Box Score           • Final Stats     |     • VIDEO: David Downs

 
If David Downs continues to perform like he did in the 91-88 victory over 24th-ranked Western Washington, Anderson may be the only player the senior guard doesn't pass on SPU's scoring list.
 
Downs poured in a career-high 36 points and distributed seven assists, helping 15th-ranked Seattle Pacific solidify its first-place position in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball standings.
 
"I couldn't be more excited for David. On the biggest stage we've been on so far this year, he delivered," Coach Ryan Looney said of the impressive scoring display in front of 1,439 fans.

Downs surpassed the previous career-best total of 34 points that he produced against Dixie State earlier this season at home on Nov. 16.
 


The Falcons (22-4) extended their winning streak to 11 games and improved to 13-2 in league play. They now have a 2 ½-game lead in pursuit of the conference championship with two weeks left in the regular season. SPU has three games left to play and the Vikings have four.
 
"For us it's not necessarily about winning a conference title," said Looney. "It's about putting ourselves in the best possible position in the postseason later this year.
 
"It will be great if we can win another GNAC title, but at the end of the day we're trying to the best job we can every single day here late to give ourselves the best position in the NCAA Tournament."
 
The SPU men are seeking their fifth GNAC regular-season championship since the league was formed in 2001-02. They captured the 2010 and 2006 conference titles outright and shared the crown in 2002 and 2007.
 
Western (16-6) suffered its second straight loss to drop to 10-4 in league play, but retained its second-place standing.
 
The Falcons swept the regular-season series, including a 76-60 triumph in Bellingham on Jan. 15. Downs doubled the 18 points in scored in that first meeting versus WWU.
 
SPU stretched a four-point halftime lead to 54-43 by hitting all six of their shots in the first four minutes. Patrick Simon and Downs nailed back-to-back 3-pointers, Riley Stockton made a layup and Downs converted to free throws to forge a run of 10 unanswered points.
 
Late in the game, Western scored five straight points and drew within 81-78 when Austin Bragg hit the second of two free throws with 1:52 left to play.
 
Simon stopped that surge with a 3-pointer at 1:33 on SPU's next possession.
 
Richard Woodworth scored in the lane and was fouled to complete a three-point play and again bring WWU within three at 84-81 with 1:26 remaining.
 
But the Falcons converted 4 of 5 free throws inside the final 16 seconds to seal the win.
 
 
Both teams shot above 50 percent. WWU finished at 57.9 percent (33 of 57) and was 5 of 15 from 3-point range. SPU shot 57.4 percent (31 of 54) and hit 8 of 17 treys.
 
Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) shot 10-for-19 from the field and 4-for-8 on 3-pointers. He converted 12 of 13 free throws.
 
The 6-foot-2 point guard moved into the No. 3 spot among all-time SPU playmakers with 538 career assists. He moved past Roland Campbell who dished 533 assists from 1975-78.
 
Downs amassed 64 points in two wins this week with 28 of them coming in Thursday's 89-79 decision over Simon Fraser. He increased his career point total to 1,650. That is five points shy of the school's No. 3 scorer Jeff McBroom, whose 1,655 points were compiled from 1996-99.
 
If Downs can accumulate 148 more points he will move into the No. 2 position, passing Dustin Bremerman who scored 1,797 points from 2003-07. That would put him right behind Anderson, whose lead appears safe with a 151-point cushion in the No. 1 scoring spot.
 
Looney believes that Downs compares favorably to Anderson and any of the other Falcons basketball legends.
 
"I've only been at SPU for five years, but I know the history and that there has been a ton of great players that have come through here. But there are not a lot of guys I'd rather have than David Downs."
 
Simon finished with 22 points for SPU and Cory Hutsen had 14.
 
Woodworth tallied 25 points to pace Western, which also got 21 from Bragg and 14 from Jeffrey Parker.
 
Neither team led by more than seven points during a tight first half.
 
The Vikings tallied the game's first five points before SPU answered with 12 straight, including five from Downs on two free throws and a 3-pointer. Simon capped the surge with a jumper that provided a 12-5 lead 3:13 into the contest.
 
WWU rallied with a late seven-point run, the final five from Bragg, to tie the score 36-36 with 42 seconds left in the half.
 
The Falcons got four points on the final possession to claim a 40-36 halftime edge. Downs made a free throw and then, after teammate Mitch Penner rebounded the missed second attempt, drained a trey with five seconds on the clock.
 
"That was huge. Mitch gave us great momentum going into the half," Looney exclaimed.
 
"Matt (Borton) had the late offensive rebound at the end of the second half and Mitch had that one at the end of the first half. We always talk about those being the type of plays that dictating winning."
 
The visitors shot 58 percent (14 of 24) in the opening half and SPU countered with 52 percent accuracy (14 of 27). The difference was from long range as the Falcons were 5 of 11 on treys and WWU 3 of 8.
 
The Falcons complete their home schedule on Saturday, Feb. 22 against Montana State Billings. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion.
 
SPU won this year's first meeting in Billings, a 92-87 double-overtime decision on Jan. 25.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at (#15) Seattle Pacific 91, (#24) Western Washington 88
 
WESTERN WASHINGTON (16-6, 10-4 GNAC)
Parker 6-12 0-1 14, Mitchell 4-5 0-2 8, Bragg 8-9 3-6 21, Harris 3-9 0-0 6, Woodworth 8-12 8-10 25, Abe 0-0 0-0 0, Thorpe 1-1 1-1 3, Schreiber 2-5 4-5 8, Turner 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 33-57 17-27 88.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (22-4, 13-2 GNAC)
Simon 9-12 1-3 22, Hutsen 6-7 2-5 14, Downs 10-19 12-13 36, RStockton 3-4 1-3 8, Borton 1-2 1-2 3, Carroll 1-3 2-2 4, Todd 0-1 0-0 0, Penner 1-6 2-2 4. Totals 31-54 21-30 91.

Western Washington............   36   52  -   88
Seattle Pacific...............   40   51  -   91

3-point goals – WWU 5-15 (Parker 2-4, Bragg 2-2, Harris 0-3, Woodworth 1-4, Schreiber 0-2), SPU 8-17 (Simon 3-4l Downs 4-8, Stockton 1-2, Borton 0-1, Carroll 0-2). Fouled out – WWU: Bragg. SPU: Hutsen. Rebounds – WWU 25 (Mitchell 4), SPU 32 (Stockton 7). Assists – WWU 9 (Harris 5), SPU 14 (Downs 7). Turnovers – WWU 4, SPU 8. Total fouls – WWU 26, SPU 24. Technical fouls – SPU: Stockton. Att – 1,439.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Montana State Billings at (#15) Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Feb. 22, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.