• Final Statistics
      • VIDEO: Scott  Morse   |   • VIDEO: Coach Ryan  Looney

SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific's successful solution Saturday was for Riley Stockton to do the dirty defensive work and have Scott Morse clean up on offense.

Morse hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 5.6 seconds on the clock and converted two clinching free throws with 1.2 left to play in the SPU men's 61-58 Homecoming basketball game victory over Western Oregon at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (15-5) claimed sole possession of third place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an 8-3 record. WOU (14-6) entered in a third-place tie, but fell to 7-4 in league play with its fourth loss in the last five outings.



"It's a great night for our program and a huge game for us in regards to where we're at in our conference standings," said SPU coach Ryan Looney. "This is definitely one that we needed to win and I'm really pleased with how we did it. There were stretches in the game where we struggled on offense, but we made some big toughness and effort type of plays to win the game down the stretch."

The Wolves staked a 58-52 advantage on a shot in the lane by Kyle Long with 2:33 remaining.

SPU then closed the game with nine unanswered points. David Downs hit a 3-pointer and Jobi Wall made one of two free throws to trim the deficit to 58-56 with 57 seconds to play.

Blair Wheadon missed a layup for WOU with 23.4 seconds on the clock, setting the stage for Morse's decisive trey from the right baseline off a pass from Riley Stockton.

"To be honest it was just kind of a broken play there, we were just trying to make something happen," explained Morse, who had missed all three of his prior trey attempts. The junior wing from Central Point, Ore. entered the game with a 3.8-point average that included just nine 3-pointers.

"Stockton got caught on the baseline, made a great pass to me and thankfully the Lord wanted that one to go in. This was amazing."

Looney admits that he almost didn't give that play the chance to materialize.

"In my coaching career, in a lot of those situations I probably would have called a timeout and done something that we normally do. But for whatever reason I just decided to have a little faith in our players tonight and they made it happen."

Stockton was credited with an assist on the play. He then forced a turnover as Wheadon received the inbounds pass and stepped on the sideline as he tried to dribble past the Falcons feisty freshman.

Saturday marked the sixth starting assignment for Stockton, who was responsible for guarding he Wolves leading scorer. Wheadon, who entered the game averaging 15.8 points per game, was limited to just four free throws. He missed all four of his shots from the field.

"He's been our defensive stopper all year. Nights where we think the other team has a really efficient perimeter player, we put him in the starting lineup," Looney said of Stockton. "I've been a head coach for eight years now and I don't know if I've had a player provide that type of service defensively before."

A product of Spokane's Ferris High School, Stockton is the nephew of NBA Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton.

After Morse drained the final two free throws, Long attempted a tying 3-point try that was just wide to the right and caromed off the backboard as the final buzzer sounded.

Downs scored eight of his team-high 13 points from the free throw line. He was SPU's lone double-figure scorer as Morse finished with nine points.

Long led the Wolves with 18 points. Kolton Nelson added 15 points and Jordan Freelander had 10.

Earlier in the game, Downs hit two free throws to cap an 8-2 run that brought the Falcons even at 18-18 with 4:42 left in the first half. The Wolves scored the next 11 points while holding SPU scoreless for 3 ½ minutes. That surge put WOU ahead 29-18 with 1:34 before the break.

The Falcons tallied the final five points to draw within 29-23 at halftime.

SPU struggled with 35-percent shooting (9 of 26) in the first half, but improved to 44 percent (20 of 45) for the game on the strength of 58-percent second-half accuracy (11 of 19). The Wolves shot 41 percent (19 of 46).

WOU became the 13th opponent to score fewer than 60 points against the Falcons, who have been victorious in all of those games. Their dynamic defense is surrendering just 57.5 points per game, a figure that ranks No. 5 among NCAA Division II teams. SPU's school single-season record average of 61.8 points allowed was established in 1962-63.

The SPU men make their annual trek to Alaska next week. They visit 25th-ranked Anchorage on Thursday and Fairbanks on Saturday.



NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.

at Seattle Pacific 61, Western Oregon 58

WESTERN OREGON (14-6, 7-4 GNAC)
Gehring 1-6 1-2 3, Nelson 5-13 3-3 15, Wheadon 0-4 4-5 4, Long 6-12 6-6 18, Freelander 3-4 2-2 10, Troxel 2-3 0-0 4, McGill 2-2 0-0 4, White 0-0 0-0 0, Veal 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 16-18 58.

SEATTLE PACIFIC  (15-5, 8-3 GNAC)
Wall 3-8 1-2 8, Hutsen 3-5 0-0 6, Poling 3-5 2-4 8, Downs 2-8 8-10 13, Stockton 1-4 2-4 5, Morse 3-6 2-2 9, Dorman 2-4 0-0 6, Niang 3-4 0-0 6, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Todd 0-0 0-0 0, Carel, Riley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 15-22 61.

Western Oregon...........   29   29  -  58
Seattle Pacific..........   23   38  -  61

3-point goals--WOU 4-12 (Nelson 2-6, Freelander 2-2, Long 0-1, Wheadon 0-1, Troxel 0-1), SPU 6-23 (Dorman 2-4, Morse 1-4, Stockton 1-3, Downs 1-6, Wall 1-5, Anderson 0-1). Fouled out--WOU-McGill, SPU-None. Rebounds--WOU 27 (Troxel 7), SPU 29 (Wall 8). Assists--WOU 8 (Wheadon 3), SPU 13 (Downs, Wall 3). Total fouls--WOU 18, SPU 14. Technical fouls--WOU-None, SPU-None. A-917.


Next Game
Seattle Pacific at (#25) Alaska Anchorage
Thursday, Feb. 2, 8:00 p.m. PST
Wells Fargo Sports Complex/Anchorage, Ak.