January 10, 2009
SEATTLE -- With Downs in, the Falcons went up.
Sophomore guard Jeff Downs accounted for 20 straight points for the Seattle Pacific men during an eight-minute stretch late in the second half Saturday, carrying the Falcons to an 82-79 victory over Montana State in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contest at Brougham Pavilion.
A product of Bellevue Christian High School, Downs came off the bench to accumulate a career-high 23 points for the Falcons.
“Tonight he was huge,” SPU coach Jeff Hironaka exclaimed about Downs, who shot 4-of-8 from 3-point range and converted 9-of-10 free throws. “He hit big shots when we needed them and made big free throws.”
Senior Casey Reed (Canby, Ore.) sealed the win on two free throws with 16 seconds left to play. Those were the only points for SPU during the final 9:14, other than Downs' 20-point outburst.
The Falcons swept their conference-opening homestand, including Thursday's 92-84 triumph over 13th-ranked Saint Martin's. SPU's record is 9-4 overall and 2-0 in GNAC play.
The Yellowjackets dropped to 5-8 with an 0-2 conference record.
MSU claimed its final lead, at 57-56, on a three-point play by Derrick Wright with 10:44 left in the game.
Brandon Larrieu (Puyallup, Wash./Franklin Pierce) scored four straight points and Downs nailed a 3-pointer to cap a seven-point run, giving the Falcons the lead for good at 63-59 with 8:18 left to play. Downs hit another trey at 6:14 to provide SPU the largest lead of the game at 71-61.
“We were able to break away and get a little 10-point cushion there,” Hironaka described. “On the other hand we didn't sustain it and didn't play very smart down the stretch.”
Billings eventually cut the lead all the way down to one at 80-79 on a three-point play by Travis Bunker with 18 seconds to play. The Yellowjackets immediately fouled Reed, who went to the other end and drained both free throws for an 82-79 edge at the 16-second mark.
MSU came down and set up a potential tying 3-point try for Mario Burns at the top of the key. But his shot fell way short and floated out of bounds. The Falcons, after a timeout, inbounded and ran off the final two seconds.
Reed wound up with 14 points on perfect shooting: 5-of-5 from the floor, 4-of-4 from the line. He also had a team-high six assists. Larrieu added 16 points for SPU, which is undefeated in five home outings this season.
Wright poured in 34 points for Montana State on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor and 14-of-16 free throw accuracy. Michael Hall added 16 and Bunker had 15.
“I thought Billings played hard. They forced the issue on us,” Hironaka said. “They played more up-tempo than they have and we weren't prepared for that. Gameplan-wise, I thought it was going to be a grind-it-out game, but they came at us.”
The tight first-half featured 12 lead changes and four ties. Each team held a six-point lead on one occasion, but that was the largest differential.
The Yellowjackets went ahead 26-20 on a Bunker 3-pointer with 6:59 left in the first half. SPU chipped away at that deficit and got a 3-pointer by Jake Anderson (Burlington, Wash./Burlington-Edison HS) with six seconds left to take a 40-38 halftime lead.
The SPU reserves outscored their Yellowjackets counterparts 30-2. Billings countered with an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points.
SPU hit its first four shots of the game on the way to an 8-5 lead, then cooled off considerably. But the Falcons went 8 for 8 inside the final seven minutes of the half, and went into the break at 57 percent (16-of-28). Billings also enjoyed a hot-shooting first 20 minutes, draining 15-of-27 (56 percent).
For the game, SPU hit 56 percent from the field (28-of-50), the 11th time in 13 games it has topped the 50 percent mark. Billings was even hotter at 57 percent (28-of-49).
With the sharp shooting, rebounds were in short supply. Seattle Pacific grabbed 27, led by five apiece for Reed and Chris Banchero (Seattle, Wash./O'Dea HS). The Yellowjackets had just 19 rebounds, with Bunker and Wright collecting five each.
SPU boasts a balanced attack with five players averaging double-figure points for the year. Downs became the sixth different Falcon to lead the team in scoring during a game this season.
“You've got to hold serve at home and we go the win,” said Hironaka. “With Central (Washington) and NNU (Northwest Nazarene) winning on the road, the advantage is in their hands right now because they have road wins. We'll see next week if we can do the same.”
The SPU men embark on their first GNAC road trip next week, playing Thursday at Central Washington and Saturday at Western Washington.
“We're playing the No. 1 team in the conference and then we play the No. 2 team,” Hironaka concluded. “So, we have to be prepared to go into hostile territory and keep our composure and be able to play up to our potential.”
NCAA Men's Basketball
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Brougham Pavilion, Seattle, Wash.
Seattle Pacific 82, Montana State Billings 79
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (5-8, 0-2 GNAC)
Bunker 5-11 1-1 15, Wright 10-12 14-16 34, Blaine 1-1 0-1 2, Burns 5-9 0-2 10, Hall 6-13 0-0 16, Palmer 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Hentzen 0-0 0-0 0, Hodge 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-49 15-20 79.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (9-4, 2-0 GNAC)
Reed 5-5 4-4 14, Diederichs 2-7 0-0 5, Moreira 3-5 3-4 9, Banchero 4-9 0-0 8, Larrieu 6-8 2-2 16, Campanaro 0-0 0-0 0, Vranes 1-2 0-0 2, Downs 5-10 9-10 23, Andeson 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 28-50 18-20 82.
Mont. State Billings.....38 41 -- 79
Seattle Pacific..........40 42 -- 82
3-point goals -- MSUB 8-16 (Bunker 4-7, Burns 0-2, Hall 4-7), SPU 8-19 (Diederichs 1-4, Banchero 0-2, Larrieu 2-3, Downs 4-8, Anderson 1-2). Fouled out -- SPU: Moreira. Rebounds -- MSUB 19 (Bunker 5, Wright 5), SPU 27 (Reed 5, Banchero 5). Assists -- MSUB 16 (Burns 6), SPU 20 (Reed 6, Bancher 4). Technical fouls -- None. Total fouls -- MSUB 22, SPU 23. A -- 658.
