• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Chris Banchero tallied 24 of his 34 points on 3-pointers Saturday, leading Seattle Pacific to a 79-68 men's basketball victory over host Grand Canyon on the final day of the GCU Holiday Classic at Antelope Gymnasium.

Banchero surpassed the 30-point plateau for the second straight night. The 6-foot-1 senior point guard from Seattle's O'Dea High School compiled 31 points and 10 assists in Friday's 88-82 loss to Fort Lewis.

The Falcons (2-2) halted a two-game losing streak powered by Banchero's 34 points that equaled his career high. His eight 3-point baskets were one shy of the school single-game record of nine held by Drake Hudgins (Mar. 4, 2000) and Dustin Bremerman (Dec. 2 2006).

Banchero made 8 of 14 treys as part of his 10-for-22 shooting night.

Senior Jeff Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) was the only other Falcon in double figures with 14 points. Twelve of those points came from the free throw line, including seven during the final 1:06 that helped repel a GCU rally.

The Antelopes (2-3) trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half. Banchero hit his third consecutive 3-pointer with 12:31 left to play to provide a 57-40 Falcons lead.

GCU steadily chipped away at the deficit and drew within 68-63 on a Steve Morin trey with 1:19 remaining.

Led by Downs, SPU converted 11 of 13 free throws at the end to secure its first road win.

Kyle Speed scored 19 points to pace the Antelopes, who also got 14 from Morin and 12 from Rony Tchatchoua.

The SPU men shot 44.4 percent (24 of 54) for the game. They were more accurate behind the 3-point line at 45.4 percent (10 of 22) than their 43.8-percent (14 of 32) effort inside the arc.

The Antelopes were also stellar from outside, shooting 47.0 percent (8 of 17) on treys. They shot 42.6 percent (23 of 54) from the field overall.

Ryan Sweet (Port Orchard, Wash./South Kitsap HS) and Scott Morse (Central Point, Ore.) each grabbed eight rebounds to lead SPU's 39-33 advantage on the boards.

The Falcons jumped out to a 6-2 lead on 3-pointers by Banchero and Jake Anderson (Burlington, Wash./Burlington-Edison HS). GCU scored the next six points to cause the first of eight lead changes during the opening half that also featured five ties.

Speed converted two free throws with 5:54 left in the half to give the Antelopes their last lead at 25-24. Banchero answered with a layup off a back-door pass from Sweet, giving SPU the lead for good.

The Falcons outscored GCU 13-5 over the final 5:41 of the period en route to a 37-30 halftime advantage. That was their largest lead in the opening half.

Banchero has already matched his two 30-point performances from last season. He reached the 30-point plateau in all three of SPU's exhibition wins this year, including 38 points at Eastern Washington and 33 at Nevada. Banchero was the 2010 West Region and Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year and is a 2011 preseason All-American.

The Falcons and Grand Canyon meet again next Saturday at 7 p.m. in Seattle on the second day of the SPU Invitational at Brougham Pavilion.

Seattle Pacific plays Chaminade on Friday at 7 p.m. in the tournament's first round. The Silverswords are coming off a 68-64 upset of Oklahoma on Wednesday in the Maui Invitational. Central Washington is also taking part in the SPU Invitational, playing at 5 p.m. both days.


NCAA Men's Basketball
GCU Thanksgiving Classic
Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010
Antelope Gymnasium/Phoenix, Ariz.

SEATTLE PACIFIC 79, GRAND CANYON 68

SEATTLE PACIFIC (2-2)
Banchero 10-22 6-12 34; J. Downs 1-6 12-14 14; Anderson 4-4 0-0 9; Moll 4-5 0-0 9; Sweet 3-6 0-0 6; Poling 2-5 0-1 4; Morse 0-2 3-4 3; Niang 0-0 0-0 0; Dorman 0-2 0-0 0; D. Downs 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 21-31 79.

GRAND CANYON (2-3)
Speed 6-13 4-4 19; Morin 5-8 0-0 14; Tchatchoua 4-5 4-5 12; Ngoundjo 2-3 2-2 6; Carroll 1-6 2-2 4; Wesolowski 1-5 1-4 3; Pickrel 1-2 0-0 3; Wynn 1-4 1-2 3; Robbins 1-2 0-2 2; Johnson 1-3 0-3 2; Witherill 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 14-24 68.

Seattle Pacific.................. 37 42 - 79
Grand Canyon.................. 30 38 - 68

3-point goals--SPU 10-22 (Banchero 8-14; Anderson 1-1; Moll 1-1; Dorman 0-1; Sweet 0-1; J. Downs 0-4), GCU 8-17 (Morin 4-6; Speed 3-6; Pickrel 1-2; Carroll 0-1; Witherill 0-2). Fouled out--SPU-Poling, GCU-Witherill. Rebounds--SPU 39 (Sweet 8; Morse 8), GCU 33 (Johnson 7). Assists--SPU 12 (Banchero 3; Sweet 3; J. Downs 3), GCU 12 (Speed 7). Total fouls--SPU 25, GCU 27. Technical fouls--SPU-None, GCU-TEAM. Att.-1,385.