• Final Statistics

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Seattle Pacific's dominating performance on the backboards led to an impressive display on the scoreboard.

David Downs scored 16 of his game-high 20 points during the first half Thursday as the Falcons claimed control early en route to a 76-49 Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball triumph at Nicholson Pavilion.

SPU (13-3) improved to 5-2 in conference play with its fourth straight win. The 27-point differential was the fourth-largest margin of victory in the all-time series and the Falcons biggest win over Central since 1997.

Defending GNAC champion CWU (7-7) dropped to 1-5 in league games.

SPU imposed its deliberate pace on the usually high-scoring Wildcats, who entered the game averaging a league-leading 84.1 points. Central finished 35 below that figure with its lowest point total in 116 all-time meetings against the Falcons.

"We talked all week in our preparation about not letting them speed us up," explained SPU coach Ryan Looney. "We thought if the game was in the 70s or 60s we'd have a chance. But if we let it get in the 80s or 90s that would probably not be in our best interest.

"Our guys just did a good job of not letting them speed us up into plays that could lead to bad shots or turnovers."

The Falcons held their fifth opponent under 50 points. Their dynamic defense is surrendering just 55.3 points per game, a figure that ranks No. 4 among NCAA Division II teams. SPU's school single-season record average of 61.8 points allowed was established in 1962-63.

A sophomore point guard, Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) concluded his first-half barrage on a 3-pointer with 4.3 showing on the clock to give SPU a 39-24 halftime advantage. That was his fourth trey in as many attempts during the period.

Junior Andy Poling (Portland, Ore.) recorded his fifth double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He led SPU's commanding 54-19 advantage on the boards.

The Falcons dominated the glass in their last four outings, outrebounding opponents by a combined 205-89 during that span.

"Rebounding is the big thing we've stressed for two and a half years now," said Looney. "It's to the point now where our guys have developed a habit on both ends of the floor to make sure that we're doing the right things."

Red-shirt freshman Cory Hutsen (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline HS) added 15 points for SPU.

Jordan Coby was the lone CWU double-digit scorer with 15 points.

The Wildcats tallied the game's first five points, capped by a Lacy Haddock 3-pointer with 18:47 left in the half. They would not score again for the next 6:17 while SPU reeled off nine unanswered points.

CWU later got a steal and three-point play from Toussaint Tyler to close a surge of six straight points that provided its last lead at 12-11 with 11:31 left in the half.

The Falcons answered with a 13-4 run, taking the lead for good at 24-16 with 5:28 until halftime.

The lead increased to as many as 33 points in the second half for SPU, which shot 55 percent (30 of 55) while limiting the Wildcats to 27 percent (15 of 56) accuracy from the field.

The Falcons have won consecutive games in Ellensburg for the first time since 2003 and 2004. They had lost five in a row at Nicholson Pavilion before upsetting then fifth-ranked CWU 76-63 on Mar. 11, 2011 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The SPU men remain on the road, visiting Nampa, Idaho on Saturday for a 6 p.m. Pacific Time conference game at Northwest Nazarene.

Looney doesn't want his team to let up on the second leg of the road trip.

"Tonight's only special if we can get that one too."


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Nicholson Pavilion/Ellensburg, Wash.

Seattle Pacific 76, at Central Washington 49

SEATTLE PACIFIC  (13-3, 5-2 GNAC)
Wall 3-6 0-0 7, Anderson 3-4 1-2 7, Poling 7-14 2-5 16, Downs 7-11 2-2 20, Dorman 1-2 0-0 3, Hutsen 6-6 1-4 13, Morse 2-6 0-0 4, Stockton 0-3 2-2 2, Niang 1-2 0-0 2, Moll 0-0 2-2 2, Carel 0-0 0-0 0, Washburn 0-1 0-0 0, Todd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-55 10-17 76.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON (7-7, 1-5 GNAC)
Johnson 1-5 0-2 3, Clyde 2-4 0-0 5, Davis 2-9 3-4 7, Haddock 2-8 0-0 5, Tyler 3-11 1-2 8, Coby 4-9 4-4 15, Lieser 0-1 3-6 3, Starr 1-2 0-0 2, Magee 0-1 1-2 1, Nelson 0-4 0-0 0, Gross 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-56 12-20 49.

Seattle Pacific........   39   37  -  76
Central Washington.....   24   25  -  49

3-point goals--SPU 6-15 (Downs 4-5, Dorman 1-1, Wall 1-3, Anderson 0-1, Morse 0-2, Stockton 0-2, Washburn 0-1), CWU 7-17 (Coby 3-6, Johnson 1-2, Clyde 1-2, Haddock 1-1, Tyler 1-3, Magee 0-1, Starr 0-1, Lieser 0-1). Fouled out--SPU-None, CWU-Clyde. Rebounds--SPU 54 (Poling 10), CWU 19 (Johnson 5). Assists--SPU 19 (Downs 6), CWU 7 (Starr 3). Total fouls--SPU 18, CWU 22. Technical fouls--SPU-None, CWU-None. Att--1,416.


Next game
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
Saturday, Jan. 14, 6:00 p.m. PST
Johnson Sports Center; Nampa, Idaho