Box Score                • Final Stats

ANAHEIM, Calif. – David Downs led all scorers with 23 points for second-ranked Seattle Pacific, which started the regular season late Friday night with a 79-65 men's basketall win over Cal State Dominguez Hills in the opening round of the three-day Disney Tip-Off Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center.
 
Downs, a senior point guard, shot 14-for-16 from the free throw line and made 3 of 5 shots from 3-point range.
 
Senior Patrick Simon also was 3 of 5 on treys en route to his 18 points for the Falcons, who got 15 from Riley Stockton. Cory Hutsen made his first four shots, scoring the initial eight points for SPU. The junior center finished with 12 points.
 
The Falcons (1-0) won't have much time to relish their season-opening victory as their second game comes less than 13 hours after the conclusion of Friday's contest. They play Lindenwood University on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. The Lions, from St. Charles, Mo., lost 74-57 to SPU's Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Alaska Anchorage.
 
Coach Ryan Looney was succinct in explaining what his Falcons will do with the brief turnaround time between games.
 
"Sleep," he exclaimed.
 
"We'll go straight back to the hotel, eat dinner quickly and get to bed right away. We'll get up at 7:15, eat pregame meal, go over our scouting report and then play."
 
Pairings are pre-set so no champion will be declared in the six-team tournament. SPU concludes the Classic on Sunday at 6:15 p.m. against Texas A&M International.
 
The lead changed hands 13 times during the opening nine minutes Friday and was tied 22-22 when the Toros' Moriba DeFreitas made a 3-pointer with 8:01 left in the first half.
 
The Falcons netted the next eight points, on back-to-back treys by Simon and Stockton followed by a Joe Rasmussen layup. That ignited a 22-10 period closing run that provided a 44-32 halftime cushion for SPU.
 
Dominguez stayed in the game with 8-for-15 shooting from 3-point range in the first half as part of a 12 of 24 effort from the floor. The Falcons countered with 63-percent shooting (17 of 27) before intermission, including a 6-for-11 performance on treys.
 
Both teams cooled considerably in the second half. The SPU men missed their first six shots and made just 1 of 10 attempts to start the period. They shot 30 percent (7 of 23) after halftime.
 
Fortunately, the Falcons limited CSUDH to 4 of 13 shooting on treys and 44 percent overall (11 of 25) in the second half.
 
SPU tallied just four points in the opening six minutes of the second half while the Toros managed only three.
 
Dominguez (0-1) chipped away at the deficit and drew within 62-57 with 4:14 to play on a jumper by Darnell Martin.
 
But the Falcons again staged a strong finish to the half, this time with a 17-8 streak. They converted 10 of 12 free throws inside the final minute to stretch the final margin.
 
 "We feel good overall about how it went," Looney said. "For the first time this year we faced a little adversity and our guys were able to overcome that and still get out of there with a win."
 
Givon Crump paced the Toros with 17 points, 12 of them coming on his 4 of 8 accuracy from 3-point range. Martin contributed 12 points and Pierson Williams had 11.


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Disney Tip-Off Classic
Friday, Nov. 8, 2013
Convention Center/Anaheim, Calif.
 
(#2) Seattle Pacific 79, Cal State Dominguez Hills 65
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (1-0)
Simon 6-10 3-4 18, Hutsen 6-12 0-0 12, Downs 3-7 14-16 23, Stockton 5-8 3-4 15, Borton 0-4 0-0 0, Carroll 1-2 1-2 3, Todd 0-0 2-2 2, Rasmussen 1-1 0-0 2, Penner 2-5 0-0 4, Ehlers 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 23-28 79.
 
CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS (0-1)
Martin 5-6 2-4 12, Crump 5-12 3-4 17, DeFreitas 3-4 0-0 6, Standley 3-10 0-0 9, Williams 4-10 0-0 11, Carvin 2-4 2-2 8, J. Payne 0-0 0-0 0, T. Payne 0-0 0-0 0, Neal 1-3 0-0 2, Sadler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 7-11 65.
 
Seattle Pacific...............   44   35  -   79
Cal State Dominguez Hills.....   32   33  -   65
 
3-point goals--SPU 8-22 (Simon 3-5, Downs 3-5, Stockton 2-5, Carroll 0-1, Borton 0-3, Penner 0-3), CSUDH 12-28 (Crump 4-8, Williams 3-8, Standley 3-9, Carvin 2-2, Neal 0-1). Fouled out--SPU-Hutsen, CSUDH-Martin, DeFreitas, Neal. Rebounds--SPU 30 (Stockton, Simon 5), CSUDH 28 (Martin 6). Assists--SPU 9 (Stockton, Downs 2), CSUDH 14 (Carvin 6). Total fouls--SPU 15, CSUDH 26. Technical fouls--SPU-None, CSUDH-Martin. A-n/a.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Disney Tip-Off Classic
Seattle Pacific vs. Lindenwood
Saturday, Nov. 9, 11:15 a.m.
Convention Center/Anaheim, Calif.