January 8, 2009

• Final Boxscore & Play-by-Play
• Photo Gallery
  

SEATTLE -- The Falcons didn't show any adverse effects from an 18-day break between games.
 
In fact, the Seattle Pacific men were sharp from the start Thursday, shooting 61 percent in the opening half en route to a 92-84 men's basketball victory over 13th-ranked Saint Martin's in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball opener for both teams at Brougham Pavilion.
 
“I was pleased that our energy level was good for the most part,” exclaimed Seattle Pacific coach Jeff Hironaka, whose team hit the hardwood for the first time since Dec. 20. “We played with a lot of intensity tonight, which we had to against a good team like Saint Martin's.”
 
SPU improved to 8-4, stopping the Saints' 11-game winning streak in the process. Saint Martin's dropped to 12-3 with its first loss since Nov. 9.
 
All five starters tallied double-figure points for the Falcons, led by the career-high 26 of sophomore guard Chris Banchero (Seattle, Wash./O'Dea HS). He converted 10-of-13 shots from the field and hit four free throws inside the final minute to secure the victory.
 
Banchero got the better of SMU guard Jake Linton, who entered the game scoring at a GNAC-leading 23.5-point clip. Linton compiled 25 points, but took 17 shots to get that total. He turned the ball over six times before fouling out in the final minute.
 
“What you like about Chris is that he is such a competitor and he is fearless out there. He didn't think he could be stopped at times tonight,” Hironaka remarked. “The goal was to go at Linton and make him defend a little bit, otherwise he has so much energy offensively and you are in trouble.”
 
Casey Reed (Canby, Ore.) added 17 points for the Falcons and Rob Diederichs (Shoreline, Wash./Shorewood HS) had 10. Junior guard Brandon Larrieu (Puyallup, Wash./Franklin Pierce HS) contributed 13 points and six assists.
 
Junior center Rafael Moreira (Brasilia, Brazil) amassed 12 points and 11 rebounds for his third-consecutive double-double. The transfer from Eastern Utah College is averaging 13.7 points and 13.7 boards in the last three games.
 
Bill Richardson scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half for the Saints, who also got 11 from Blake Poole.
 
The back-and-forth first half featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes. After the Saints scored first, SPU staged an eight-point run to claim the biggest first-half lead by either team at 8-2. The Saints' largest lead before halftime was three points, on two occasions.
 
The Falcons held a slim 50-47 advantage at halftime.
 
SMU's Jeremy Green tied the score at 57 on a tip-in with 15:56 left in the first half. Reed answered with the Falcons' first 3-pointer, at 15:27, giving them the lead for good.
 
Saint Martin's stayed within striking distance throughout the second half, getting as close at 64-63 with 12:42 still on the clock.
 
But the Falcons followed with a 15-6 run to take their first double-digit lead of the night, 79-69, with 5:55 left. Banchero contributed seven points of that surge, capping it on a 3-pointer from the top of the key just moments after Jake Anderson (Burlington, Wash./Burlington-Edison HS) blocked a shot at the other end.
 
Just before Banchero's trey, sophomore Jeff Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) buried one from the right side, looking down to make sure his foot was outside the arc before launching a shot that made it 76-69.
 
The Saints twice got as close as four points after that, the last time at 86-82 on a pair of free throws by Poole with 52.2 seconds to go. Banchero then hit 3 of 4 from the line during the next 16 seconds, and Reed effectively sealed it with a thundering dunk on a pinpoint pass from Larrieu.
 
The Falcons shot 57 percent from the floor (34 of 60). That was the 10th time in their 12 games that they have eclipsed the 50-percent plateau. Saint Martin's shot an even 50 percent (31 of 62).
 
Each team pulled down 33 rebounds. Poole led the Saints with 11, giving him a double-double.
 
Thursday's contest was just the second home game in 47 days for SPU, which braved a difficult non-conference slate that included eight games away from Seattle. The Falcons were tested with two tough road encounters against NCAA Division I opponents.
 
SPU defeated Southern Utah 75-65 on Nov. 25 and lost a narrow 71-67 decision at Oregon State on Dec. 16.
 
Now the Falcons are back to Brougham where they have not lost in four outings this season.
 
“You've got to protect your home court, so I'm glad we were able to do that,” said Hironaka. “It's only one game, so we can't get too excited. We've got 15 more to play.”
 
The Seattle Pacific men return to action on Saturday afternoon at Brougham Pavilion against Montana State Billings at 2 p.m.
 

NCAA Men's Basketball
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Brougham Pavilion, Seattle, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 92, (No. 15) Saint Martin's 84

(#13) SAINT MARTIN'S (12-3, 0-1)
Nixon 0-2 1-2 1, Poole 3-9 5-7 11, Richrdson 1-18 2-4 22, Alexander 1-2 1-3 4, Linton 9-17 4-4 25, Smith 1-1 2-2 4, Squiers 1-5 2-2 5, Green 2-2 0-0 4, Howard 2-4 0-0 4, Henze 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 31-62 17-24 84.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (8-4, 1-0)
Reed 7-12 2-5 17, Diederichs 5-9 0-0 10, Moreira 4-8 4-4 12, Banchero 10-13 5-8 26, Larrieu 4-9 5-6 13, Campanaro 0-0 0-0 0, Wardell 0-0 0-0 0, Vranes 1-2 2-2 4, Downs 2-4 0-0 5, Anderson 1-3 3-4 5, Moll 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-60 21-29 92.

Saint Martin's...47 37 -- 84
Seattle Pacific..50 42 -- 92

3-point goals -- SMU 5-12 (Nixon 0-2, Alexander 1-1, Linton 3-7, Squiers 1-2), SPU 3-10 (Reed 1-2, Diederichs 0-1, Banchero 1-2, Larrieu 0-2, Vranes 0-1, Downs 1-2). Fouled out -- SMU: Linton. Rebounds -- SMU 33 (Poole 11), SPU 33 (Moreira 11, Diederichs 6). Assists -- SMU 16 (Poole 4, Linton 4), SPU 18 (Larrieu 6). Technical fouls -- None. Total fouls -- SMU 20, SPU 21. A -- 976.