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SEATTLE -- Jobi Wall's 13-point, 12-rebound double-double helped eighth-ranked Seattle Pacific dominate the scoreboard and the backboard Saturday in an 81-56 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over Montana State Billings at Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons (11-2) improved their conference record to 4-1, while dropping MSUB (8-8) to 1-4.
 
“We feel good about getting another GNAC victory,” said SPU coach Ryan Looney, whose team is in third place behind Western Washington (5-0) and Alaska Fairbanks (5-1). “I was happy with our growth on offense. We've gotten a little bit better in that area. Any time we can put 80-plus points on the board, that's a good night for us.”
 
“I'm really happy with our balance. We got productivity from a lot of different people and it's nice to see that Andy Poling and Cory Hutsen are starting to give us a presence in the paint.”
 
Wall also distributed six assists. He was one of four double-figure scorers for SPU, which was led by the 16 points of Poling.  Patrick Simon scored 15 points and David Downs contributed 10 points and six assists. Hutsen had eight points and six boards.
 


The Falcons out-rebounded the visitors 45-28. They have out-boarded all 13 opponents and rank fifth nationally among NCAA Division II teams with a plus-12.2 rebound margin.
 
“That's something we pride ourselves on every single day. We thought a week ago, in the two games coming out of Christmas break, that we weren't rebounding as well as we were earlier in the season. So that was something we talked a lot about during the four days of practice we had in preparation for this game.”
 
Jerrell Crayton scored 18 points to lead the Yellowjackets, who also got 14 from Devon Wallace and 10 from Omar McDade.
 
Poling netted three of the first four baskets for the Falcons, who jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed. They made four of their opening five shots, while forcing MSUB to miss three shots and turn the ball over twice on its first five possessions.
 
“That fast start, especially from Andy, was really important. Going into the game we knew they were going to pressure us and try to deny every single reversal pass,” Looney described. “When teams do that the one thing that's always open is the post. Our way to play against pressure was to be able to find that one-on-one matchup on the block.”
 
SPU built leads of 13-3, 22-9 and 27-12 before a seven-point surge netted the largest first-half lead of 34-15 with 4:14 left on the clock.
 
The Falcons forged a 43-24 halftime advantage when Shawn Reid's pass found Simon underneath for an easy layup as time expired.
 
After MSUB's McDade started the second half with a jumper, SPU scored six straight points. Downs capped the run with a layup for a 49-26 lead with 18:04 left to play.
 
SPU later extended the differential to 60-35 on a 3-pointer by Reid with 12:32 remaining. The Yellowjackets tallied the next seven points to trim the deficit to 18, but that is as close as they came the rest of the way.
 
The Falcons' margin grew to a high of 28 points on two occasions late in the game.
 
SPU shot 49 percent from the field (33 of 67), while holding Billings at 39 percent (21 of 54).
 
Saturday's win capped a five-game homestand for the Falcons, whose lone loss during that stretch was a 66-56 setback against No. 5 Western Washington on Jan. 3.
 
The SPU men hit the road next week, playing at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday. Their next home game is Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. against Western Oregon.
 
“We've just finished a little stretch at home and now we go on the road where we have been tested and played very well,” Looney said.

“In all reality, I don't know if we've been better or worse at home or on the road. The team kind of seems the same. Our guys get along, they like each other. Sometimes it's fun for them to get away together.”
 
The Falcons compiled a 6-1 record this season at Brougham Pavilion. They are undefeated in four true road games and are 1-1 in neutral-site contests.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
 
at (#8) Seattle Pacific 81, Montana State Billings 56
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (8-8, 1-4 GNAC)
Trabing 2-3 0-1 4, Crayton 6-14 6-9 18, Johnson 0-9 0-2 0, Ridgeway 1-3 0-0 2, McDade 4-7 0-0 10, Wallace 5-7 0-0 14, Cusworth 2-7 1-2 5, Desin 1-2 0-0 3, Hook 0-0 0-0 0, Hatcher 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 7-14 56.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (11-2, 4-1 GNAC)
Wall 4-9 2-3 13, Simon 6-14 0-0 15, Poling 8-12 0-0 16, Downs 5-13 0-0 10, Stockton 3-6 3-5 9, Hutsen 3-5 2-2 8, Reid 1-4 1-2 4, Todd 2-2 0-0 4, Penner 1-2 0-0 2, Morse 0-0 0-0 0, Weber-Brader 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-67 8-12 81.
 
Montana State Billings.....  24   32  -  56
Seattle Pacific............  43   38  -  81
 
3-point goals--MSUB 7-24 (Wallace 4-6, McDade 2-4, Desin 1-2, Ridgeway 0-2, Johnson 0-3, Hatcher 0-2, Cusworth 0-4, Crayton 0-1), SPU 7-22 (Wall 3-7, Simon 3-8, Reid 1-3, Stockton 0-1, Downs 0-3). Fouled out--MSUB-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--MSUB 28 (Crayton, Trabing 6), SPU 45 (Wall 12). Assists--MSUB 10 (Hatcher 7), SPU 23 (Wall, Downs 6). Total fouls--MSUB 16, SPU 11. Technical fouls--MSUB-None, SPU-None. Att-353.

 
Next Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene
Thursday, Jan. 17, 6:00 p.m. PST
Nampa, Idaho