Box Score    |   Final Stats

SEATTLE – San Francisco's Academy of Art dealt 22nd-ranked Seattle Pacific its first opening night men's basketball loss in nine years, 70-67, at the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic Friday night in Brougham Pavilion.
 
After Yanik Kulich scored back-to-back baskets inside, allowing the Urban Knights to tie the score at 66, Trent Stokes sank two free throws to put the visitors ahead for good with 47 seconds remaining.
 
Two more free throws by Herman Pratt gave AAU a 70-67 advantage with 10 seconds left. SPU's Will Parker cast off a 22-footer in an attempt to tie it with 2 seconds to go but it missed off the right side of the rim.
 
Mitch Penner paced Seattle Pacific (0-1) with 17 points and added nine rebounds. He connected on 13 of 15 at the line. Matt Borton and Cory Hutsen each had 10 points.
 
Alexis Moore of AAU (1-0) led all players with 18 points and five assists.
 
It was the Falcons first opening game loss since starting the 2004-05 season with an 89-71 setback at Washington. They last lost a home opener in 2001. SPU has made the NCAA Tournament 10 consecutive years, the longest active playoff streak among Division II men's basketball programs.
 
Friday's game was tight throughout, with 14 lead changes and 18 ties. The Knights largest advantage was six points and SPU never led by more than four.
 
 "I don't think there was ever a moment in which I felt comfortable," said Ryan Looney, who begins his sixth season as SPU's head coach.
 
"That's going to happen on nights like tonight where we're not shooting a very high percentage and Cory Hutsen's not scoring it in the post, and then we follow it up with lackluster effort defensively."
 
Converting two foul shots, Penner put SPU in front, 66-62, at the 3:39 mark. However the hosts missed a chance to pad the lead on their next possession and Kulich capitalized.
 
The 6-foot-6 junior scored from the block, then followed with a short runner.
 
After Stokes' free throws, the Hutsen bulled inside, but was twice unable to convert, and AAU took possession with 18 seconds left, allowing Pratt to make it a three-point difference.
 
Seattle Pacific went the final five minutes without a field goal, missing their last six attempts. The Falcons finished shooting 42 percent (21-50) while the Urban Knights hit 50 percent (26-52).

 

"They did a nice job executing offensively," said Looney. "We let them shoot 50 percent from the floor.
 
"As we get deeper and deeper into the season, if we're going to continue to give people as good of shots as what we gave them tonight we're going to have the same result."
 
SPU got in the bonus early and wound-up shooting 26 free throws, making 22. It also had command of the boards, 34-26.
 
The Falcons trailed by as much as six in the opening half. Tyler Sabino converted a three-point play and Moore followed with a trey to make it 19-13 with 11:03 to go. SPU responded with a 12-2 run late in the half, retaking the lead, 24-23 on Borton's drive. The teams were knotted 33-all at the break.
 
After the game, Looney continued to address the defensive theme.
 
"In all honesty, we're probably not a whole lot different defensively than what we've been in past years, but we shot 42 percent from the 3-point line and made up for some defensive deficiencies.
 
"Right now our team doesn't understand that if those shots aren't going in, we are going to have to be flawless in an area of the game that's not necessarily fun."
 
The Seattle Pacific men play again Saturday at 7 p.m. in the final game of the Sodexo tournament. They meet Minnesota Crookston, which lost 65-52 to Central Washington in Friday's first game.
 
The games on consecutive nights start a stretch where the Falcons play eight games in 13 days. They host Evergreen State on Tuesday before embarking on a five-game trip to Hawaii that begins Friday.
 
"We have a lot of games in a short amount of time. There's not going to be a whole lot of time to practice," Looney said.
 
"In all reality, with what we need to fix we don't necessarily need to. It's a change in attitude and effort on the defensive end of the floor. That's something that every person who puts on the uniform can control. Our team collectively is either going to have to decide to do it or not."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Friday, Nov. 14, 2014
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
 
Academy of Art 70, at (#22) Seattle Pacific 67
 
ACADEMY OF ART (1-0)
Pratt 1-2 4-4 6, Kulich 6-11 3-6 15, Stokes 1-1 2-2 4, Valdeolmillos 3-3 0-0 6, Moore 6-16, 4-5 18, Harrison 1-3 1-2 4, Okeneme 1-5 0-0 2, Anderson 3-5 0-0 6, Cary 0-2 0-0 0, Sabino 4-4 1-1 9. Totals 26-52 15-20 70.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (0-1)
Borton 4-4 2-2 10, Swanson 3-4 0-0 7, Hutsen 5-15 0-0 10, Stockton 3-6 1-2 8, Carroll 2-3 0-0 4, Parker 0-2 2-3 2, Rasmussen 1-3 0-0 2, Reid 1-3 4-4 7, Penner 2-10 13-15 17. Totals 21-50 22-26 67.
 
Academy of Art.........   33   37  -  70
Seattle Pacific........   33   34  -  67
 
3-point goals--AAU 3-10 (Moore 2-5, Harrison 1-2, Cary 0-2, Kulich 0-1), SPU 3-9 (Swanson 1-2, Reid 1-1, Stockton 1-2, Parker 0-2, Penner 0-2). Fouled out--AAU-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--AAU 26 (Moore 6), SPU 34 (Penner, Stockton 9). Assists--AAU 9 (Moore 5), SPU 6 (Stockton 3). Total fouls--AAU 22, SPU 17. Technical fouls--AAU-None, SPU-None. Att.-247.
 
Next Men's Basketball Game
Minnesota Crookston at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Nov. 15, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.