• Final Stats

BILLINGS, Mont. – Sophomore Cory Hutsen had his finest performance where numerous Falcons before him have failed.
 
The 6-foot-8 reserve center tallied all of his 19 points during the second half of sixth-ranked Seattle Pacific's 78-69 men's basketball victory over Montana State Billings on Saturday night at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
The second-place Falcons (17-3) improved their Great Northwest Athletic Conference record to 10-2. They won for the first time in their last three visits to Billings.
 
“You look at SPU's road record overall at Billings and it is horrendous,” fourth-year Coach Ryan Looney said of the Falcons all-time mark at MSUB that now stands at 7-21.
 
“My first year we won on a buzzer beater. The next two years we lost. Now, this is the best we've played in this gym since I've been here.”
 
SPU was down 7-4 before reeling off nine unanswered points to take the lead for good. David Downs netted five points to fuel the run that put his team in front 13-7 with 10:05 left in the first half.
 
The visitor's advantage grew to as many as nine points, at 30-21, before Omar McDade hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to cut the Yellowjackets deficit to 30-24 at halftime.
 
The Falcons made only one of their opening seven attempts and shot just 29 percent (9 of 31) in the first half.
 
MSUB scored the first four points of the second half to draw within 30-28.
 
“We struggled on offense for probably 25 of the 40 minutes tonight. Shots weren't dropping,” Looney described. “They made it hard on us with their pressure. At the end of the day, they were giving us the post and all of our guys were able to play one-on-one in there.
 
“In the second half, Cory Hutsen stepped up and that was huge for us.”
 
The Yellowjackets stayed close, trailing just 39-36 before Hutsen got his first basket. His jumper with 14:11 remaining ignited a six-point SPU spree.
 
Hutsen (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline HS) scored every one of the Falcons 12 points from 10:11 to 6:33, helping his team to a commanding 59-48 margin.
 
“When we came down the floor there was complete pressure and denial on the four other guys, but the guy in the post got to play one-on-one. Cory got two quick fouls in the first half,” Looney said. That foul trouble limited Hutsen to three minutes of playing time before intermission.
 
“Then in that first rotation of the second half, we put Cory in with 16 minutes left and he basically shot it at such a high percentage to the point where we could never take him out of the game again.”
 
SPU converted 7 of 8 free throws during the final 1:29 to secure the win.
 
Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) led the Falcons with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Hutsen was even better, missing just one shot in nine attempts.
 
Patrick Simon (Ephrata, Wash.) added 10 points for SPU, which also got nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds from Jobi Wall (Arvada, Colo.). SPU outrebounded its hosts 40-22.
 
The Falcons shot significantly better in the second half as 57-percent accuracy (16 of 28) raised their game mark to 48 percent (25 of 52).
 
The Yellowjackets were limited to 38-percent shooting (24 of 63).
 
McDade led Billings with 21 points, including 5-for-8 shooting on treys. Kalon Hatcher added 15 points and Jarrell Crayton scored 11 while Devon Wallace and David Arnold had 10 apiece.
 
 “Traditionally Billings has been the most difficult place for SPU to play,” Looney said. “We feel like coming here and getting this one was great. With the schedule as it is going down the stretch here with four of six at home, we feel like we are in a good spot.”
 
Seattle Pacific plays four of its final six regular-season games at home, beginning on Thursday against Central Washington. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion as the nightcap of a doubleheader with the SPU women.


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013
Alterowitz Gymnasium/Billings, Mont.
 
(#6) Seattle Pacific 78, at Montana State Billings 69
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (17-3, 10-2 GNAC)
Wall 1-9 7-8 9, Simon 3-10 2-2 10, Poling 3-8 0-2 6, Downs 6-9 8-9 21, Stockton 2-4 0-0 5, Hutsen 8-9 3-4 19, Morse 2-2 2-4 7, Weber-Brader 0-0 1-2 1, Todd 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 23-31 78.
 
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (12-11, 5-7 GNAC)
Crayton 5-17 1-2 11, Johnson 1-5 0-0 2, Hatcher 5-9 5-6 15, Arnold 3-9 4-5 10, McDade 7-14 2-3 21, Wallace 3-5 2-3 10, Cusworth 0-4 0-0 0, Trabing 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-63 14-19 69.
 
Seattle Pacific...........  30   48   -  78
Montana State Billings....  24   45   -  69
 
3-point goals--SPU 5-19 (Simon 2-5, Stockton 1-3, Downs 1-3, Morse 1-1, Todd 0-1, Wall 0-6), MSUB 7-24 (McDade 5-8, Wallace 2-4, Crayton 0-1, Arnold 0-3, Johnson 0-3, Cusworth 0-4, Hatcher 0-1). Fouled out--SPU-Simon, MSUB-Hatcher. Rebounds--SPU 40 (Wall 10), MSUB 22 (Crayton 8). Assists--SPU 6 (Wall 4), MSUB 6 (Hatcher 3). Total fouls--SPU 14, MSUB 24. Technical fouls--SPU-None, MSUB-None. Att.-350.

 
Next Men's Basketball Game
Central Washington at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.