Box score, play-by-play
FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- Chris Banchero scored 29 points, and Ryan Sweet had a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, but No. 9-ranked Seattle Pacific let an 18-point second-half lead slip away and dropped a 113-105 overtime decision at Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday night.
The Falcons (22-4, 13-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference), who already have clinched the conference championship, saw a six-game winning streak end at the hands of the last-place Nanooks (8-16, 3-12 GNAC). Fairbanks scored the final 10 points of overtime.
The regular season concludes on Saturday at Alaska Anchorage when the Falcons and Seawolves tip off at 8:30 p.m. PST. The West Region pairings for the NCAA Division II tournament will be announced next Monday, March 8. Seattle Pacific, which came into the week ranked No. 1 in the West, will host the regional tournament if it remains in that spot at the end of the weekend.
SPU had an 84-66 lead with eight minutes left in regulation. But Alaska Fairbanks closed the game on a 30-12 scoring run, tying it 96-96 at the buzzer on a spinning lay-in shot by Kyle Smith. After Banchero (Seattle/O'Dea HS) hit 1 of 2 free throws to put the Falcons up 96-94 with six seconds left, Smith took the inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast down the left side, worked his way into the lane and turned almost completely around to get off the tying shot just in time.
That was the first deadlock of the night, as Seattle Pacific scored the first four points of the game and led all the way until then, including that 18-point bulge with 8:12 showing on the clock.
But from there through the rest of regulation and the five-minute overtime, the Falcons went cold, hitting just four of their final 16 shots after draining 34 of 56 (60.7 percent) to help build the big advantage.
The Nanooks, on the other hand, shot an stratospheric 80 percent during the final eight minutes of regulation (12 of 15) and went 6 of 7 from the foul line. They scored 57 second-half points after trailing 48-39 at the break.
Fairbanks went ahead for the first time all night, 98-96, on a jumper by Smith just 18 seconds into the five-minute overtime. The Falcons forged back in front, 105-103, on a driving lay-in by Sweet (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap HS) 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. They tied it at 105-105 on a putback lay-in by Clayton Edwin with 1:47 to go, then went ahead to stay at 107-105 on a long shot by Smith from the left of the lane at the 1:12 mark. Alaska Fairbanks polished it off by hitting six straight free throws during the final half minute.
Sweet's double-double was his team-leading sixth of the season.
Senior wing Brandon Larrieu (Puyallup, Wash./Franklin Pierce HS) added 19 points for Seattle Pacific. Sophomore post player Jake Anderson (Burlington, Wash./Burlington-Edison HS) had 15, and senior wing Rob Diederichs (Shoreline, Wash./Shorewood HS) chipped in 13 to go along with six assists.
Emmanuel Jenkins, the GNAC's No. 3 scorer who came in averaging 17.3 points per game, had 29 for Alaska Fairbanks. Nash Maynard posted a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Joe Powell also had a double-double with 20 points and 12 boards.
SPU broke through the 100 point barrier for the first time this season after hitting it right on in last Thursday's 100-92 victory against Central Washington.
NCAA Men's Basketball
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Patty Center/Fairbanks, Alaska
Alaska Fairbanks 113, (No. 9) Seattle Pacific 105 (OT)
SEATTLE PACIFIC (22-4, 13-2 GNAC)
Campanaro 0-1 0-0 0, Banchero 11-21 4-6 27, Wardell 1-3 2-3 4, Sweet 7-12 5-5 19, Downs 2-4 0-2 6, Morse 0-0 0-0 9, Larrieu 5-12 6-6 19, Anderson 7-12 1-3 17, Diederichs 5-7 1-2 13. Totals 38-72 19-27 105.
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (8-16, 3-12 GNAC)
Powell 9-14 2-2 20, Jenkins 10-15 8-9 29, King 0-2 0-0 0, Edwin 4-8 1-2 10, Maynard 9-18 6-8 24, Daniel 0-2 4-4 4, Smith 3-3 4-6 10, Moe 3-7 0-0 8, Jones 1-2 0-0 2, Edwards 3-6 0-0 6. Totals 42-77 25-31 113.
Seattle Pacific..................48 48 9 -- 105
Alaska Fairbanks............39 57 17 -- 113
3-point goals -- SPU 10-23 (Banchero 1-4, Wardell 0-1, Sweet 0-2, Downs 2-4, Larrieu 3-4, Anderson 2-4, Diederichs 2-4), UAF 4-11 (Jenkins 1-3 King 0-1, Edwin 1-1, Moe 2-4, Edwards 0-2. Rebounds -- SPU 34 (Sweet 12), UAF 41 (Maynoard 12, Powell 11). Assists -- SPU 16 (Diederichs 6), UAF 11 (Jenkins 6). Fouled out -- SPU: Anderson. UAF: Jenkins, Edwards. Total fouls -- SPU 16, UAF 23. Technical fouls -- UAF: Edwards. Attendance -- 306.
