Vikings beat SPU on buzzer-beater

Submitted by admin on Mon, 01/12/2015 - 10:17am

Ricardo Maxwell scored a team-high 17 points, including a game-winning layup at the buzzer, lifting Western Washington University to a 68-66 triumph over Seattle Pacific University on Saturday, Jan. 10, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contest at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.

The game was telecast live on ROOT Sports.

Center Mac Johnson (Jr., Spokane/Gonzaga Prep) added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Vikings, who improved to 9-6 overall and 2-3 in the GNAC. It was their 12th straight win at home, the eighth this season, and their 48th in the last 49 games at Carver Gym, with the lone loss being last season against SPU.

The Falcons, who had a six-game winning streak snapped, fell to 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the GNAC. Shawn Reid came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points for SPU. The Vikings held a six-point lead, 66-60, inside the final two minutes, but the Falcons rallied with six straight points, tying the score on two Mitch Penner free throws with 3.7 seconds left.

But following a time out, Maxwell took an inbound pass and dribbled up the left side, scooping the ball in off the glass as time expired.

Maxwell, who had missed the last three games with a bruised knee and didn't start Saturday, had 11 of his points in the second half.

The game featured 11 ties and four lead changes, with no double-digit margins the entire game. SPU held a 29-27 lead at halftime.

Jeffrey Parker (So., Richmond, CA/Salesian) had 13 points for WWU, 11 of them in the second half. Anye Turner (Sr., Tumwater/Black Hills) had team highs of nine rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots.

Cory Hutsen had 12 points for the Falcons, and Penner added 11. Riley Stockon had nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds, as SPU had a 44-29 margin on the boards.

WWU travels to Central Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 14 (8 p.m.), for a GNAC counter that will be telecast live on ROOT Sports.