Box Score • Final Stats
BILLINGS, Mont. – An uncommon tactic led to an unconventional Seattle Pacific victory Saturday.
Patrick Simon scored seven of his 31 points during the decisive second overtime for 24th-ranked SPU, which defeated Montana State Billings 92-87 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
Simon tied the game 86-86 on a free throw line jumper with 1:31 left in the final overtime.
David Downs hit the go-ahead basket for SPU on a layup at 0:41 and, following a free throw by MSUB's Kalob Hatcher, stretched the lead to 90-87 with 30 seconds remaining. Simon sank two free throws with 17 seconds to play to seal the victory.
The SPU men had not been involved in a double overtime contest since Nov. 22, 2008, a 104-94 home win over Cal State San Bernardino.
They implemented a unique system Saturday due to foul trouble that plagued starting center
Cory Hutsen (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline HS). He was limited to just 12 minutes before fouling out 36 seconds into the first overtime session. Hutsen's two points were 11 below his season average.
"We faced a lot of adversity," SPU coach
Ryan Looney explained. "
Cory Hutsen didn't play as well as he's capable of and he fouled out of the game. Because of that we had to play a little bit un-traditional for most of the night, moving Patrick inside a lot more than usual.
"So to be able to handle that, make free throws down the stretch and get some key defensive stops was great. We're going to look back at this one at the end of the year and realize at that time how important it was."
The Falcons (16-4) won their fifth straight game to finish the first half of the league schedule in a three-way tie for first place. They have the same 7-2 GNAC record as Alaska Fairbanks and Western Washington.
The five-game winning streak followed a two-game slide with losses at Western Oregon (Jan. 2) and Saint Martin's (Jan. 4). Simon didn't play in either game while sidelined with a hand injury.
"We were struggling a little bit after that first road trip after Christmas, but we've done nothing but respond the right way ever since," said Looney. "We're halfway through it now and I guess the way I look at it is that you can't be any better than first place."
Simon (Ephrata, Wash./Ephrata HS) registered his third 30-point performance of the season and his fourth at SPU since transferring from Washington State prior to the 2012-13 season.
The 6-foot-8 senior forward shot 9-for-16 from the field, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers. Simon grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Falcons 33-26 edge on the boards.
"Patrick kind of put us on his back and carried us tonight," Looney said. "Cory was in foul trouble the whole night, Dave didn't shoot it as well as he normally does, so we just kind of rode him."
Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) tallied 19 points for SPU, which also got a career-high 16 from
Riley Stockton (Spokane, Wash./Ferris HS) and 14 from
Mitch Penner (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy HS).
SPU's senior point guard rose in the school's career scoring and assist lists. Downs moved into the No. 4 spot among all-time Falcons with 1,539 points and is also fourth in playmaking with 505 assists.
Austin Hudson scored 26 points to lead MSUB (8-9) before fouling out with 29 seconds left in regulation. The Yellowjackets dropped to 4-5 in conference play.
Jonathan Mesghna tallied 24 points for Billings, including six 3-pointers. Chase Miller had 14 points and Hatcher contributed 12 points and 13 assists.
MSUB had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Miller's 3-point shot from the left baseline rimmed out as time expired with the score tied 74-74.
The teams traded baskets throughout the first, five-minute overtime. Tyler Nelson forged a 79-79 tie for the Yellowjackets on two free throws with 1:28 left. SPU had the final possession, but Downs missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer leading to the second extra session.
The free throw line proved decisive. The Falcons hit 26 of 32 charity shots, doubling the total of their hosts, who were 13 of 17.
The Falcons extended a 39-30 halftime lead with a nine-point surge that featured two three-point plays by Penner. They owned a 53-38 margin with 15:18 left in the second period.
Billings averages nine 3-pointers per game, but drained eight treys in the second half alone to erase a deficit that reached 15 points.
"They just hit some deep, tough shots," Looney said. "In all reality they got back in it from the 3-point line and that's not something that they necessarily always do."
The Yellowjackets drew within 61-57 on a nine-point run that Hudson capped with a layup at 10:07. Later an eight-point surge, capped by a trey from Mesghna, forged their first lead since the third minute of the game. Billings led 71-70 with 3:39 left in the second half.
Penner made the first of two free throws at 0:29 to tie the game 74-74 and force the initial overtime.
Both teams made their first four shots to start the game. SPU finally stopped the Yellowjackets, parlaying a missed shot and two turnovers into a seven-point run and a 13-8 lead.
The Falcons trailed 20-18 before reeling off 11 unanswered points, the final nine coming on a trio of 3-pointers by Simon. They claimed a 29-20 advantage with 6:20 left in the first half.
Downs drained a 3-pointer with 23 seconds showing on the clock to provide a 39-30 lead that SPU took into halftime.
Simon posted 16 first-half points on 6-for-7 shooting. He made all four of his 3-point tries before intermission.
The SPU men return home for a pair of Brougham Pavilion games next week. They entertain Saint Martin's on Thursday at 7 p.m. before Western Oregon visits on Saturday at 4 p.m. for the annual Homecoming Game.
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
#24 Seattle Pacific 92, at Montana State Billings 87 (2ot)
SEATTLE PACIFIC (16-4, 7-2 GNAC)
Borton 2-3 2-2 8, Simon 9-16 9-10 31, Hutsen 1-5 0-0 2, Downs 5-15 8-10 19, Stockton 7-12 0-0 16, Carroll 0-3 1-2 1, Todd 0-0 1-2 1, Penner 4-9 5-6 14, Rasmussen 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 26-32 92.
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (8-9, 4-5 GNAC)
Wallace 0-1 0-0 0, Mesghna 9-18 0-0 24, Hudson 11-17 4-5 26, Hatcher 4-11 4-6 12, Miller 5-9 0-0 14, Desin 1-2 0-0 3, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Matthews 1-2 0-0 3, Nelson 0-1 5-6 5. Totals 31-61 13-17 87.
Seattle Pacific............... 39 35 5 13 - 92
Montana State Billings........ 30 44 5 8 - 87
3-point goals--SPU 10-24 (Simon 4-6, Borton 2-2, Sokton 2-5, Penner 1-3 Downs 1-7, Carroll 0-1), MSUB 12-24 (Mesghna 6-8, Miller 4-8, Desin 1-1, Matthews 1-2, Wallace 0-1, Hudson 0-1, Hatcher 0-3).
Fouled out--SPU-Stockton, Hutsen, MSUB-Hudson, Nelson.
Rebounds--SPU 33 (Simon 9), MSUB 26 (Hudson 7).
Assists--SPU 13 (Downs 6), MSUB 18 (Hatcher 13).
Total fouls--SPU 17, MSUB 23.
Technical fouls--SPU-None, MSUB-None.
Att.-1134.
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Jan. 30, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
