WWU vs SPU or Something FSN Actually Got Right

On Wednesday January 26th, another chapter was added in the men's basketball rivalry between the Western Washington University Vikings and the Seattle Pacific University Falcons as the two battled it out at Royal Brougham Pavilion in Seattle Washington. Like most in this rivalry, the game was a thriller.


The game had everything and was truly exciting. It kept the fans at Royal Brougham engrossed for the entire game. Led by the Orange Men, an SPU super fan group, the entire arena stayed loud for all 40 minutes. The Vikings scored first and kept that lead the whole first half finishing with a 36-31 lead. Both teams looked engerized by the rivalry aspect of the game and played hard. WWU PG John Allen looked unstoppable amassing 17 points on 7-8 shooting in the first half. 

Yay, we're winning!

Unfortunately for the Vikings early in the second half Allen took a nasty spill and was never able to get back in a groove, failing to score in the second half. The rest of his team failed to pick up the slack, jacking up forced shots, resulting in only 40% shooting. Led by C Andy Poling SPU capitalized on the Viking's short comings. The shorter Viking players were unable to stop the 6'11" Poling and SPU captured the lead around the 12 minute mark in the second half. Even with the poor shooting and lackadaisical defense the Vikings managed to keep it close. They pulled within two in the waining seconds of the game. Ultimately the Vikings just ran out of time and SPU notched another home victory.

Boo we lost.

The game was shown on TV by FSN, who is featuring Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball this season. Although I did not see the broadcast (because I was at the game), I can't think of a better showcase for GNAC basketball. It is great that FSN is choosing to show select local Division II games live. Unlike many of the larger Division I programs, the althetes in Division II are truly student-athletes. Most don't have dellusions of NBA career. They come to the school to get an education and play the sport they love. Athletes like this set a great example for high school and junior high student-athletes. In addition, a higher percentage of the players in the GNAC are from Washington and Oregon. Broadcasting GNAC games allows these player's skills to be showcased in front of their friends and family.

The SPU game won't be Western's only feature on FSN. On 2/16/11 the Central Washington University Wildcats will take on the Western Washington University Vikings at 7:00pm in Carver Gym in Bellingham. When I was at Western, this matchup drew more fans and campus attention then any other. They were always exciting and often went down to the wire. This year should be no different. The Wildcats currently sit atop the GNAC standings with a 17-1 (10-1 conf) record. The Viking's currently sit in fourth with a 11-7 (6-4 conf) record. However, WWU's mens basketabll team has the advantage of being at home where they are 8-0 this year. That is a strong home court advantage if I have ever seen one. I for one look forward to watching another classic WWU rivalry on FSN.