• Final Statistics

LACEY, Wash. – Lacy Haddock converted two of three free throws with 23.2 seconds remaining Wednesday, lifting sixth-seeded Central Washington to a 70-69 upset of No. 3 Seattle Pacific in the quarterfinal round of the GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament at Marcus Pavilion on the Saint Martin's campus.

The Wildcats (15-12), who halted a three-game losing streak against SPU, advance to a semifinal matchup with No. 2 seed Alaska Anchorage on Friday at noon.

Despite the setback, the 25th-ranked Falcons (21-7) are likely headed to their eighth consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament. They were listed third in this week's West Region rankings and the top-eight receive postseason berths.

The 64-team playoff field will be announced Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

The fact his Falcons will get a few extra days of rest leading into the NCAA Tournament was little consolation for Coach Ryan Looney.

“It's probably good for us, but it doesn't feel good right now.”

Jody Johnson put Central in front 68-66 on a 3-pointer with 1:22 left to play. SPU answered with a trey from Scott Morse on the next possession to gain a 69-68 edge.

Haddock tried a desperation 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock and was fouled by David Downs, setting up the decisive free throws. With eight seconds remaining, SPU's Andy Poling missed a short hook shot and Roby Clyde was immediately fouled after collecting the rebound.

Clyde missed both free throws and the Falcons got the board, but they never got a shot off as Downs had the ball stolen by Jordan Coby and time expired.

Downs tallied 18 of his game-high 20 points during the second half. Poling scored 19 for SPU and Jake Anderson added 11.

Coby paced the Wildcats with 18 points, 15 of them coming after halftime. He compiled 13 straight CWU points during a four-minute span late in the game, the last two coming on a layup that tied the score 63-63 with 3:04 to play.

Haddock and Johnson each contributed 11 points for the Wildcats.

Looney pointed to turnovers as a critical factor in the loss. SPU had 18 miscues, forced by 11 Wildcat steals.

“We didn't do a good enough job taking care of the ball and probably didn't rebound as well as we have in prior games this year.”

In the first half, SPU scored seven straight points to claim a 23-18 lead. Anderson capped the surge on a 3-pointer with 7:34 left in the period.

The Wildcats scored the next six points to ignite a 17-8 run the put them ahead 35-31 at halftime.

CWU gained a measure of revenge against the Falcons, who swept the regular-season series for the first time since 2004. SPU won 76-49 in Ellensburg on Jan. 12 and was a 72-64 victor on Feb. 11 in Seattle.


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL -- GNAC Tournament
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Marcus Pavilion/Lacey, Wash.

Central Washington 70, (#25) Seattle Pacific 69

CENTRAL WASHINGTON (15-12)
Johnson 1-8 8-10 11, Coby 6-10 3-4 18, Clyde 2-3 2-4 6, Haddock 4-9 2-3 11, Tyler 2-9 3-4 8, Davis 2-5 2-3 6, Magee 2-3 1-1 5, Gross 1-1 0-1 3, Starr 1-2 0-0 2, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-50 21-30 70.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (21-7)
Wall 2-4 0-0 4, Hutsen 4-9 1-1 9, Poling 8-12 3-5 19, Downs 3-7 12-14 20, Stockton 1-4 0-0 2, Anderson 3-6 2-2 11, Morse 1-4 0-0 3, Carel 0-0 1-2 1, Niang 0-0 0-0 0, Dorman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-46 19-24 69.

Central Washington......   35   35  -   70
Seattle Pacific.........   31   38  -   69

3-point goals--CWU 7-19 (Coby 3-6, Johnson 1-3, Gross 1-1, Haddock 1-4, Tyler 1-4, Magee 0-1), SPU 6-13 (Anderson 3-5, Downs 2-3, Morse 1-3, Wall 0-2). Fouled out--CWU-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--CWU 26 (Clyde 6), SPU 33 (Poling 8). Assists--CWU 9 (Haddock 6), SPU 12 (Stockton, Downs 3). Total fouls--CWU 20, SPU 23. Technical fouls--CWU-None, SPU-None. A-323.