Division II West Regional first found matchups

Game 1:  #3 Seattle Pacific University vs.  #6 BYU-Hawaii 12:30 p.m.

Seattle Pacific University enters round one of the West Regional Division II tournament on a sour note. The 22-5 Falcons had their sights set on hosting the regional tournament after wrapping up the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Champions, but dropped their last two games of the regular season, opening the door for tournament host Western Washington University.

Currently ranked 18th in the nation, the Falcons are dancing for their sixth straight season and their 14th out of their last 17 campaigns. Seattle Pacific is led by GNAC Player of the Year junior point guard Chris Banchero, who averages a team high 19.5 points per game.  Banchero’s backcourt mate senior guard Brandon Larrieu is averaging 15.8 points per game and both guards know how to light up a scoreboard fast.

BYU-Hawaii leaves the islands and brings to the mainland a record of 20-5 and a share of the Pacifc West Conference Championship. The Seasiders were riddled with injuries early in the season, but since healthy BYU-Hawaii has been on a tear, ripping off 13 straight wins.

The Seasiders are led by Taiwanese sophomore guard Tsung-Hsien “Jet” Chang.  Chang suffered a broken arm early in the season and was expected to be out the entire year. Ahead of schedule, Chang, who is averaging 19.4 points a night, has returned to the Seasiders with a vengeance.

Another player to watch for is BYU-Hawaii senior forward Lucas Alves, who is averaging 15 .4 points per game. All together the Seasiders have six players who averaging double-digit points.

Seattle Pacific and BYU-Hawaii have met earlier this season in non-conference play in a tournament at Seattle Pacific. The Falcons won the matchup 78-72, but the Seasiders were without Alves, who was absent due to injury. Banchero poured in 20 points for the Falcons and Seasider senior guard Virgil Buensuceso led the charge for BYU-Hawaii with 20 points of his own. Chang had 17 in the losing effort.

Reason to Watch: Two of the more prolific high scoring guards on the Division II West Coast circuit go at it. Seattle Pacific’s Banchero and BYU-Hawaii’s Chang will likely provide offensive fireworks and will be fun to watch head-to-head.

Game Recap:

 

 

Game 1 #3 Seattle Pacific University vs. #6 BYU-Hawaii

The third-seeded Seattle Pacific University Falcons came out sluggish and BYU-Hawaii took advantage. Exerting their physicality, the sixth seeded Seasiders slashed and outmuscled their way to a 76-72 victory despite 22 point from Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year junior guard Chris Banchero.

The Seasiders were led by a dominating performance from their big man from Brazil, senior center Lucas Alves. Alves poured in 20 points in the winning effort and ripped down 12 rebounds. Shifting continents now, BYU Hawaii’s Taiwan import Tsung-Hsien “Jet” Chang was another key contributor to the opening round victory as he gave added 15 points on 6-17 shooting.

“Coach has always wanted me to play with confidence in the paint,” Alves said. “We were able to get the ball down low and get them into foul trouble.”

Getting into foul trouble is an issue Seattle Pacific has been facing all season Seattle Pacific head coach Ryan Looney said. 6-foot-5 senior forward Rob Diederichs and 6-foot-7 junior center Ryan Sweet is all the Falcons had to combat Alves physical dominance. Sweet committed four fouls early and Seattle Pacific found themselves with a major size deficiency.

BYU-Hawaii built a seven point lead in the first half going up 19-12 on a Chang layup and the momentum swung in the Seasiders’ favor. Seattle Pacific battled back trading baskets for most of the first half and found themselves trailing 35-30 going into the break. BYU-Hawaii outshot the Falcons in the first half 44 to 32 percent.

The Falcons opened up the second half with a 17-12 run and knotted things up at 49 on a Banchero layup with 13:30 remaining in the contest. Unfortunately for the GNAC champion Falcons, that would be the closest they would get the rest of the game as the Seattle Pacific could never break though a stingy BYU-Hawaii defense.

“Overall this year has been a success,” Seattle Pacific head coach Looney said. “We learned our lesson down the stretch by not handling the end of the regular season.”

Seattle Pacific dropped the last two games of the season moving them from the first to third seed in the West Regional Tournament. More importantly, the struggles down the stretch pitted the Falcons against BYU-Hawaii, a team that many consider a favorite to win the West Regional.

BYU-Hawaii’s win sets them up with a semi final matchup, 5:00 p.m. March 13 at Carver Gym against second-seeded Cal State San Bernardino. CSU San Bernardino beat the seventh seeded Humboldt State University in their quarterfinal matchup
 

 

Game 2: #2 Humboldt State University vs. #7 Cal State University San Bernardino 2:30 p.m.

Humboldt State and Cal State San Bernardino are California Collegiate Athletic Association foes and know each other quite well.

This matchup will mark the fourth time the two teams have met this year. The Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes split the regular season series with Humboldt State, but had the upper hand in their CCAA tournament semi final round, beating the Jacks 64-55 en route to the tournament championship crown.

The second seeded Jacks are 22-7 and split the CCAA regular season title with west regional fourth seed Cal Poly Pomona. Humboldt State is led by junior forward Brian Morris, who comes into the regional tournament averaging 15 points per game and grabbing a team high 6.4 rebounds per night.

Senior guard Zac Tiedeman is another dangerous player who will be essential to a successful tournament run for the Jacks. Tiedeman is averaging 12.4 points per game and can light it up from deep as he shoots 47 percent beyond the arch. He is also second in the CCAA in assists with 4.8 per night.

For the 11th time in 12 seasons CSU San Bernardino is heading to the dance. The Coyotes have won the West Regional Tournament three times, 1999, 2002 and 2007. They are 22-7 on the year and lead the CCAA in scoring with an average of 73.3 points per game. The Coyotes are led by senior forward Bryan LeDuc. LeDuc leads the team with 14.4 points a game and leads the CCAA with 8.1 rebounds per outing.

Junior guard Corey Caston is another key ingredient to the success of CSU San Bernardino. Caston can put points on the board and knows how to distribute the rock as he is averaging 11.5 points per game and lead the CCAA this season in assists with 5.3 per game. He also is active on defense and leads the CCAA in steals as well.

Reason to Watch: Both these teams lost in the first round of the 2009 West Regional Tournament and will undoubtedly be determined to advance further this year. In each of the three Humboldt State-CSU San Bernardino contests this season, each game was decide by less than 10 points. These bitter CCAA rivals know each other’s game like they know their families and should provide for a hard-fought, spirited game.
 
 
 
 

Game 3: #4 Cal Poly Pomona vs. #5 Dixie State 5:30 p.m.

The 22-6 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos were riding a 15-game winning streak before they lost in the CCAA Tournament Championship game at the hands of west regional seventh seed CSU San Bernadino. The Broncos have established a rich tradition in the NCAA Tournament as of late. Cal Poly Pomona has won the regional tournament three times this decade in 2003, 2005 and 2009. Last year the Broncos rallied all the way to the Division II Championship game where they fell to Division II Champion Findlay University.

Besides enjoying success in the NCAA Division II Tournament, the Broncos have made Bellingham their home away from home as they have an all-time record of 5-0 in Carver Gym. 2009s tournament bid marks the sixth time in eight years the Broncos have gone dancing.

Cal Poly doesn’t have an explosive offense. The Broncos have just one player who is averaging double-digit scoring. Senior guard Austin Swift averages 12.4 points per game.

Where the Broncos lack in offense production they make up in defense. Disrupting CCAA opponents all season, Cal Poly Pomona touts the best defense in the nation, allowing just 54.9 points per game, seven points less than any other CCAA team. Other key Bronco players are Junior forward Donnelle Booker, who averages 9.7 points per game and pulls down 5.7 rebounds a night and sophomore forward Dwayne Fells, who enters Friday’s contest averaging 9.1 points per game.

The 20-5 Dixie State Red Storm, hailing from St. George, Utah, enter Friday’s regional game as regular season co-champions of the Pacific West Conference, sharing the crown with regional tournament sixth seeded BYU-Hawaii. The 2009-2010 Red Storm have made history as they embark on their first ever NCAA Tournament berth.

Dixie State is averaging 77.4 points per game and lead the Pacific West Conference in three point shooting percentage connecting on 40 percent of their attempts. The Red Storm are led by junior forward Tom Whitehead, who is averaging 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Other contributor’s key to Dixie State’s success is junior guard Donovan Plunkett, who averages 13.9 points a game and Andy Palmer, who is averaging 10.9 points a game.

Reason to watch: Cal Poly Pomona and Dixie State have completely contrasting styles.  While the Red Storm will try to outscore opponents, setting a school record of 106 points in a game this season, the Broncos lock teams down on defense. While Cal Poly Pomona has established themselves as major players in the NCAA Division II Tournament, Dixie State is trying to make a name for themselves. Something has to give. To add even more intrigue, this is the first time in history these two teams will face off.
 
 

 
 

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