• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

LACEY, Wash. -- Chris Banchero led five double-figure scorers with 19 points Saturday, helping ninth-ranked Seattle Pacific clinch its first outright Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball championship in four years with an 89-76 road victory over Saint Martin's at Marcus Pavilion.

SPU (22-3) improved to 13-1 in conference play to secure its fourth title since the GNAC was formed in 2001-02. The Falcons, whose only other outright championship came in 2006, shared the league crown in 2002 and 2007.

“It's exciting. I don't think it's necessarily set in yet that we've won a conference championship,” said Ryan Looney, who became the first coach to win a league title in his inaugural season at SPU.

“For us we are still trying to take it one game at a time, hoping that we can have the regional tournament in Seattle.”

The SPU men are assured of their sixth straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearance. They are ranked No. 1 in the West Region and will host the first three rounds of the regional playoffs on March 12, 13 and 15, if they retain that top position.

Looney believes that hosting postseason games at Brougham Pavilion would definitely benefit  the Falcons.

“Any time you can sleep in your own bed, practice in your own gym and keep your daily routine the way it normally is, that obviously helps. Being able to play at home, in front of your home crowd in a tournament atmosphere provides a little bit of extra motivation.”

The Saints (14-11) saw their conference record drop to 4-10 with their 21st loss in the last 23 meetings against SPU.

Galen Squiers hit a 3-pointer with 13:59 left in the game that drew SMU within 55-52. But Ryan Sweet (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap HS) answered with a 3-pointer 24 seconds later that started the Falcons on a game-clinching 14-4 run.

SPU 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 junior Jeff Downs after Saints coach Keith Cooper was whistled for back-to-back technical fouls.

Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) came off the bench to score 17 points. He shot 3 of 4 from 3-point range and 8 of 9 from the line.

Another reserve, senior Adam Wardell (Sedro Woolley, Wash./Sedro Woolley HS), tallied 14 points for SPU, which also got 10 apiece from Sweet and Brandon Larrieu (Puyallup, Wash./Franklin Pierce HS).

The Falcons got plenty of production from their reserves who accounted for 35 points and 14 rebounds. The bench's board work contributed to the team's dominant 43-25 rebounding advantage.

“I felt like we didn't have a ton of energy early in the game,” Looney described. “We got Jeff and Adam in there and those two gave us a huge spark.”

SPU's lead grew to as many as 19 points late in the game.

The Falcons displayed why they are the nation's second-most accurate team, shooting 55 percent from the field (28-51), including a torrid 63-percent second-half clip (15 of 24).

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. He helped 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 (Central Point, Ore.) followed with a jumper to put SPU ahead for good at 23-19 with 9:11 left in the first half.

The Falcons' advantage was 41-35 at halftime.

SPU had guaranteed at least a tie for the conference title with a 100-92 victory Thursday over second-place Central Washington. Banchero poured in a career-high 34 points in that game while Rob Diederichs (Shoreline, Wash./Shorewood HS) posted a school and GNAC record 19 assists.

Diederichs distributed 11 assists on Saturday to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.

The Falcons close out the regular season next week with a pair of games in Alaska. They play Thursday (Mar. 4) at Fairbanks and Saturday (Mar. 6) at Anchorage.


NCAA Men's Basketball
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Marcus Pavilion/Lacey, Wash.

(#9) Seattle Pacific 89, Saint Martin's 76

SEATTLE PACIFIC (22-3, GNAC 13-1)
Banchero 7-11 5-7 19; Downs 3-5 8-9 17; Wardell 5-11 3-3 14; Sweet 4-7 1-2 10; Larrieu 4-7 1-4 10; Anderson 2-4 4-8 9; Diederichs 2-3 2-2 6; Morse 1-2 2-2 4; Vranes 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-51 26-37 89.

SAINT MARTIN'S (14-11, GNAC 4-10)
Green 12-21 1-2 25; Poole 8-14 5-9 22; O'Neill 4-8 0-0 10; Squiers 2-7 0-0 6; Dodson 3-7 0-0 6; Henze 2-4 0-1 4; Votaw 1-2 0-0 3; Bomber 0-3 0-0 0; Severs 0-1 0-0 0; Taylor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-68 6-12 76.

Seattle Pacific............... 41 48 - 89
Saint Martin's................ 35 41 - 76

3-point goals--SPU 7-18 (Downs 3-4; Sweet 1-3; Wardell 1-5; Anderson 1-2; Larrieu 1-2; Diederichs 0-1; Banchero 0-1), SMU 6-16 (O'Neill 2-4; Squiers 2-6; Poole 1-1; Votaw 1-2; Bomber 0-3). Fouled out--SPU-Sweet; Morse, SMU--None. Rebounds--SPU 43 (Diederichs 8), SMU 25 (Poole 10). Assists--SPU 13 (Diederichs 11), SMU 20 (Bomber 7; Poole 7). Total fouls--SPU 19, SMU 24. Technical fouls--SPU-None, SMU-TEAM 2. Att.-628.