February 19, 2009

SEATTLE -- It was a magical night at Brougham Pavilion for the maroon-clad Falcons.

The Seattle Pacific men had a tough act to follow in the nightcap of Thursday's basketball doubleheader. They followed the 14th-ranked Falcons women, who upset top-ranked Alaska Anchorage 54-42.

The men's squad put on a show of their own with an improbable 68-66 comeback victory over Anchorage, capped by Casey Reed's 35-foot heave that caromed off the backboard and through the net at the buzzer.

Kenny Barker had a chance to secure a win for the Seawolves, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with three seconds remaining. SPU's Chauncey Campanaro rebounded and swiftly dribbled toward midcourt before finding Reed on the left side.

“After Chauncey passed it to me I was hoping for the best and just threw it up. I was hoping for a swish, but I'll take it any way it goes in,” Reed exclaimed.

“I'm just dumbfounded at the moment. It's kind of surreal. I've never hit one like that.”

The buzzer-beating banker capped a furious rally for the Falcons, who scored the game's final nine points. Anchorage staked a seemingly secure 66-59 advantage with 1:33 to play on a layup by Lonnie Ridgeway that gave him a career-high 24 points. Those were the last points Ridgeway, or any of his teammates, would score.

Reed (Canby, Ore.), the lone senior on the SPU squad, made a 3-pointer with 1:18 to play that trimmed the deficit to 66-62. Sophomore Chris Banchero (Seattle, Wash./O'Dea HS) hit one-of-two free throws at 1:00, but then missed a pair with 17 seconds remaining.

With the score at 66-63, Ridgeway missed the front end of a one-and-one at 0:14. The Seawolves then purposely fouled Banchero with 3.9 seconds on the clock to prevent a possible game-tying 3-pointer.

Banchero converted both free throws and the Falcons fouled Barker, UAA's leading free-throw shooter at 86 percent. The senior guard missed on his first attempt, setting up Reed's dramatic final shot.

The win was crucial in the Falcons bid to keep pace with the league leaders. SPU and Central Washington are tied for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with matching 9-3 records. They trail first-place Western Washington (9-2) by one-half game. All three teams held serve with victories on Thursday.

“Honestly, it's everything,” Reed said about the last-second triumph. “It wouldn't have ended our season, but that would have been a bad home loss for us with four games left and the playoff picture the way it is. I'm just thankful right now that that shot went in.”

The Falcons (16-7) forged a split of the season series with UAA, which was seeking its first sweep of SPU since 1990. The Seawolves won this year's first meeting 66-62 on Feb. 7 in Anchorage.

Rafael Moreira (Brasilia, Brazil) led Seattle Pacific with 17 points and seven rebounds. Reed finished with 16 and Brandon Larrieu (Puyallup, Wash./Franklin Pierce HS) added 12. Banchero contributed 11 points and eight assists.

Alaska Anchorage (12-12, 6-5 GNAC) got 19 points from Barker and 14 from Jeremiah Trueman.

The first-half was highlighted by stellar shooting from both teams.

Reserve guards Jeff Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) and Campanaro (Rome, Italy) hit 3-pointers to spark a run of seven unanswered points that put SPU ahead 23-16. The lead was 27-24 when Anchorage went on an eight-point spree to claim a 32-27 advantage.

Reed scored six straight points, four of them off steals, to give the Falcons a 38-37 edge. That lead was short-lived as Barker drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give UAA a 40-38 halftime margin.

The Seawolves shot a sizzling 62 percent (18-of-29) in the first half, including 4-of-8 accuracy from 3-point range. SPU countered with 50 percent shooting (15-of-30).

SPU implemented a zone defense early in the second half and forced four quick turnovers. Three of them were converted into easy baskets during a nine-point run that turned a tie game into a 51-42 Falcons lead with 14:34 left in the second half.

Anchorage answered with a 17-6 surge to take a 59-57 advantage with 5:07 left.

UAA ended up shooting 54 percent (26-of-48) for the game and the Falcons finished at 49 percent (27-of-55).

SPU overcame a 26-9 deficit in scoring by reserves by topping the Seawolves 21-6 in points-off-turnovers.

The Falcons remain at home to host Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader. The SPU women play Fairbanks at 5:15 p.m.