Box Score          
        • VIDEO: Coach Ryan Looney     |     • VIDEO: David Downs

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. –- Cal State Stanislaus dominated the backboards Friday, rebounding from a large deficit to end the Falcons fantastic season.
 
Senior David Downs scored 27 points in his final game for 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific, which led by as many as 18 points in the first half, but was unable to hold on in an 80-72 overtime loss to Stanislaus in the first round of the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament.
 
The second-seeded Falcons (26-6) saw their season end after losing for just the second time in their last 17 outings. They were the Great Northwest Athletic conference regular-season and tournament champions.
 


Cal State Stanislaus, seeded No. 7, stretched its winning streak to eight games. The Warriors were surprise winners of the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament last weekend. They advance to Saturday's West Region semifinal to play No. 3 seed Cal Poly Pomona (22-6) in Coussoulis Arena. The Broncos beat Dixie State 73-65 in their first-round contest.
 
Clinton Tremelling hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 11.2 seconds showing on the second-half clock to force overtime for Stanislaus.
 
"I don't know that we necessarily made a mistake that last possession before overtime when they hit a three to get it to that. They hit a tough shot," said SPU coach Ryan Looney. "We still had a chance on our end and unfortunately it didn't go in."
 
The Falcons' attempted game-winner, a jumper from the right baseline by Downs, rimmed off at the regulation buzzer.
 
Downs described the game plan for SPU's final possession in regulation.
 
"Just attack. They were in foul trouble. I went up for a shot and it was pretty rough. I thought he hit my arm. It was just a freak play and nothing was called so it went to overtime. We still had a chance to win the game."
 
After Downs drained a jumper 10 seconds into the extra session, the Warriors netted the next 11 points to gain control. Shey Mataele got a steal and layup with 33.5 seconds remaining to conclude the run with Stanislaus ahead 77-68.
 
A 6-foot-2 point guard, Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) received the GNAC and regional Player of the Year awards. He departs as SPU's No. 3 all-time scorer with 1,786 career points and ranks second in assists with 561.
 
Matt Borton scored 17 points for the Falcons and Cory Hutsen added 12. Senior Patrick Simon, the nation's most accurate 3-point shooter at 50 percent, missed his only three attempts beyond the arc. Simon was held to two points, well below his 16.5-point average that is the second highest on the team.
 
Taylor Bell led the Warriors with 18 points and Chris Read had 15. Marcus Bell scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead his team's 44-29 advantage on the boards.
 
"An important area is always rebounding and we kind of got dominated in that area tonight, minus-15 on the glass," Looney said. "As good as things were for us, we probably don't deserve to win too many games when that happens."
 
In the second half, Downs converted four straight free throws to put SPU ahead 47-35. The Warriors responded with 10 unanswered points, capped by a 3-pointer from Taylor Bell that brought them within 47-45 with 11:20 left to play.
 
Borton immediately pushed the margin back out to six with a four-point play after nailing a 3-pointer and making the subsequent free throw.
 
Stanislaus rallied again, this time scoring eight straight points and capturing its first lead, at 60-59, on a put-back layup by Rob Walters.
 
Downs answered with a 3-pointer on the next possession, putting the Falcons back in the lead and starting a 7-3 surge. They had a 66-63 edge with 25.3 seconds left when Riley Stockton made the second of two free throws. Tremelling's tying 3-pointer followed.
 
SPU shot just 32 percent (9 of 28) after halftime to finish at 43 percent (23 of 54) for the game. The Warriors shot 44 percent overall (27 of 61) on the strength of 57-percent accuracy (17 of 30) in the second half and overtime.
 
"Our guys did a great job sharing the ball and then as the game wore on, they did a better job taking away the 3-point line against us," Looney described. "Our percentages were going down and from there they were getting every rebound."
 


The Falcons scored the game's first four points and used stellar shooting to forge an early 14-point lead. They hit seven of their first eight shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, to go ahead 18-4 with 13:28 left. Stockton and Downs completed the spree with back-to-back treys.
 
Later in the half, Borton capped a 10-point SPU surge with eight consecutive points to provide a 30-12 advantage with 8:08 on the clock.
 
The next seven SPU attempts missed, enabling the Warriors to stage an 11-1 run and draw within 31-23 with 2:40 remaining.
 
The Falcons finished the half with a layups by Hutsen and Downs to claim a 35-23 lead at the break.
 
SPU shot 54 percent (14 of 26) in the opening period while limiting Stanislaus to 32-percent accuracy (10 of 31).
 
Looney said the post-game discussion in the locker room was not easy.
 
"It's tough. The biggest message we tried to send is that, in all reality this was a fantastic year with a disappointing finish."
 
The Falcons participated in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive season, the longest current streak among Division II men's basketball teams. They lost their opening-round game for only the sixth time in 25 all-time appearances.
 
 
NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
First Round
Friday, March 14, 2014
Coussoulis Arena/San Bernardino, Calif.
 
Cal State Stanislaus 80, #11 Seattle Pacific 72 (ot)
 
CAL STATE STANISLAUS (22-8)
Mataele 3-6 2-2 8, Marcus 0-4 3-4 3, Read 6-13 3-4 15, Bell, M. 7-17 3-5 17, Walters 3-6 3-4 9, Bell, T. 5-7 4-4 18, Tremelling 2-3 1-2 7, Barber 1-5 0-0 3, Carlson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-61 19-25 80.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC  (26-6)
Downs 6-14 12-15 27, Borton 6-9 2-4 17, Hutsen 6-14 0-1 12, Stockton 2-6 2-4 8, Penner 2-5 2-3 6, Simon 1-6 0-0 2, Todd 0-0 0-0 0, Carroll 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 18-27 72.
 
Cal State Stanislaus..........   23   43   14  -   80
Seattle Pacific...............   35   31    6  -   72
 
3-point goals--CSUS 7-16 (T. Bell 4-6, Tremelling 2-3, Barber 1-4, Marcus 0-2, Read 0-1), SPU 8-19 (Downs 3-6, Borton 3-4, Stockton 2-4, Simon 0-3, Penner 0-2). Fouled out--CSUS-None, SPU-Hutsen. Rebounds--CSUS 44 (M. Bell 13), SPU 29 (Borton, Stockton 6). Assists--CSUS 18 (Mataele 6), SPU 16 (Downs, Stockton 6). Total fouls--CSUS 24, SPU 21. Technical fouls--CSUS-None, SPU-None. Att.-641.