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BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A career-high scoring performance Friday ensured that Jake Anderson's collegiate career would continue.
 
The senior forward came off the bench to tally 15 of his career-high 24 points inside the final 12 minutes, lifting No. 3-seeded Seattle Pacific to a 70-68 victory over No. 6 Dixie State in the opening round of the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament at Carver Gymnasium.
 
“I just didn't want it to end. I wanted to do this for the team, to keep on playing one more day,” Anderson explained. “I'll do whatever it takes. I don't really care if I score two, or 24 like tonight. I just want to keep on playing.”
 
Anderson and the rest of his teammates will keep on playing as the Falcons (22-7) advance to Saturday's West Region semifinal to play No. 2 seed Alaska Anchorage at 5 p.m. The 16th-ranked Seawolves defeated Montana State Billings 80-68 in their first-round contest.
 
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals split the regular-season meetings, with SPU winning 85-51 on Jan. 7 in Seattle and UAA posting a 78-69 decision on Feb. 2 in Anchorage.
 
Dixie State (20-7), the three-time Pacific West Conference champion, saw its season end one year after eliminating SPU from the 2011 playoffs with a similar two-point decision (75-73) in the second round.
 


Anderson, a product of nearby Burlington-Edison High School, more than doubled his previous season-high point total of 11. He hit 7 of 9 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Anderson eclipsed the career-high of 17 points he established in 2011 against Saint Martin's.
 
“It was really fun to watch the senior kind of take over and show us younger guys how much passion it takes to win a game like this,” said sophomore David Downs (Bellevue Christian HS), who scored 18 points for SPU.
 
The Red Storm erased an 18-point, first-half deficit and led 40-39 at halftime.
 
Anderson scored seven straight points, capped by a 3-pointer with 8:15 left to play that gave SPU its initial second-half lead at 56-52. That started a streak during which Anderson accounted for 15 of 18 Falcons points during a span of 10:22, the last coming on a 3-pointer with 1:20 remaining that extended their lead to 67-59.
 
Two SPU turnovers and a missed free throw enabled Dixie to go on a six-point spree and draw within 67-65 on a charity shot by Maurice Cole with 23.4 seconds to play.
 
The Falcons turned back the rally with a free throw by Downs at 23.0 and two by Andy Poling (Portland, Ore.) with 5.9 seconds on the clock.
 
Cole hit a top-of-the key 3-pointer at the buzzer to set the final score.
 
“We're excited to survive,” exclaimed SPU coach Ryan Looney. “I don't think one way or another we were going to get ourselves too rattled. It's just nice to see how we hung in there and found a way to get it done at the end.”
 
Downs and Poling each contributed 18 points for the Falcons. Anderson and Poling shared game-high rebound honors with eight, leading a 38-25 SPU advantage on the boards.
 
Cole and Griffon Jones each scored 19 points to pace the Red Storm, who also got 14 from McKay Massey.
 
Dixie State coach Jon Judkins said that his team was aware of the Falcon reserve's scoring ability, even though Anderson's only double-figure scoring games came in each of the last three outings.
 
“He started early in the year and we knew he could really shoot it. We kind of lost him a couple times, we didn't know where he was. He had a big game and hit some big shots.”
 
Anderson started and scored eight points in SPU's season-opening 58-42 win over the Red Storm in St. George, Utah on Nov. 11. He played as a reserve in 10 of the last 11 games.
 
In the first half Friday, SPU hit its first four shots and converted all three free throw attempts during the opening 3:03 to race out to a 12-0 lead. That margin grew to 18 points, at 20-2, after Downs made a pair of free throws with 14:08 left in the first half.
 
The Falcons hit 6 of their first 7 shots and were 3-of-4 from 3-point range at that point.
 
The opening four shots were off target for Dixie, which didn't get its first basket until 13:59 on a layup from Conner Atkin. That was the first of three consecutive field goals that started the process of chipping away at the deficit.
 
The Red Storm put together runs of seven, six and seven points. The last run provided their first lead, at 38-37, on a Kimball Payne layup with 45 seconds remaining.
 
Downs hit a runner to give SPU a brief lead before Massey drained a 17-foot jumper with one second on the clock that gave Dixie a one-point halftime edge. The Red Storm outscored SPU 38-19 during the final 14 minutes of the opening period.
 
The Falcons are participating in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive season, the longest current streak among Division II teams. They won their opening-round game for the 18th time in 23 all-time playoff appearances.
 
The West Regional championship game is slated for 7 p.m. Monday at Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham. 
 
NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT  – 1st round
Friday, March 9, 2012
Carver Gymnasium/Bellingham, Wash.
 
Seattle Pacific 70, Dixie State 68
 
DIXIE STATE (20-7)
Clegg 2-4 0-0 4, Jones 8-13 3-5 19, Jensen 1-7 2-2 4, Cole 6-13 4-5 19, Massey 5-12 1-2 14, Larson 1-3 4-4 6, Payne 1-2 0-0 2, Owen 0-1 0-0 0, Atkin 0-0 0-0 0, Frei 0-0 0-0 0, Groskreutz 0-2 0-0 0, Thompson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 14-18 68.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC  (22-7)
Wall 2-5 0-0 6; Hutsen 0-2 0-0 0; Poling 7-9 4-5 18; Downs 5-14 5-7 18; Stockton 1-4 1-2 4; Anderson 7-9 6-8 24; Moll 0-0 0-0 0; Morse 0-2 0-0 0; Niang 0-2 0-0 0; Carel 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 16-22 70.
 
Dixie State..............   40   28  -  68
Seattle Pacific..........   39   31  -  70

3-point goals--DSC 6-17 (Cole 3-7, Massey 3-9, Jensen 0-1), SPU 10-25 (Anderson 4-6, Downs 3-10, Wall 2-5, Stockton 1-3, Carel 0-1). Fouled out--DSC-Owen, SPU-Niang. Rebounds--DSC 25 (Jensen, Jones 6), SPU 38 (Anderson, Poling 8). Assists--DSC 11 (Cole 5), SPU 15 (Stockton 4). Total fouls--DSC 21, SPU 17. Technical fouls--DSC-None, SPU-None. A-293.


Next game
(#3) Seattle Pacific vs. (#2) Alaska Anchorage
Saturday, Mar. 10, 5:00 p.m. PST
Carver Gymnasium/Bellingham, Wash.