Box Score               • Final Stats

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – David Downs rose to the occasion when the team needed him most.
 
Downs tallied 21 of his game-high 25 points during the second half Saturday when the ninth-ranked Seattle Pacific men broke open a tight game en route to a 73-57 basketball win over Hawaii Pacific on the final day of the GNAC/PacWest Challenge.
 
The Falcons (6-1), who defeated BYU-Hawaii 86-73 on Friday at Nicholson Pavilion, were the only team to win both games in the tournament.
 
"I'm happy. Any time you can go away from home and win two games it's big," said SPU coach Ryan Looney.
 
"We're seven games into the season and are 6-1, so we've put ourselves in a good spot here to start. We just need to continue to grow."
 
Saturday's contest was tied at halftime and remained close for the next 10 minutes. It was even at 45-45 when Downs scored the Falcons' next 11 points, sparking a 14-2 run that gave them the lead for good.
 
He had gone a game and a half without draining a trey. Friday Downs missed his lone 3-point try and his two first-half attempts Saturday went awry.
 
Then came the second half when he hit 4 of 6 long-range bombs.
 
"A lot of them came in one short stretch there in the second half," Looney described. "Things weren't going great for us on the offensive end and then he got a couple open looks in consecutive possessions which helped get us going."
 
The senior point guard hit a 3-pointer and, following an HPU layup, nailed back-to-back treys and a layup to ignite an 11-point spree. When Mitch Penner converted two free throws with 7:31 left to play, SPU led 59-47.
 
 
The preseason Player of the Year in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Downs accounted for nearly half of his team's 43 second-half points.
 
Downs' offensive eruption was a combination of a tactical change and his more assertive attitude according to Looney.
 
"We talked at halftime about how they were guarding a couple different situations. Making a little bit of an adjustment helped David be the benefactor in that area," he said.
 
"He became way more aggressive in ball-screen situations. They weren't probably giving enough help and rather than just being passive he dribbled a little bit more against it."
 
This was the fifth time in seven games this season that Downs surpassed the 20-point plateau. He leads SPU with 21.7 points per game.
 
Senior forward Patrick Simon was the only other Falcon in double figures with 18 points.
 
SPU heated up in the second half, shooting 55 percent (12 of 22) after intermission with 6-for-10 accuracy on treys.
 
Justin Long netted 18 points to lead the Sea Warriors (2-1), who also got 12 from Malte Ziegenhagen and 10 from Darryl Jones.
 
The Falcons were ahead for most of the first half, but could not extend the margin past five points. HPU took its first lead since 3-2 with a 3-pointer by John Horowitz that provided a 28-27 edge with 2:01 left in the half.
 
Brendan Carroll answered with a 3-pointer for SPU before Colfax Nordquist knotted the score 30-30 at halftime on a steal and layup with four seconds remaining.
 
Led by seven rebounds from Riley Stockton, the Falcons had a 31-21 advantage on the boards. They forced 13 HPU miscues while turning the ball over just seven times themselves.
 
"Offense wasn't necessarily going great for us and we had to rely on our defense and rebounding. And we got it done," said Looney. "That's kind of the first time we've done that so far this year so it was good to see that."
 
The SPU men participate in another road tournament next week. They travel to Chico, Calif. for the Mac Martin Invitational, beginning on Friday at 5:30 p.m. against San Francisco State. On Saturday they meet host Chico State at 7:30 p.m.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
GNAC/PacWest Challenge
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013
Nicholson Pavilion/Ellensburg, Wash.
 
(#9) Seattle Pacific 73, Hawaii Pacific 57
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-1)
Borton 3-4 1-4 9, Simon 6-12 5-5 18, Hutsen 2-7 2-4 6, Downs 7-13 7-8 25, Stockton 1-3 2-5 4, Carroll 3-5 1-2 8, Penner 0-1 2-2 2, Todd 0-1 1-2 1, Ehlers 0-0 0-0 0, Rasmussen 0-0 0-0 0, Parker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-46 21-32 73.
 
HAWAII PACIFIC (2-1)
Ziegenhagen 4-8 2-2 12, Rodney 2-3 0-0 5, Farman 1-3 0-0 2, Long 6-11 2-3 18, Jones 3-7 4-5 10, Horowitz 3-5 1-1 8, Nordquist 1-2 0-0 2, Garrett 0-0 0-1 0, Cox 0-0 0-0 0, Lascelles 0-2 0-0 0, Looney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-41 9-12 57.
 
Seattle Pacific...............   30   43  -   73
Hawaii Pacific................   30   27  -   57

3-point goals--SPU 8-20 (Downs 4-8, Borton 2-3, Carroll 1-1, Simon 1-6, Stockton 0-2), HPU 8-17 (Long 4-6, Ziegenhagen 2-3, Horowitz 1-3, Rodney 1-1, Lascelles 0-2, Jones 0-2). Fouled out--SPU-None, HPU-Rodney, Jones. Rebounds--SPU 31 (Stockton 7), HPU 21 (Ziegenhagen 5). Assists--SPU 14 (Stockton 5), HPU 10 (Lascelles 4). Total fouls--SPU 16, HPU 26. Technical fouls--SPU-None, HPU-None. Att.-177.


Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Mac Martin Invitational
Seattle Pacific vs. San Francisco State
Friday, Nov. 29, 5:30 p.m.
Acker Gym/Chico, Calif.