• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

NAMPA, Idaho – Sophomore Andy Poling scored 24 of his 35 points during the second half Saturday, but it wasn't enough for the Seattle Pacific men whose comeback attempt was thwarted in an 81-70 basketball loss to Northwest Nazarene at the Johnson Sports Center.

A 6-foot-11 transfer from Gonzaga, Poling made 17 of 23 shots from the field en route to his career-best scoring outburst. He tallied exactly half of the Falcons scoring total and accounted for 24 of their 37 second-half points.

SPU (16-7) lost for the second straight game, dropping to 10-5 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference outings. The Crusaders (10-11) improved to 6-8 in league play and gained a split of the season series after falling 84-67 to the Falcons in Seattle on Jan. 15.

Poling (Portland, Ore.) scored the Falcons first 10 points in the second half. His eighth point of the period, a short hook shot, drew SPU within 42-41 with 16:25 left to play.

The Crusaders responded by reeling off 10 straight points, capped by a 3-pointer from Anthony Golden that extended their lead to 52-41 with 12:24 on the clock.

NNU led by as many as 13 points, at 59-46, before the Falcons staged a 12-1 comeback. A fastbreak layup by freshman David Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) made the score 60-58 with 5:25 remaining.

Drew Eisinger turned back the rally with a 3-pointer on the Crusaders next possession and SPU never got closer than three the rest of the way.

NNU converted 10 of 12 free throws inside the final three minutes to seal the win and Darious Walker put an exclamation point on the victory with back-to-back dunks in the last 20 seconds.

Poling was the only player in double figures for SPU, which also got nine points from Ryan Sweet and eight apiece from brothers David and Jeff Downs.

Eisinger tallied 15 points to pace the Crusaders. Brian Barkdoll and Paul Egwuonwu each scored 14 points, Walker finished with 13 and Lateef Williams had 11.

The Falcons shot an outstanding 54 percent (30 of 56) from the field, but allowed NNU to shoot an even better 64 percent (32 of 50).

The Crusaders registered a commanding 29-18 rebounding advantage against SPU, which entered the game boasting a league-high plus 7.7 per game margin on the boards.

The teams traded baskets during the opening five minutes before Poling followed a put-back layup by Sweet with a three-point play to move SPU in front 19-16 with 10:25 left in the first half.

The Falcons' lead was 30-26 before NNU scored 10 unanswered points to claim its first lead. Four different players scored during the three-minute streak, capped by a Williams layup that put the Crusaders up 36-30.

Scott Morse hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds on the clock to trim NNU's lead to 36-33 at halftime.

The SPU men return to action next Saturday, Feb. 19, with a 6 p.m. Pacific Time contest at Montana State Billings.


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Johnson Sports Center/Nampa, Idaho

NORTHWEST NAZARENE 81, SEATTLE PACIFIC 70

SEATTLE PACIFIC (16-7, 10-5 GNAC)
Sweet 3-6 2-2 9, Morse 2-3 0-0 5, Poling 17-23 1-3 35, D. Downs 3-8 1-2 8, J. Downs 3-11 0-2 8, Carel 0-0 0-0 0, Dorman 1-2 0-0 3, Moll 0-1 0-0 0, Niang 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-56 4-9 70.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE (10-11, 6-8 GNAC)
Walker 4-4 5-5 13, J. Eisinger 2-4 2-4 6, Barkdoll 6-10 2-3 14, D. Eisinger 7-13 0-0 15, Williams 5-6 1-3 11, Egwuonwu 6-8 2-2 14, Wayman 1-1 0-0 3, Golden 1-3 2-2 5, Rima 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-50 14-19 81.

Halftime – NNU 36-33.

3-point goals--SPU 6-17 (J. Downs 2-6, D. Downs 1-4, Sweet 1-3, Morse 2-3, Dorman 1-2), NNU 3-9 (Wayman 1-1, Golden 1-1, D. Eisinger 1-6, J. Eisinger 0-1). Fouled out--SPU-None, NNU-Barkdoll. Rebounds--SPU 18 (Poling 5), NNU 29 (Williams 7). Assists--SPU 16 (D. Downs 8), NNU 18 (Golden 3, J. Eisinger 3, Williams 3, Egwuonwu 3). Total fouls--SPU 19, NNU 14. A-579.