCrary and 10 from DeAndre Chambers.

Jobi Wall and Justin Neuhaus led Colorado Christian with 19 points and Rye Olson had 18.

"I thought we had a lot of different people make a lot of big plays tonight," MSUB head coach George Pfeifer said. "Colorado Christian is a very good team and Neuhaus is a load and we played him by committee with five players on him throughout the night."

Jackson hit on six of nine shots for the 'Jackets. He had four rebounds with three assists and two steals. "Obviously DaVell's play at the end is what we expect from a senior of his stature," Pfeifer added. "It was a great start to our season."

MSUB led most of the way building a 10-point first-half lead at 37-27 with two minutes remaining before settling for a six-point lead at the break.

The Yellowjackets maintained a three to nine-point lead throughout the second half until Olson pulled the visitors to within two points at 66-64 with 1:19 left. A minute later Colorado Christian earned its first tie of the period on another three-pointer by Jobi Wall.

The tie, however, was short lived as MSUB used most of the remainder of the clock to get the game-winner.

November 17

UAA Wins On Late Charge

Malcolm Campbell scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Donnie Lao scored all 11 of his points after intermission to lead Alaska Anchorage to a 82-66 win over Hawaii Pacific in a NCAA Division II West Region game Tuesday night in Honolulu.

The Seawolves (2-0) trailed 37-32 at halftime, but made 18 of 28 second-half shots, while holding the Sea Warriors to just eight field goals in 31 attempts.

UAA trailed 58-57 with 8:14 left, but outscored HPU 25-8 the rest of the way as the Sea Warriors made just one field goal in the final eight minutes.

Campbell made eight of 13 field goal attempts and also had a game-high nine rebounds. Lao was perfect, making both of his field goal attempts including a trey and all six of his foul shots.

Lao was one of four UAA players along with Kevin White, Nick Pacciti and Casey Robinson to finish with 11 points. White also had eight rebounds and four assists.

Mike Helton led five HPU players in double figures with 13 points. Norman Wells and Ray Murdock had 11 each, while Reggie New and Adrian den Bulk had 10 each.

November 16

McAlister Scores 14 to Key Western Washington 74-60 Victory

Guard Harold McAllister scored 14 consecutive Viking points to help break open a tight contest and lead Western Washington to a 74-60 victory over Northwest University in a non-conference men's basketball game Monday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Guard Morris Anderson had a game-high 15 points for the 3-1Vikings, who were playing their home opener.

It was an exhibition game for Northwest, which is 2-1 in counting games. The Eagles were led by the 14 points of center Greg George. Guards Rich Skillman and Stedman Richardson each had 13 points.

Western never trailed, opening up a 40-20 lead late in the first half and holding a 42-28 advantage at halftime. But Northwest rallied, pulling to within five (55-50) on a layin by Tyson Christie with 8:30 to play.

The Vikings' Cameron Severson scored a layin before McAllister took over, hitting a trio of three-pointers, then a reverse layin, and finally capping the 14-point explosion with another three-pointer, giving Western a 71-54 lead with 3:58 to play and effectively putting the contest out of reach.

The 14 points came in a span of less than four minutes and were McAllister's entire output for the contest, although he also had a team-high four assists.

Forward Derrick Webb had 12 points for WWU, which was 18 of 22 (81.6 percent) on free throws.

November 14

Falcons, Wolves Earn Exhibition Victories; UAA Loses at Long Beach

Center Rafael Moreira scored 20 points and Jeff Downs and Brandon Larrieu added 18 each to lead Seattle Pacific to a easy 116-79 win over the Another Level Blue Angels in an exhibition game at Brougham Pavilion Saturday night.

Western Oregon also got a victory as the exhibition season came to a close, getting 24 points from guard Blair Wheadon in a 81-68 home victory over George Fox.

Meanwhile, Alaska Anchorage guard Drew Robinson scored 12 points to lead a trio of Seawolves in double figures in an 86-65 exhibition loss to Long Beach State .

Moreira led a hot-shooting Falcon squad, connecting on nine of 13 shots. SPU missed only 20 shots all night, making 41 of 61 (67.2 percent), including 15 of 24 from the three-point line. Downs was six of six and Larrieu made four of five from the arc.

Two other SPU players were also in double figures. Colby Vranes had 14 points and Adam Wardell had 10. Ryan Hanson led the Blue Angels with 25 points. Matt Penoncello had 20.

Wheadon made eight of 14 shots and also had three assists and four steals in Western Oregon's victory. The Wolves also got 11 points from Tarance Glynn, and 10 each from Matt Schmidt and Rico Myles.

Mike McLaughlin had nine rebounds and Myles had seven as WOU controlled the backboards 43-36. Travis Toedtemeier led George Fox with 14 points.

Long Beach State was led by 18 points from preseason all-conference guard Larry Anderson as the Division I squad shot 53 percent from the field, including 9-of-19 three-pointers in defeating UAA.

Meanwhile, the Seawolves got 11 points from center Malcolm Campbell, plus 10 points from forward Nick Pacitti.

The Seawolves outrebounded the Big West Conference preseason favorites 36-34, while UAA's bench outscored its counterparts 29-12.

November 12

Vikings Win Exhibition Game In OT

Derrick Webb scored 25 of his 30 points after halftime leading Western Washington to a 111-105 overtime victory over Team Another Level in a men's basketball exhibition game Thursday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Former Viking Tyler Amaya led the visitors with a game-high 44 points, the most ever in a game at Carver Gym, in just 27 minutes of action before fouling out early in overtime.

Amaya, who played two seasons at Western from 2003 to 2005, was 13-of-17 from the field, hitting 7-of-9 on 3-pointers and getting one putback to fall midway through the second half while lying on his back in the middle of the key. He also tied for game-high rebound honors with 14.

The visiting Blue Angels held a 64-59 lead with just over 13 minutes to play in the second half, but the Vikings responded, taking a 71-70 lead with 9:17 to go on a jumper by center Zach Bruce, who finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

The score was tied seven times in regulation after that before Team Another Level's Lukas Henne, who had 22 points, sent the game to overtime at 98-98 on a 3-pointer with four seconds left.

Western then took over in the extra frame, breaking away from a 99-99 tie with 11 straight points.

Forward Michael Duty had 27 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Vikings, who had a 58-39 advantage on the boards.

November 11

Alaska Anchorage Wins Season Opener 64-39

Alaska Anchorage used a balanced scoring and a school-record defensive effort in the first half to claim a 64-39 victory over host American Sports Wednesday at the Hernandez Center in San Bernardino.

The Seawolves were led by 13 points from center Malcolm Campbell and 11 from freshman Liam Gibcus in their UAA debuts, while forwards Nick Pacitti and Casey Robinson chipped in with eight points apiece.

Tiger Wright led the NAIA Eagles (0-1) with a game-high 15 points, but most of those came in the second half after UAA held ASU to just one field goal before halftime.

UAA's 35-7 advantage marked the fewest points allowed in any half by a Seawolf team, breaking the record of 11 against Lancaster Bible on Nov. 5, 2006.

Robinson - a 6-6 forward in his first game back after missing last season with a knee injury - hit a three-pointer to start the scoring, and UAA quickly jumped to leads of 12-0, 18-1 and 23-2.

A Julius Clark layup with 3:09 remaining in the half was ASU's first basket of the night as the home team shot 1 of 18 in the opening stanza.

The Seawolves stay in southern California this week to take on Long Beach State Saturday in an exhibition.

November 9

Vikings Crush Quest in Exhibition

Forward Michael Duty scored 17 points on 8-of-11 field-goal shooting to lead six Vikings in double figures as Western Washington defeated Quest University (BC) 111-58 in a men's basketball exhibition game Monday on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

Forward Derrick Webb had 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and tied for game-high honors with seven assists for Western, which shot 57.1 percent (44-77) from the field. Quest, located in Squamish, B.C., was led by the 15 points of guard John Pankratz.

The Kermodes jumped to a 7-1 lead and had the score tied at 10-10, but Western took over after that going on a 29-5 run eventually opening up a 54-19 lead at halftime. The margin was never less than 32 points in the second half and never less than 41 in the last 15 minutes.

Morris Anderson had 15 points for Western. Also in double figures were Cameron Severson with 12, Richard Woodworth with 11 and Chris Mitchell with 10. The Vikings had a 50-23 rebound advantage as Rory Blanche grabbed a game-high 10 and Mitchell had eight.

November 7

Lippman Leads Northwest Nazarene To 89-62 Victory

Six-eight Robert Lippman had 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals to lead Northwest Nazarene to an 89-62 exhibition win over Northwest University Saturday at Nampa.

In the only other men's basketball game on Saturday in the GNAC, Oregon State outscored Western Oregon 75-55 in an exhibition game at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.

Lippman made eight of 13 shots and was one of four Crusader players in double figures. NNU, which leveled its exhibition record at 1-1, also got 13 points and nine rebounds from Brian Barkdoll and 10 points each from Louie Beech and Anthony Golden. Golden also had six assists.

Tyson Christie led the Kirkland, Wash., based school with 14 points. The Eagles, however, were outshot 50.0 percent (33-66) to 35.1 percent (20-57), outrebounded 43-35 and also committed seven more turnovers (22-15) than the Crusaders.

Seth Tarver had 17 points and Calvin Hayes had 15 in Oregon State's victory. The Beavers also got 12 points from Omari Johnson. Matt Schmidt led the Wolves with 11 points, while Blair Wheadon had 10.

November 6

Seattle Pacific Debuts With Victory; Saints Lose At Idaho

Chris Banchero and Brandon Larrieu scored 13 points apiece leading Seattle Pacific to an 82-59 exhibition rout of future GNAC member Simon Fraser Friday night at Brougham Pavilion.

In another exhibition game, the University of Idaho led from start-to-finish in a 87-61 win over Saint Martin's at Memorial Gym in Moscow.

Banchero hit three of five field goals and seven of eight free throws, while Larrieu drained four of seven shots including a pair of treys in Seattle Pacific's win. Post Rafael Moreira added 10 points.

Chas Kok led Simon Fraser with 14 points, and Matt Kuzminski scored 12 for the Clansmen.

Seattle Pacific jumped to a 9-0 lead, opening the game with a 10-footer by Banchero, back-to-back buckets by Larrieu (including a three-pointer) and a put back by Moreira.

Simon Fraser used a 7-0 spurt to cut SPU's 14-2 lead to 14-9 at the midpoint of the half. The Clan was within six at 19-13 when the Falcons strung together nine straight points, essentially taking command for good.

SPU limited the Clan to 19 first-half points, while scoring 42 on the offensive end.

"For our first time out together, especially in the first half, we did a good job defensively. We also made some progress offensively," first-year SPU coach Ryan Looney said.

"The biggest issue right now is we don't have the proper practice habits. We struggle to maintain our intensity for an entire two hours. That carried over into the second half of tonight's game.

"Every day we seem to have a little bit of a lull and tonight ours was right at the beginning of the second half on defense."

Simon Fraser got as close as 14 early in the second half at 51-37. Seattle Pacific responded with a 13-2 run, started on two consecutive treys by wing Jeff Downs and didn't allow SFU closer than 17 the rest of the way.

Steffan Johnson scored 14 points and Mac Hopson, Marvin Jefferson and Shawn Henderson all had a dozen in Idaho's victory over Saint Martin's. The Vandals jumped to a 17-2 lead and maintained at least a double-digit margin the rest of the way.

Blake Poole had a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double and Jared Howard had 11 points for the Saints. Poole recorded more than half of SMU's rebounds as the Saints were outboarded 37-29. Saint Martin's also had eight more turnovers (20-12).

November 3

Wildcats, Wolves Lose to D-1s

Central Washington shot 23.4 percent from the floor and was just three of 23 on three-pointers in a 77-48 loss to the University of Washington in an exhibition men's basketball game at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle Wednesday night.

In another exhibition game, Western Oregon lost at Portland State 108-65 as the Vikings outscored the Wolves 45-9 from the three-point line cashing in on 15 of 29 shots from the arc.

CWU struggled offensively, making just four of 27 field goal attempts in the first half as they trailed 43-18. UW didn't shoot much better, making only 13 of 41 (31.7 percent), but the Huskies outrebounded the 'Cats 36-25 in the period.

Noble'D Shelton came off the bench to lead CWU in scoring with 10 points Chris Sprinker, who played just 13 minutes before fouling out, and Toussaint Tyler scored six points apiece.

Washington, which is ranked 13th in the ESPN/Coaches Poll and 14th by AP, was led by Isaiah Thomas with 18 points, including 14 in the first half.

Quincy Pondexter and Venoy Overton also scored in double figures for the Huskies with 15 and 11, respectively, while Darnell Gant and Matthew Bryan-Amaning had 10 rebounds each.

CWU ended up converting on only 15 of 64 shots. The Wildcats did have some impressive numbers, holding the Huskies to 38 percent shooting and outrebounding them 29-23 in the second half to finish with only a 59-54 deficit on the backboards.

Rico Myles poured in 15 points on six of eight shooting and also had seven rebounds and four assists and Gabe Thrash added 10 points off the bench as converting on five of eight shots in Western Oregon's loss.

Portland State, which shot 56.3 percent from the floor (40-71), was led by Phil Nelson with 19 points. Melvin Jones and Philip Thomas had 18 and 17 points, respectively. Austonn Lazoff chipped in with 11.

November 1

Severson Leads Western Washington Past Gators; Duty Selected MVP

Reserve guard Cameron Severson scored a game and career-high 19 points helping Western Washington to a 71-52 victory over San Francisco State at the Disney Tip-Off Classic Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center .

Cameron, who scored 11 points in the first half, connected on five of eight field goals and made nine of 10 free throws.

Forward Michael Duty, who was named the tournament's MVP, had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Vikings and center Zach Bruce grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

SFSU, which suffered its first loss in three tourney games, was led by guard Marquel Hoskins with 13 points.

The Gators held a six-point lead 28-22 with 4:20 left in the first half before Western went on a 14-3 run to close out the period and lead by five at the break (36-31). Severson had seven points during that stretch and Harold McAllister added five.

Midway through the second half, Western scored nine straight points for a 19-point advantage (57-38) with 8:05 remaining. The Vikings' biggest lead was 22, twice in the final minute.

Western held the Gators to 34.7 percent (17-49) field-goal shooting and forced 22 turnovers.

Western Washington, San Francisco State and Kentucky Wesleyan all finished the tournament with 2-1 records, while Grand Canyon was winless in three contests.

Derrick Webb, who finished the tournament with 35 points and 14 rebounds, joined Duty on the all-tournament team. Duty had 43 points and 19 rebounds in WWU's three contests.

Saints Lose Exhibition Game To Eastern Washington

Benny Valentine and Kevin Winford each scored 22 points to lead Eastern Washington to a 98-61 win over Saint Martin's in an exhibition game Sunday at Cheney.

Saint Martin's led twice in the early going before Eastern went on an 18-3 run to go ahead 23-10. The Saints cut that deficit to five points (27-22) midway through the half, but the Eagles then pulled away going up by 26 at the break.

Guard Galen Squiers led Saint Martin's with 15 points, while forward Jeremy Green had 12 points. Blake Poole finished with eight points and nine rebounds.

October 31

Western Washington Loses To Kentucky Wesleyan

Western Washington shot just 38.9 percent from the field as it fell 71-58 to Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday afternoon at the Disney Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Both teams are 1-1 in the tournament. The Vikings beat Grand Canyon 94-70 Friday, while Kentucky Wesleyan lost San Francisco State 78-53.

Western, which connected on just 21 of 54 attempts from the floor, was led by the 12 points of reserve 7-foot center Dave Vanderjagt. Forward Michael Duty added 11 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Kentucky Wesleyan shot just 39.7 percent (23-58) from the field, but made eight of 21 three-pointers. The Vikings were only four of 17 from the arc.

Kentucky Wesleyan also had a 40-32 rebound advantage and had four less turnovers (19-15).

Guard Desmond Stephens tallied a game-high 13 points to lead four double-figure scorers for Kentucky Wesleyan. Shawn Rouse, a 6-6 transfer from Boise State , had 12 and Chris Williams and Travis Owsley each had 11.

Panther center Jay Ivey grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points.

Kentucky Wesleyan, which never trailed in the game, led 32-22 at halftime. Trailing, 37-24, Western scored 11 straight points to get within two, 37-35 with 15:50 remaining on a 3-pointer by Andrew Ready.

But the Panthers, an eight-time national champion, went on a 19-4 run over the next 8:32 for their biggest lead of 17 points (56-39) with 7:28 to go. The Vikings never got closer.

October 30

Vikings Beat Grand Canyon 94-70

Guard Derrick Webb, who missed all of last season because of a broken wrist, scored a game-high 23 points to lead Western Washington to a 94-70 win over Grand Canyon Friday in the Disney West Coast Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The game matched teams from the GNAC and PacWest Conferences that were selected to finish second in their respective pre-season coaches' polls.

Webb, who had 15 of his points in the second half, was five of 10 from the field, including two of four three-pointers. He also made 11 of 12 foul shots.

Forward Michael Duty and guard Morris Anderson each had 19 points for Western. Anderson, who was six of eight from the floor also had a game-highs of nine assists and three steals.

The Vikings also got nine points and a game-high nine rebounds from center Zach Bruce. Five Grand Canyon players had double-figure points, led by reserve Marco Ramos with 12.

Western trailed 34-32 with 4:05 left in the opening period, but Anderson and Webb each hit three-pointers to begin a 12-3 run. Webb was fouled on a three-point attempt with six seconds left in the period and made all three free throws to give the Vikings a 44-37 halftime lead.

Western continued the barrage to begin the second half, outscoring the Antelopes 18-6 over the first 7:29 for a 19-point advantage (62-43) with 12:31 remaining.

Grand Canyon narrowed the margin to eight points (66-58) with 8:02 to go, but the Vikings outscored the Antelopes 28-12 the rest of the way, leading by as many as 26 twice in the final 1:07.

Crusaders Lose To Utah State In Exhibition Contest

Louie Beech scored 10 points to lead the Northwest Nazarene in an 85-51 exhibition loss at NCAA Division I Utah State Friday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan.

Brian Barkdoll and Anthony Golden each added eight points and Barkdoll and Kendall Gielow each had seven rebounds.

Utah State was led by Nate Bendall and Tai Wesley who both scored 17, while Preston Medlin added 12 and Tyrone White scored 11. The Aggies shot 60.8-percent (31-51) from the floor and finished with seven blocked shots and 13 steals.

The Crusaders were held to 29 percent (18-62) shooting from the field, but held their own on the glass, pulling down a total of 36 rebounds, 18 on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.

Utah State finished with 38 rebounds, led by Bendall and Jared Quayle who each had six.