Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Ricardo Maxwell drove the length of the court for a buzzer-beating layup, lifting Western Washington to a 68-66 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball win over Seattle Pacific late Saturday night at Carver Gymnasium.
 
SPU's Mitch Penner was fouled with 3.7 seconds left in regulation and converted both free throws to tie the score at 66-66.
 
The subsequent inbounds pass went to Maxwell in the backcourt near the free throw line. He rapidly dribbled down the left side of the floor and flipped the ball in off the left side of the glass with his right hand.
 
"We thought they would do something similar to that," SPU coach Ryan Looney explained. "Our big thing is that we needed to make the ball-handler change direction at least one time and we didn't. He had a straight-line drive to the rim."
 
The game was broadcast live on ROOT SPORTS and televised replays revealed a close call with the ball perhaps still in Maxwell's hand as the backboard lit up. The final shot was not reviewed by the referees.
 
"I'm disappointed that the officials didn't look at the monitor," Looney said. "It looked like the red light was on and the ball was still in his hand."
 
The Falcons (12-4) fell out of first place and saw their league ledger move to 4-2.

 

Reserve Shawn Reid scored 21 points to lead SPU, which also got 12 from Cory Hutsen and 11 from Penner. Riley Stockton scored nine points and pulled in 14 rebounds to lead the visitor's 44-29 advantage on the boards.
 
Maxwell finished with 17 points to lead WWU (9-6), which improved to 2-3 in GNAC play. Mac Johnson added 16 points and Jeffrey Parker had 13.
 
The Vikings were victorious for the first time in their last four meetings with SPU. They won for the 48th time in their last 49 home games, the lone setback being a 76-60 loss to Seattle Pacific a year ago.
 
SPU claimed its final lead, at 40-38, on two Hutsen free throws with 14:11 left to play.
 
The Vikings then reeled off nine unanswered points, including back-to-back layups by Johnson. The spree produced a 47-40 lead with 12:22 remaining.
 
SPU's Brendan Carroll stopped that run with a long jumper at 11:57, but Western netted the next four points to take its largest margin at 51-42.
 
The Falcons chipped away at the deficit and made three straight shots to forge a six-point run that tied the score at 56 with 4:49 to play.
 
Western notched the next six points and owned a similar six-point edge before SPU's late rally.

 

Stockton scored on a put-back layup and, following two missed free throw's by WWU's Parker, Hutsen drained two free throws with 43.4 seconds left.
 
Anye Turner missed a jumper on the Vikings next possession, enabling SPU to get the tying free throws from Penner and set up the dramatic finish.
 
The Falcons were held under 40-percent for just the second time. They shot 39 percent (23 of 59) from the field, made 4 of 14 attempts from 3-point range and were 16 of 21 from the line.
 
"They have a lot of length and maybe that bothered us a little bit," said Looney. "But execution of stuff on offense from our part had a lot to do with it too. We just weren't at a place we needed to be mentally."
 
WWU countered with 45-percent accuracy (24 of 53) from the floor, 3 of 8 shooting on treys and a 17-for-28 free throw ledger.
 
In the first half, the Falcons made just one of their opening seven shots to fall behind 9-2.
 
Hutsen halted that drought with a jump hook at 15:15 and followed with a layup to ignite a seven-point surge.
 
Reid came off the bench and capped the run with a 3-pointer at 13:16 that evened the score at 9-9. That started a personal streak for Reid, who tallied 12 of the Falcons next 14 points en route to a 20-16 lead with 7:28 left in the first half.
 
The teams traded baskets during the final seven minutes and Maxwell's layup with three seconds remaining drew Western within 29-27 at halftime.
 
"We didn't play as well as we're capable of playing," Looney said. "There were a lot of mental mistakes in the game and something that we're immediately going to need to get fixed."
 
The SPU men return home for a pair of games next week at Brougham Pavilion They entertain league co-leader Alaska Anchorage on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday at 5:15 p.m.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
 
at Western Washington 68, Seattle Pacific 66
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (12-4, 4-2 GNAC)
Borton 0-6 0-0 0, Penner 1-6 9-10 11, Hutsen 4-13 4-4 12, Stockton 4-6 1-1 9, Carroll 4-7 0-0 9, Reid 8-14 2-2 21, Parker 1-2 0-0 2, Rasmussen 1-4 0-4 2, Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Leavitt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-59 16-21 66.
 
WESTERN WASHINGTON (9-6, 2-3 GNAC)
Turner 2-9 1-4 5, Parker 5-10 2-4 13, Johnson 6-10 4-6 16, Schreiber 1-5 3-5 5, Javier 1-2 2-2 5, Maxwell 6-12 5-7 17, Impero 2-4 0-0 5, Hopkins 1-1 0-0 2, Bowen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 17-28 68.
 
Seattle Pacific........   29   37  -  66
Western Washington.....   27   41 -   68
 
3-point goals--SPU 4-14 (Reid 3-4, Carroll 1-2, Penner 0-2, Stockton 0-1, Parker 0-1, Rasmussen 0-2, Borton 0-2), WWU 3-8 (Impero 1-1, Parker 1-2, Javier 1-1, Schreiber 0-1, Maxwell 0-3). Fouled out--SPU-None, WWU-None. Rebounds--SPU 44 (Stockton 14), WWU 29 (Turner 9). Assists--SPU 10 (Stockton, Carroll 4), WWU 12 (Turner 5). Total fouls--SPU 22, WWU 19. Technical fouls--SPU-None, WWU-None. Att-1492.
 
 
Next Men's Basketball Game
Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Jan. 15, 7:30 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.