Friday, March 14, 2014

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Senior David Downs scored 27 points in his final game for 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific, which led by as many as 18 points in the first half Friday, but was unable to hold on in an 80-72 overtime loss to Cal State Stanislaus in the first round of the NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament.

The second-seeded Falcons (26-6) saw their season end after losing for just the second time in their last 17 outings. They were the Great Northwest Athletic conference regular-season and tournament champions.

Cal State Stanislaus, seeded No. 7, stretched its winning streak to eight games. The Warriors were surprise winners of the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament last weekend. They advance to Saturday’s West Region semifinal to play No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona (22-6) in Coussoulis Arena. The Broncos beat Dixie State 73-65 in their first-round contest.

Clinton Tremelling hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 11.2 seconds showing on the second-half clock to force overtime for Stanislaus. SPU had an attempt at the game-winner, but a jumper from the right baseline by David Downs at the regulation buzzer rimmed off.

After Downs drained a jumper 10 seconds into the extra session, the Warriors netted the next 11 points to gain control. Shey Mataele got a steal and layup with 33.5 seconds remaining to conclude the run with Stanislaus ahead 77-68.

A 6-foot-2 point guard, Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) received the GNAC and regional Player of the Year awards. He departs as SPU’s No. 3 all-time scorer with 1,786 career points and No. 2 in assists with 561.

Matt Borton scored 17 points for SPU and Cory Hutsen added 12. Senior Patrick Simon, the nation’s most accurate 3-point shooter at 50 percent, missed his only three attempts beyond the arc. Simon was held to two points, well below his 16.5-point average that is the second highest on the team.

Taylor Bell led the Warriors with 18 points and Chris Read had 15. Marcus Bell scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead his team’s 44-29 advantage on the boards.

“An important area is always rebounding and we kind of got dominated in that area tonight, minus-15 on the glass,” said SPU coach Ryan Looney. “As good as things were for us, we probably don’t deserve to win too many games when that happens.”

In the second half, Downs converted four straight free throws to put SPU ahead 47-35. The Warriors responded with 10 unanswered points, capped by a 3-pointer from Taylor Bell that brought them within 47-45 with 11:20 left to play.

Borton immediately pushed the margin back out to six with a four-point play after nailing a 3-pointer and making the subsequent free throw.

Stanislaus rallied again, this time scoring eight straight points and capturing its first lead, at 60-59, on a put-back layup by Rob Walters.

Downs answered with a 3-pointer on the next possession, putting the Falcons back in the lead and starting a 7-3 surge. They had a 66-63 edge with 25.3 seconds left when Riley Stockton made the second of two free throws. Tremelling’s tying 3-pointer followed.

SPU shot just 32 percent (9 of 28) after halftime to finish at 43 percent (23 of 54) for the game. The Warriors shot 44 percent overall (27 of 61) on the strength of 57-percent accuracy (17 of 30) in the second half and overtime.

The Falcons scored the game’s first four points and used stellar shooting to forge an early 14-point lead. They hit seven of their first eight shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, to go ahead 18-4 with 13:28 left. Stockton and Downs completed the spree with back-to-back treys.

Later in the half, Borton capped a 10-point SPU surge with eight consecutive points to provide a 30-12 advantage with 8:08 on the clock.

The next seven SPU attempts missed, enabling the Warriors to stage an 11-1 run and draw within 31-23 with 2:40 remaining.

The Falcons finished the half with a layups by Hutsen and Downs to claim a 35-23 lead at the break.

SPU shot 54 percent (14 of 26) in the opening period while limiting Stanislaus to 32-percent accuracy (10 of 31).

Looney said the post-game discussion in the locker room was not easy.

“It’s tough. The biggest message we tried to send is that, in all reality this was a fantastic year with a disappointing finish.”

The Falcons participated in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive season, the longest current streak among Division II men’s basketball teams. They lost their opening-round game for only the sixth time in 25 all-time appearances.