February 23, 2001

By Gary Rubin

Catawba's postseason hopes may rest at the line

Head coach Jim Baker's Catawba Indians got back to within a game of the South Atlantic Conference lead with two wins last week, including a 99-84 upset of No. 3 ranked Wingate on Valentine's Day. The two victories gave Catawba a 20-win season for the fourth time in the past five years.

Against Wingate, the highest rated opponent the program has ever faced, the Indians had all five starters score in double figures and account for 95 of the 99 points. From the opening tip, Catawba took it to the visiting Bulldogs. After jumping out to a 7-0 lead, Catawba never trailed and captured its 15th straight home win. The Indians ran away from Newberry 77-66 on Saturday night. Although they struggled from the line, making just 13 of 31 attempts, the Tribe shot a season-high 63.3 percent from the field.

Currently ranked No. 5 in the region, Catawba will have to improve its free throw shooting to make a move for postseason play. The Indians dropped to a league-low 57.6 percent from the free throw line after last weekend's games.

Baker is in his sixth season as the head coach of the men's basketball program at Catawba. During the previous two years, Baker guided the Indians to the NCAA II Tournament and his teams won nearly 70 percent of their games. In tight games, Catawba seems to thrive, owing a 29-14 record in games decided by five points or less at the start of this year.

Seattle Pacific ready for another championship run

Seattle Pacific returned to the NABC/Division II Bulletin Top 25 this week after scoring a big win over cross-state rival Central Washington on Saturday night. Nick Johnson's two free throws with 35 seconds remaining lifted head coach Ken Bone's Falcons to their seventh straight win, 83-82 in overtime over Central Washington, giving SPU its first regular season sweep of the Wildcats in 33 years.

Central Washington, which trailed by as much as 12 in the second period, sent the Pacific West Conference game to an extra period on a 3-pointer by Brandon Rinta with 34 seconds left in regulation. The Wildcats had a chance to win it with three seconds to go in overtime but Justin Bursch's off-balance 17-footer from the left baseline missed short. Brannon Stone, who led SPU with 28 points, grabbed his 10th rebound just before the buzzer to seal the victory, the Falcons' (12-3, 19-4) 11th in the last 12 games.

Bone and SPU are used to big games this time of the season. In addition to making five trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 in the past six years, his Falcons have won over 70 percent of their games and claimed five outright or shared Pacific West Conference championships. Bone has already risen to No. 2 in all-time school coaching wins (208), trailing only the legendary Les Habegger. In 2000, the Seattle Pacific program progressed further than ever before in national tournament, advancing to the semifinal round of the Elite Eight and setting a record for victories while going 27-5.

The next big game for the Falcons will be March 3, when they face Brad Jackson's Western Washington Vikings in what appears to be a showdown for the division championship.

Tip-ins

Head Coach Richard Schmidt's Tampa squad was the other team to return to the national Top 25 rankings this week. The Spartans are tied with Florida Southern atop the Sunshine State Conference standings and face second-place Eckerd on Wednesday (2/21) in what could be a game for the regular season championship.

West Chester head coach Dick DeLaney has his team on a six-game winning streak and in second place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East division behind Mike Mancino's Bloomsburg team. The two teams face off on Saturday.