March 11, 2006

Box Score

SEATTLE, Wash. - Grant Dykstra (Sr., Everson/Lynden Christian) scored a game-high 29 points and had a team-high five assists as Western Washington University defeated Chaminade University of Hawaii, 101-91, Saturday in a semifinal game of the West Regional of the NCAA Division II National Tournament at Royal Brougham Pavilion on the campus of Seattle Pacific University.

The triumph lifts the Vikings, the region's No.2 seed, to 23-6 overall. Western faces either Cal State Bakersfield or Seattle Pacific in the West Regional final Monday at 7 p.m. Center Tyler MacMullen (Sr., Mukilteo/Kamiak) had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Western.

Chaminade, the No.3 seed, finished the season 19-9. Corey Campbell came off the bench to lead the Silverswords with 23 points on 8-of-12 field-goal shooting.

Western held a 48-46 lead at halftime. A dunk by Chaminade's Chris Powell tied the score on the first possession of the second half, but seconds later, guard Zack Whiting, who had led the Silverswords with 11 points in the opening period, was ejected for throwing an elbow.

After the ejection, the Vikings immediately went on an 11-1 run, taking a 59-49 lead with 17 minutes to go. Western led the rest of the way, although Chaminade pulled to within two, 81-79, with 6:28 to play, and was still down by just three, 88-85, after two free throws by guard Chris Reaves with 3:55 left.

Dykstra hit a 3-pointer on the next possession to put Western back up by six, and after each team failed to score on their next three trips down court, guard Ryan Diggs (Sr., Victorville, CA/Silverado) hit two free throws with 1:32 left, putting the Vikings in control at 92-85. Western shot 56.7 percent (34-of-60) from the field, including 55.6 percent (15-of-27) on 3-pointers. The Vikings also had a 37-30 edge in rebounds.

"It was a very physical game, at this point in the season you fight and scrap for everything you get," said Western coach Brad Jackson. "We scored 101 points, but I still didn't feel we did that well offensively. It was very tough for three-quarters of the game before we finally got control and then we shot free throws well at the end.

Forward Tyler Amaya (Sr., Mount Vernon) had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Vikings. Diggs, who had a school-record 47 points in a 100-86 opening-round victory over Humboldt State on Friday, had 16 points. He had 14 in the second half after seeing limited action in the opening period, picking up two fouls in the first 62 seconds.

Besides Campbell, Chaminade had five other players score double figures. They were Reaves 14, Chris Nelson 13, Whiting and Kussler 11 each and Dylan McCune added 10. Marko Kolaric grabbed 11 rebounds for the Silverswords.

Dykstra improved his school-record career scoring total to 1,837, and Diggs is second with 1,768.

Dykstra carries Western men

Guard scores 29 points as Vikings win semifinal

DOUG PACEY, THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

SEATTLE - Grant Dykstra probably has a sore face today.

The Western Washington University senior guard's cheeks worked overtime on smiling after leading the second-seeded Vikings to a 101-91 win over Chaminade in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II West Regional on Saturday at Brougham Pavilion on the campus of Seattle Pacific University.

Western, ranked No. 16 in the Div. II coaches' poll, face Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m. on Monday for trip to the Elite Eight at Springfield, Mass.

Dykstra scored a game-high 29 points, drilling 7 of 9 3-pointers, and had 5 assists. He also took an elbow to his face that nearly knocked him out and resulted in Silverswords point guard Zack Whiting's ejection.

Whiting's elbow rammed Dykstra's face with so much force that it spun him around before he landed on the court, where he laid for a few moments.

"The ref already called the foul on the guy," Dykstra said. "So I laid there for a few minutes.'

Whiting was assessed a flagrant foul and left the court with the game tied at 48. Dykstra made two free throws and Western (23-6) had the lead the rest of the game.

"Zack is our best defender, our best point guard," said Chaminade coach Matt Mahar. "It would have been a different game with him in there."

Whiting made an impact before he left, making 5 of 6 shots from the field for 11 points in 14 minutes. The third-seeded Silverswords (19-9) didn't fold after the departure of their point guard, though. They trailed 88-85 with less than four minutes left in the game.

But Dykstra, the Daktronics West Region Player of the Year, did in Chaminade again, hitting a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a cushion.

"I hit my first couple shots and felt good," said Dykstra, who made his first four 3-point attempts. "I kept shooting and guys made the extra pass."

Dykstra wasn't the only Viking cashing in on 3-pointers. Tyler Amaya connected on three and Ryan Diggs and Preston Vermeulen each hit two. Western made 55.6 percent of its 3-pointers, going 15-for-27 from beyond the arc. The Vikings shot 56.7 percent from the field.

Center Tyler MacMullen notched a double-double, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Amaya had 19 points and 8 rebounds.

One game after scoring a school- and Great Northwest Athletic Conference-record 47 points, Ryan Diggs was limited to 16 in only 23 minutes because of foul trouble. He had only two points at halftime and scored 12 during the last six minutes of the game.

Six Silverswords scored in double figures, led by reserve guard Corey Campbell's 23 points. Sharp-shooting guard Chris Reaves was held to 14 points, getting 10 from free throws.