SEATTLE -- Jeff Downs poured in 20 points and tied his career high with six 3-pointers, and Ryan Sweet had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, powering11th-ranked Seattle Pacific to an 88-68 victory against Alaska Fairbanks on Homecoming Saturday in Brougham Pavilion.
The Falcons (16-2, 7-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) won their seventh straight game.
Junior wing Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) hit 6 of 10 from downtown. He also hit six treys on Nov. 22, 2008 at home against Cal State San Bernardino.
The double-double for junior post player Sweet (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap HS) was his second of the season.
Downs sparked a game-clinching scoring run for the Falcons, who were up by just eight at 70-62 with 6:38 left. He hit a 3-pointer from the left of the lane to make it 73-62, starting an 8-0 surge. Sweet added a pair of free throws, and senior guard Brandon Larrieu (Puyallup, Wash./Franklin Pierce HS) buried a 3-pointer from 24 feet away on the right side, pushing the lead to 78-62.
After Joe Powell of the Nanooks put in a short shot from right in front of the hoop, Downs drained a trey from the left of the lane, then hit a pair of free throws, effectively putting the game out of reach at 83-64 with just 2:23 remaining.
The Falcons built a quick 19-point lead in the first half, up 27-8 less than eight minutes into the game. But the Nanooks (6-10, 1-6 GNAC) went on a 16-3 run to get back into it, and twice got within five early in the second half.
Larrieu finished with 13 points for Seattle Pacific. Senior wing Rob Diederichs (Shoreline, Wash./Shorewood HS) chipped in 12 and handed out six assists. Junior point guard Chris Banchero (Seattle, O’Dea HS), coming off a career-high 33 points in Thursday’s 80-71 victory against Alaska Anchorage, also had six assists.
Alaska Fairbanks was led by the 19 points of Nashorn Maynard. Emmanuel Jenkins added 16.
The Falcons shot an even 50 percent for the game (30 of 60), including 40 percent (12 of 30) from behind the arc. That was their most attempts of the season from 3-point range, and one shy of their season high for successful treys. Fairbanks hit 46.8 percent (29 of 62) as the SPU defense kept the Nanooks 12 points below their season scoring average of 80.7.
Seattle Pacific returns to action Thursday night at Central Washington. The game in Ellensburg tips off at 7:30 p.m.
NCAA Men's Basketball
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
(No. 11) Seattle Pacific 88, Alaska Fairbanks 68
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (6-10, 1-6 GNAC)
Maynard,Nashorn 8-16 3-3 19; Jenkins,Emmanuel 7-16 0-0 16; Smith,Kyle 3-4
0-0 8; Powell,Joe 3-5 1-2 7; Moe,Jon 2-8 0-0 6; King,Mason 3-5 0-0 6;
Edwards,Bo 3-5 0-2 6; Jones,Deante 0-2 0-0 0; Daniel,Cole 0-1 0-0 0;
Conn-Baird,Melvin 0-0 0-0 0; Edwin,Clayton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 4-7 68.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (16-2, 7-0 GNAC)
Downs, Jeff 6-12 2-2 20; Sweet, Ryan 5-8 6-7 16; Larrieu, Brandon 5-10 0-1
13; Diederichs, Rob 4-8 3-4 12; Banchero, Chris 2-9 4-4 8; Wardell, Adam 3-5
1-1 8; Anderson, Jake 3-4 0-0 6; Vranes, Colby 1-2 0-0 3; Campanaro,
Chauncey 1-1 0-0 2; Morse, Scott 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-60 16-19 88.
Alaska Fairbanks.............. 33 35 - 68
Seattle Pacific................... 43 45 - 88
3-point goals--Alaska Fairbanks 6-13 (Moe,Jon 2-5; Smith,Kyle 2-2;
Jenkins,Emmanuel 2-4; Daniel,Cole 0-1; King,Mason 0-1), Seattle Pacific
12-30 (Downs, Jeff 6-10; Larrieu, Brandon 3-6; Vranes, Colby 1-2; Wardell,
Adam 1-3; Diederichs, Rob 1-4; Morse, Scott 0-1; Banchero, Chris 0-4).
Fouled out--Alaska Fairbanks-None, Seattle Pacific-None. Rebounds--Alaska
Fairbanks 32 (Maynard,Nashorn 10), Seattle Pacific 34 (Sweet, Ryan 10).
Assists--Alaska Fairbanks 12 (Jenkins,Emmanuel 8), Seattle Pacific 23
(Banchero, Chris 6; Diederichs, Rob 6). Total fouls--Alaska Fairbanks 18,
Seattle Pacific 7. Technical fouls--Alaska Fairbanks-None, Seattle
Pacific-None. A-1,517.