March 11, 2005

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Guard Ryan Diggs (Jr., Victorville, CA/Silverado) scored a team-high 21 points to lead five Vikings in double figures as Western Washington University defeated Brigham Young University-Hawaii, 80-69, in opening-round action Friday at the West Regional of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the Western Washington University campus.

Western, the No.1 seed in the region and ranked No.15 in the NABC/NCAA II Coaches Poll, improved to 22-6 overall. Forward Grant Dykstra (Jr., Everson/Lynden Christian) had 18 points and six steals for the Vikings. BYU-Hawaii, seeded eighth, completed its season 17-8. Center Jake Chrisman had a game-high 28 points for the Seasiders, and forward Austin Smylie had 14 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

The score was tied at 48-48 with 12 minutes left, but the Vikings went on an 11-3 run, with Dykstra scoring the first six points, to take a 59-51 lead with 9:37 to play, and led the rest of the way.

BYU-Hawaii pulled to within three, 62-59, on a layup by Chrisman with 7:11 left, but got no closer, and the margin was never less than six in the last three minutes.

Forward Tyler Amaya (Jr., Mount Vernon) had 11 points and nine rebounds for Western, center Tyler MacMullen (Jr., Mukilteo/Kamiak) had 10 points and nine rebounds, and guard Kyle Jackson (Jr., Bellingham/Sehome) had 10 points.

MacMullen had all of his points in the first 10 minutes, helping Western open up a 20-13 lead with 10:33 left in the first half. The Vikings were up by nine, 34-25, with two minutes remaining in the period, but the Seasiders ran off eight straight points to narrow the margin to one at halftime, 34-33.

Guard Thomas Watkins had 14 points for BYU-Hawaii, which had a 44-33 edge in rebounds.

Western will meet Alaska Fairbanks in a semifinal game at 7 p.m. Saturday.