• Final Stats
     • VIDEO: Jobi Wall
     • NCAA West Regional homepage

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – This was exactly the type of performance Coach Ryan Looney envisioned when Patrick Simon transferred from Washington State before this season.
 
Simon compiled 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds Monday, helping second-ranked Seattle Pacific post its school record-tying 27th win with a 67-54 triumph over No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament at Carver Gymnasium.
 
“We're excited to advance,” SPU's Looney exclaimed. “Cal Poly Pomona is a great team. It's a little bit of a shame we had to play each other this early in the tournament. Right now, we feel fortunate to get through that one.”
 
The third-seeded Falcons (27-3) advance to the West Regional championship game for the second straight season. They will meet top-seeded and No. 4-ranked Western Washington on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. in Bellingham.
 
That will be the fourth meeting this season between the Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals. The Vikings won both regular-season meetings before Jobi Wall's last-second three-pointer lifted SPU to a 72-70 victory on Mar. 9 in the league tournament championship game.
 
In last year's regional final at Carver Gym, the Falcons fell 56-50 to WWU. The Vikings proceeded to win the 2012 national championship.
 
On Monday, Seattle Pacific extended its winning streak to 11 games and matched the victory total of its 2000 team that reached to the national semifinals.
 


“There's been a lot of great teams at SPU. We're thankful they laid the foundation for us, all the players and coaches who came before,” Looney said.
 
“We're just trying to do well by all of them. I'm happy for our guys. They've been able to accomplish some things this year that nobody that has come before them in these jerseys has been able to. We're just hoping to keep it going as long as possible.”
 
SPU opened a 40-33 advantage on a tip-in by Andy Poling 1:46 into the second half. The Broncos scored the next eight points, claiming a brief 41-40 lead on Mitchel Anderson's fastbreak dunk with 13:58 left to play.
 
SPU tied the game on a free throw by Cory Hutsen. When Hutsen missed his second attempt, teammate Jobi Wall was there for the tip-in that put the Falcons ahead for good at 43-41 with 13:29 remaining.
 
That started SPU's 27-13 game-closing surge over the final 13:31. Simon (Ephrata, Wash./Ephrata HS) scored nine points during that span.
 
Looney was confident that the addition of Simon to this season's roster would pose matchup difficulties for opponents.
 
“There are very few guys with his size that can shoot it consistently from the 3-point line. It's a lot harder for defenders to get to and contest when Patrick is shooting it with that length.”
 
The 6-foot-8 junior forward made 6 of 11 shots from the field, including 4-for-6 accuracy from 3-point range. Simon registered his first double-double as a Falcon.
 
“He was unbelievably good on offense stretching their zone,” Looney described. “The other thing that was special his rebounding. Normally Riley Stockton is a guy who does a great job getting rebounds. Pomona made sure that they blocked him out, so Patrick got some of them that Riley normally gets.”
 
Stockton grabbed six rebounds just under his league-leading average of 7.6. SPU outboarded the Broncos 36-27.
 
Wall added 17 points for the Falcons, who also got 13 points and five assists from David Downs.
 
The Falcons utilized outstanding long-range shooting to attack Pomona's menacing matchup zone defense. They made a season-high 14 treys in 28 tries.
 
The second-seeded Broncos (28-3) sustained their first loss of a playoff game contested in Bellingham. They had won all nine previous postseason contests at WWU en route to a national finals appearance in 2009 and an NCAA championship in 2010.
 
Anderson led Pomona with 12 points and Jordan Faison had 10.
 
In the first half, the teams were never separated by more than five points.
 
Pomona went ahead 25-22 on a 3-pointer from Bryce Brady with 6:22 on the clock. The Falcons tallied the next seven points, the final five from Downs on a trey and two free throws, to lead 29-25.
 
SPU made its last three 3-pointers of the period, including two from Wall that were the team's final two baskets en route to e a 35-31 halftime margin.
 
The Falcons are participating in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive season, the longest current streak among Division II men's basketball teams. They won their opening-round game for the 19th time in 24 all-time playoff appearances, defeating Grand Canyon 85-59 on Friday.
 
Tuesday's West Region championship game winner earns a berth in the Elite Eight, scheduled for Mar. 28 and 30 in Louisville, Ky.
 
 
NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
West Region Semifinal
Monday, March 18, 2013
Carver Gymnasium/Bellingham, Wash.
 
(#2) Seattle Pacific 67, (#5) Cal Poly Pomona 54
 
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC  (27-3)
Wall 6-16 0-0 17, Simon 6-11 2-2 18, Poling 3-10 0-0 6, Downs 4-9 2-2 13, Stockton 2-5 0-0 6, Morse 1-3 0-0 2, Weber-Brader 1-2 0-0 2, Todd 1-1 0-0 2, Hutsen,Cory 0-1 1-2 1, Penner 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 5-6 67.
 
CAL POLY POMONA (28-3)
Drisdom 4-11 0-0 8, Anderson 5-11 1-1 12, Fall 3-5 3-4 9, Bell 4-4 1-1 9; Brady 2-7 0-0 6, Gacek 0-0 0-0 0, Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Rodriguez 0-2 0-0 0, Faison 4-11 2-5 10. Totals 22-51 7-11 54.
 
Seattle Pacific..........   35   32  -  67
Cal Poly Pomona..........   31   23  -  54

3-point goals--SPU 14-28 (Wall 5-11, Simon 4-6, Downs 3-6, Stockton 2-3, Morse 0-2), CPP 3-16 (Brady 2-7, Anderson 1-5, Drisdom 0-1, Rodriguez 0-1, Faison 0-2). Fouled out--SPU-None, CPP-None. Rebounds--SPU 36 (Simon 13), CPP 27 (Fall 6). Assists--SPU 18 (Downs 5), CPP 11 (Drisdom, Anderson 3). Total fouls--SPU 12, CPP 12. Technical fouls--SPU-None, CPP-None. Att.-419.


NEXT GAME
Seattle Pacific vs. Western Washington or Cal State San Benardino
Tuesday, Mar. 19, 8:30 p.m. PST
Carver Gymnasium/Bellingham, Wash.