• Boxscore & Play-by-Play

NAMPA, Idaho -- Junior David Downs hit all nine of his free throw attempts during a 22-point performance Thursday, helping sixth-ranked Seattle Pacific overcome a sluggish start to claim a 77-62 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over Northwest Nazarene at the Johnson Sports Center.
 
The Falcons (12-2) improved to 5-1 in conference play, their lone loss coming against currently third-ranked Western Washington. They defeated NNU for the 13th time in the last 15 meetings.
 
The Crusaders (9-6) had their GNAC record drop to 3-4. They capitalized on six turnovers by the visitors inside the opening four minutes to build a 15-6 advantage.
 
SPU responded with a 15-1 run, fueled by three consecutive 3-pointers from Patrick Simon, to go ahead 21-16.
 
“Patrick Simon dropped a bunch of shots from the 3-point line, that turned the corner for us,” said SPU coach Ryan Looney. “In the first four minutes of the first half we turned it over six times. And then in the last 16 only once. So we were able to get that part corrected.”
 
After NNU rallied to take its last lead, at 29-28, the Falcons closed the period with a 14-4 surge to gain control with a 42-33 halftime margin.
 
The Crusaders never got within eight points the rest of the night, while seeing their deficit grow to a high of 20 points. SPU forged that 58-38 margin with 12 unanswered points, capped by an Andy Poling putback with 14:12 left to play.
 
Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) hit 5 of 9 shots from the field, including 3-for-5 accuracy on treys. He added to his league-leading total with six assists.
 
“He played well tonight and we needed it. Based on how they were guarding and some of the pressure they applied, he did a good job of taking advantage of what they gave him,” Looney said of Downs, his all-conference point guard.
 
Simon (Ephrata, Wash./Ephrata HS), a transfer from Washington State, tallied 13 of his 17 points during the first half. The Falcons got 15 points from Jobi Wall (Arvada, Colo.) and 10 from Poling (Portland, Ore.).
 
SPU shot 49 percent from the floor (28 of 57), including 9-of-20 on treys. Downs perfection helped the team shoot 12 of 13 from the free throw line.
 
UCLA transfer Kenny Jones topped NNU with 17 points and Michal Kurimsky added 15. The Crusaders also shot 49 percent (25 of 51).
 
Seattle Pacific remains on the road for a game at Central Washington on Saturday at 7 p.m.
 
“It's always tough,” Looney said of the annual visit to Ellensburg.
 
“You can throw records out the window. It doesn't really matter who's played well and maybe who hasn't up to this point. This is one of the so-called rivalry games on our schedule and we're going to have to be good.”
 
Last season, the sixth-seeded Wildcats had a 14-12 record when they upset then 25th-ranked Seattle Pacific (21-6) by a 70-69 score in the first round of the GNAC Tournament.
 
In 2011, the Falcons were underdogs when they upset fifth-ranked and No. 1 seed Central 76-63 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Ellensburg.

 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013
Johnson Sports Center/Nampa, Idaho
 
(#6) Seattle Pacific 77, at Northwest Nazarene 62
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (12-2, 5-1 GNAC)
Wall 6-11 0-0 15, Simon 7-14 0-0 17, Poling 4-9 2-2 10, Downs 5-9 9-9 22, Stockton 2-3 0-0 4, Hutsen 1-2 0-0 2, Reid 1-5 1-2 3, Todd 0-1 0-0 0, Penner 0-0 0-0 0, Morse 1-1 0-0 2, Weber-Brader 1-1 0-0 2, Jordan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 12-13 77.
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (9-6, 3-4 GNAC)
Hawkins 2-9 0-0 5, Moore 2-7 2-2 8, Rima 2-6 1-2 5, Moilanen 1-5 0-0 3, Jones 8-12 0-0 17, Zidzik 0-0 0-0 0 White 0-0 0-0 0, Nicholes 2-2 1-2 6, Donaldson 1-1 0-0 3, Perryman 0-0 0-0 0, Kurimsky 7-9 1-1 15. Totals 25-51, 5-7 62.
 
Seattle Pacific........  42   35  -  77
Northwest Nazarene.....  33   29  -  62

3-point goals—SPU 9-20 (Downs 3-5, Wall 3-6, Simon 3-7, Reid 0-2), NNU 7-17 (Moore 2-6, Jones 1-1, Nicholes 1-1 Donaldson 1-1, Hawkins 1-4, Moilanen 1-4). Fouled out--SPU-None, NNU-None. Rebounds—SPU 32 (Stockton 6), NNU 24 (Kurimsky 6). Assists—15 (Downs 6), NNU 15 (Jones 7). Total fouls—SPU 12, NNU 16. Technical fouls--SPU-None, NNU-None. Att-819.

 
Next Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington
Saturday, Jan. 19, 7:00 p.m. PST
Ellensburg, Wash.