SEATTLE (Jan. 24) – Rob Diederichs scored 10 of the last 17 points for Seattle Pacific, as the Falcons rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to edge Western Oregon 62-60 in GNAC play Thursday night at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (12-3, 4-2) found a way to win despite leading scorer Marques Echols (17.1 ppg) being sidelined with a hip-injury.

The Wolves (9-7, 2-5)controlled the game for much of the first half.  WOU big men Liam Hughes (7'3”) and Adonal Arrington (6'11”) clogged the paint defensively, altering many of the Falcons' shot attempts and giving SPU center Rob Will little room to operate.

WOU held a 34-33 halftime lead with Brad Krichevsky tallying all 11 of his points before the break.

Mike McLaughlin scored six points during a 10-0 run to open the half as the Wolves held their biggest lead at 44-33.

Casey Reed rallied SPU, hitting a three from the left wing and draining 3 of 4 at the line to pull the SPU back in the game.

SPU held the Wolves to just eight points over the final 11:09, clawing their way back behind three-pointers by Jeff Downs and Diederichs. The Falcons took their first lead of the game at 58-56 as Reed sliced through the WOU defense for an easy lay-in with 3:21 remaining.

Reed and Diederichs both hit a pair of free-throws down the stretch to put SPU in front.  WOU had a chance to claim the win in the closing seconds but Travis Kuhns missed a three with eight ticks left and Dane Johnson's shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim, giving the victory to the Falcons.

Diederichs finished with a team-high 14 points, hitting 3 of 8 shots from three-point range.   Reed chipped in 13 off the bench while Will added 8 points and 10 rebounds.

Kuhns led all scorers with 17 points, Mike McLaughlin added 12 points and 8 boards for the Wolves. 

Saturday is Homecoming at SPU.  The Falcons will play Saint Martin's at 3:30 in a game that can be seen nationally on CSTV.com.

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