Box Score    |   Final Stats

LAIE, Hawaii – They won't be boiling on the beaches In this visit to Hawaii. Instead, the Falcons are toiling on the hardwood.
 
Riley Stockton scored a career-high 22 points for 22nd-ranked Seattle Pacific, which began a hectic road trip Friday with a 61-49 victory over Hawaii Pacific in the first round of the PacWest/GNAC Challenge at the Cannon Activity Center.
 
The Falcons (3-1), who won their third consecutive game, have had a different leading scorer in all four games this season. Stockton hit 8 of 11 shots from the field, including 4-for-5 accuracy from 3-point range. The senior guard, who is the nephew of NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton, also contributed four assists.
 
"He was obviously feeling good on that end of the floor," said SPU coach Ryan Looney. "They were doing such a good job on Cory Hutsen, digging on the post and helping on the backside, that Riley got found for a bunch of skip passes on the weak side. Fortunately he knocked them down."
 
Stockton was joined in double-figure scoring by teammates Mitch Penner with 13 and Hutsen with 10.
 
Matt Borton grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Falcons' 41-37 margin on the boards.
 
Luke Hager poured in 18 points to pace the Sharks (0-1), who also got 11 points and nine rebounds from Justin Long.
 
The back-and-forth first half saw six ties and 13 lead changes.
 
HPU added to its final lead with a jumper by Colfax Nordquist that provided a 25-22 margin with 3:32 left in the opening period.
 
The Falcons got a free throw from Garrett Swanson followed by a Stockton layup that tied the score at 1:57. They captured the lead for good when Penner converted the second of two free throws with 1:05 remaining for a 26-25 edge that held into halftime.
 
SPU sunk the Sharks in the second half with a simple adjustment, according to Looney.
 
"We just talked about playing with better pace in the halfcourt on offense and screening better because they were doing a really good job taking away the post. Our guys were able to make some skip passes and play inside-out a little bit. Guys like Riley Stockton were the benefactors from the 3-point line."
 
Stockton nailed a 3-pointer 20 seconds after intermission, starting a 13-3 SPU surge that netted a 39-28 lead. Penner capped the run on a trey with 13:28 left to play.
 
Defense keyed the Falcons' second-half success as they forced five turnovers during the first 12 minutes while limiting HPU to 2-for-12 shooting en route to their largest advantage at 48-31.

 

The Sharks mounted a late surge, scoring eight straight points to draw within 53-45 with 2:17 remaining. Brendan Carroll repelled that rally with a 3-pointer on the Falcons' next possession and the differential never got within double digits the rest of the way.
 
SPU's shooting was poorer inside the 3-point arc at 33 percent (13 of 40) than their 42-percent accuracy (8 of 19) outside.
 
"I'm just really proud of our effort defensively," Looney said. "We were able to do a great job on that end on a night where we didn't shoot it very well."
 
The Falcons limited their opponents to 36-percent from the floor (18 of 50) and just 3 of 16 on treys.
 
Hawaii Pacific dropped its ninth consecutive decision to SPU and now trails the all-time series 9-2.
 
The win successfully started SPU's stretch of five games in six days during two tournaments in Hawaii.
 
"We're really excited about it, to come this far away from home and play as hard as we did," said Looney. "This is definitely something to build on. But BYU-Hawaii is very talented and it's going to be a tough one (Saturday) night."
 
The Falcons clash with tournament host BYU-Hawaii on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time. They take Sunday off from competition before playing on each of the following three nights.
 
After their return from Hawaii, the SPU men get a one-week respite from games before Great Northwest Athletic Conference play begins on Dec. 4 at Northwest Nazarene.
 
The next home game for Seattle Pacific is Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. against George Fox. That is the only December home game at Brougham Pavilion.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
PacWest/GNAC Challenge
Friday, Nov. 21, 2014
Cannon Activity Center / Laie, Hawaii
 
(#22) Seattle Pacific 61, Hawaii Pacific 49
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (3-1)
Swanson 1-8 1-2 3, Hutsen 4-13 2-3 10, Leavitt 1-3 0-0 2, Borton 1-5 1-3 3, Stockton 8-11 2-5 22, Carroll 3-8 0-0 8, Parker 0-0 0-0 0, Penner 3-9 5-6 13, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0, Rasmussen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 11-19 61.
 
HAWAII PACIFIC (0-1)
Nordquist 2-5 1-5 5, Hager 5-10 7-7 18, Guy 2-4 0-0 4, Jones 1-8 0-0 2, Long 5-12 0-0 11, Looney 0-0 0-0 0, Lascelles 2-5 0-0 4, Morgan 0-4 1-3 1, Horowitz 1-1 0-0 3, Garrett 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 18-50 10-17 49.
 
Seattle Pacific........   26   35  -  61
Hawaii Pacific.........   25   24  -  49
 
3-point goals—SPU 8-19 (Stockton 4-5, Penner 2-3, Carroll 2-3, Rasmussen 0-1, Borton 0-3, Swanson 0-4), HPU 3-16 (Horowitz 1-1, Hager 1-3, Long 1-6, Lascelles 0-1, Jones 0-2, Morgan 0-3). Fouled out--SPU-None, HPU-None. Rebounds--SPU 41 (Borton 12), HPU 37 (Long 9). Assists--SPU 12 (Stockton 4), HPU 8 (Nordquist, Jones 2). Total fouls—SPU 19, HPU 19. Technical fouls--SPU-None, HPU-None. A-118.
 
 
Next Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at BYU-Hawaii
Saturday, Nov. 22, 9:30 p.m. PST
Laie, Hawaii