• Final Statistics  |  • Short Game Recap  |  • VIDEO: Cory Hutsen

SEATTLE – The Falcons have rebounded, literally, from a pair of early conference losses.

After opening Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball play with a win over Simon Fraser, Seattle Pacific lost consecutive close games to Western Washington and Western Oregon.

A 56-41 win at Saint Martin's last Saturday evened their league ledger.

Reserve Cory Hutsen scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high nine boards Thursday, leading SPU to a GNAC record 61 rebounds during a 67-54 victory over Alaska Fairbanks at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (11-3) improved to 3-2 in league play. UAF (4-10) fell to 1-3 in GNAC action.

SPU established a new record for team rebounds in a conference game, surpassing the previous mark of 58 held by Humboldt State (2005) and Northwest Nazarene (2008).

"We all boarded super hard, especially offensively," Hutsen described. "Everything that went up we had at least four guys in there trying to get a hand on it."



A red-shirt freshman post player, Hutsen (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline HS) gathered seven offensive rebounds. Andy Poling and Jobi Wall also collected nine total boards for the Falcons, who topped the 50-rebound plateau for the first time since Dec. 9, 2000.

"We try to put a lot of pressure on people on the offensive glass with multiple guys. Just seeing how that was spread out proves that we did a nice job," said Coach Ryan Looney, whose team had six players grab at least five rebounds.

"Defensive field goal percentage and rebounding all year have been a huge emphasis for us. Because of the job we did in those areas, we had a dominant performance on a night where we didn't shoot it very well."

The Falcons shot 37 percent from the field (26 of 71), while holding UAF at 35 percent (20 of 57).

Thursday's lopsided 61-24 rebound differential included 30 offensive boards for Seattle Pacific, which outscored the visitors 26-2 on second-chance points.

Sophomore point guard David Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) tallied 10 of his team-high 15 points during the first half as SPU took control early.

The Nanooks claimed their only lead, at 4-3, on a steal and layup by Nico Matthews 2:29 into the game.

SPU then went on a 10-point run, getting baskets from five different players. Jeff Dorman capped the surge with a tip-in that provided a 13-4 cushion with 11:57 on the clock.

The Falcons lead grew to as many as 13 points in the first half before they settled for a 33-21 halftime advantage.

In the second half, SPU stretched its margin to 60-35 with 7:15 left to play. The Nanooks narrowed the deficit with a 9-1 game-ending run.

Jesse Ward tallied 16 points to lead UAF, which also got 11 from Dominique Brinson.

Fairbanks became the nine opponent that failed to reach the 60-point mark against the Falcons. SPU's dynamic defense is surrendering just 56.1 points per game. The school single-season record average of 61.8 points allowed was set in 1962-63.

Paired with Saturday's 47-22 margin on the glass at Saint Martin's, the Falcons have compiled a 108-46 rebound advantage in their last two outings.

SATURDAY SHOWDOWN AT BROUGHAM PAVILION
The Seattle Pacific men stay home to host 18th-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion.

"That's a big game," Hutsen exclaimed. "They're picked to finish first in our league, so we have to come out with the same intensity and try to get on the boards just as hard."

Saturday's game pits the teams projected to finish one-two in the conference by the preseason coaches poll. The matchup is highlighted by a clash of the leagues best big men.

Anchorage (10-2, 4-0 GNAC) features 6-foot-9 forward Taylor Rohde, in his second season with the Seawolves after transferring from Arizona State. He ranks second among GNAC players in scoring (20.5) and third in rebounds (8.5).

"They have a good big man and a lot of guys who can shoot it," Looney said. "We're going to have to figure out a plan."

SPU counters with Poling (Portland, Ore.), a 6-11 post player who transferred from Gonzaga prior to last season. He is the league's No. 6 scorer (16.1) and ranks fourth in rebounds (8.4).

NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.

at Seattle Pacific 67, Alaska Fairbanks 54

ALASKA FAIRBANKS (4-10, 1-3 GNAC)
Tica 2-6 2-2 6, Burkhead 0-2 0-0 0, Pucar 3-8 2-2 8, Brinson 4-11 2-2 11, Matthews 1-4 1-2 3, Ward 6-14 1-2 16, McDonald 2-5 0-0 5, Teer 2-6 0-0 5, Shaw 0-1 0-0 0, Stathopoulos 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-57 8-10 54.

SEATTLE PACIFIC  (11-3, 3-2 GNAC)
Wall 3-8 2-2 8, Anderson 2-4 0-0 6, Poling 3-9 1-7 7, Downs 6-15 0-1 15, Dorman 3-6 0-0 7, Hutsen 4-10 3-6 11, Stockton 2-7 2-2 7, Niang 1-2 0-0 2, Morse 1-4 0-0 2, Moll 1-4 0-0 2, Todd 0-0 0-0 0, Carel 0-2 0-0 0, Washburn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-71 8-18 67.

Alaska Fairbanks.......   21   33  -  54
Seattle Pacific........   33   34  -  67

3-point goals--UAF 6-25 (Ward 3-9, Brinson 1-6, Teer 1-3, McDonald 1-2, Burkhead 0-1, Matthews 0-1, Tica 0-2, Pucar 0-1), SPU 7-22 (Downs 3-6, Anderson 2-2, Dorman 1-4, Stockton 1-5, Moll 0-1, Carel 0-1, Wall 0-3). Fouled out--UAF-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--UAF 24 (Tica 4), SPU 61 (Poling, Hutsen, Wall 9). Assists--UAF 12 (Teer 3), SPU 16 (Downs 6). Total fouls--UAF 14, SPU 11. Technical fouls--UAF-None, SPU-None. A-305.


Next game
Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Jan. 7, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion; Seattle, Wash.