Box score, play-by-play
NAMPA, Idaho -- The better shots are always from closer range. During the second half of Thursday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball opener at Northwest Nazarene, the Seattle Pacific Falcons found a way to take them -- and make them.
Chris Banchero scored 21 points, Jeff Downs added 15, including six straight during a second-half scoring surge, and the Falcons hit almost 70 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes, catching up and then pulling away to an 82-71 victory.
After shooting just 35.1 percent in the first half (13 of 37), SPU hit at a 69.6 percent clip (16 of 23) after the intermission, winding up at 48.3 percent for the game (29 of 60).
“We were pressing in the first half, and we weren't patient enough with any of our schemes,” head coach Ryan Looney said after 17th-ranked SPU (10-2, 1-0 GNAC) halted a two-game losing streak that came on the heels of a 9-0 start. “But our guys made the adjustment and were more willing to drive in and execute in the second half.
“Our guys did a great job of playing together. We got it done as a team tonight.”
Seattle Pacific is host to Saint Martin's on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the conference home opener in Brougham Pavilion.
Junior point guard Banchero (Seattle/O'Dea HS) hit 9 of 15 from the floor on Thursday as Seattle Pacific handed the Crusaders (8-4) their first homecourt loss in five games at the Johnson Sports Center this season. Junior wing Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) drained 5 of 10, including 2 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc.
Senior center Rafael Moreira (Brasilia, Brazil) chipped in 15 points and six rebounds, senior guard Brandon Larrieu (Parkland, Wash./Franklin Pierce HS) had 11 points, and senior wing Rob Diederichs (Shoreline, Wash./Shorewood HS) pulled down a team-leading seven boards and dished a team-high seven assists.
“Any time you can win on the road, it's good,” Looney said. “I wouldn't say it was a must-win. But we definitely needed a win to start feeling better about ourselves.”
FAST SECOND-HALF START
Down 36-34 at halftime, the Falcons scored the first six points of the second half as Northwest Nazarene missed its first seven shots. The Crusaders eventually edged back in front, the last time at 49-48 with 13:56 to play.
That's when Seattle Pacific started a 17-6 scoring run. Diederichs put the Falcons in front for good at 51-49 on a 3-pointer from deep in the right corner. Downs gave SPU its first double-digit lead at 65-55 with 7:43 left when he converted a pass from Diederichs for a lay-in, then completed the three-point play.
Northwest Nazarene hit a free throw to get back within nine. But Downs responded with a 3-pointer from the right of the lane, making it 68-56 with just less than seven minutes remaining.
NNU, which shot a solid 46.7 percent (14 of 30) in the first half, was limited to just 27.5 percent (11 of 40) for the final 20 minutes. Among those misses was a wide-open lay-up by Anthony Golden that could have cut the margin to eight with 4:17 left. Instead, Downs grabbed the rebound and fed Larrieu for a coast-to-coast lay-up, making it a 12-point advantage at 70-58.
The Crusaders never came closer than eight after that.
“We did a great job of executing on offense in the second half. But we also made a couple adjustments defensively that made it harder for them to score around the hoop,” Looney said.
Led by Diederichs' seven, the Falcons pulled down 45 rebounds -- 11 more than their season average of 34.5, and eight more than Northwest Nazarene collected on Thursday.
“We've tried to stress rebounding all year long, and it has been a little bit of a battle,” Looney said. “We played a team that's one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, and we out-rebounded them.”
Brian Barkdoll led Northwest Nazarene with 19 points and nine rebounds, but got just six of those points after halftime.
Saint Martin's comes to Brougham on Saturday with 6-foot-5 junior center Blake Poole, who averages a double-double of 20.7 points and 12.3 rebounds. His scoring is second in the GNAC, and his rebounding average leads the conference and ranks No. 4 in all of Division II.
“He's going to be a handful,” Looney said. “We have to find a way to neutralize him.”
NCAA Men's Basketball
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Johnson Sports Center/Nampa, Idaho
(No. 17) Seattle Pacific 82, Northwest Nazarene 71
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-2 1-0 GNAC)
Banchero,Chris 8-14 4-6 21; Downs,Jeff 5-10 3-3 15; Moreira,Rafael 6-9 2-4
15; Larrieu,Brandon 4-14 3-8 11; Wardell,Adam 1-2 4-7 7; Diederichs,Rob 2-3
0-0 6; Sweet,Ryan 2-6 1-1 5; Anderson,Jake 1-2 0-0 2; Morse,Scott 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 29-60 17-29 82.
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (8-4, 0-1 GNAC)
Barkdoll,Brian 6-14 7-9 19; Eisinger,Drew 4-13 2-2 12; Williams,Lateef 3-5
2-4 8; Eisinger,Jamie 3-7 2-2 8; Reeher,David 3-5 1-2 7; Gielow,Kendall 3-7
0-0 6; Lippman,Robert 2-3 0-0 4; Beech,Louie 0-6 4-4 4; Blair,Brandon 1-2
0-0 3; Miller,Derek 0-0 0-0 0; Shula,CJ 0-0 0-0 0; Kinman,Zac 0-0 0-0 0;
Golden,Anthony 0-6 0-0 0; Parker,Logan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-70 18-23 71.
Seattle Pacific........................ 34 48 - 82
Northwest Nazarene............ 36 35 - 71
3-point goals--Seattle Pacific 7-22 (Diederichs,Rob 2-3; Downs,Jeff 2-5;
Banchero,Chris 1-4; Wardell,Adam 1-1; Moreira,Rafael 1-2; Anderson,Jake 0-1;
Sweet,Ryan 0-2; Larrieu,Brandon 0-4), Northwest Nazarene 3-17 (Eisinger,Drew
2-5; Blair,Brandon 1-2; Eisinger,Jamie 0-2; Reeher,David 0-1; Beech,Louie
0-4; Golden,Anthony 0-1; Parker,Logan 0-2). Fouled out--Seattle
Pacific-Moreira,Rafael, Northwest Nazarene-Eisinger,Jamie. Rebounds--Seattle Pacific 45 (Diederichs,Rob 7), Northwest Nazarene 37 (Barkdoll,Brian
9). Assists--Seattle Pacific 18 (Diederichs,Rob 7), Northwest Nazarene
13 (Beech,Louie 3; Lippman,Robert 3). Total fouls--Seattle Pacific 18,
Northwest Nazarene 23. Technical fouls--Seattle Pacific-Downs,Jeff,
Northwest Nazarene-None. A-325.
