Box Score    |   Final Stats

LAIE, Hawaii – Scott Friel tallied 14 of his team-high 20 points during the second half, helping BYU-Hawaii rally from a double-digit deficit to defeat 22nd-ranked Seattle Pacific 87-74 late Saturday night in the final men's basketball game of the PacWest/GNAC Challenge at the Cannon Activity Center.
 
SPU (3-2) drew a split in the first of two tournaments on this road trip after posting a 61-49 victory over Hawaii Pacific on Friday.
 
The Falcons fell Saturday despite the season-high 23-point performance of Cory Hutsen. The 6-foot-8 senior center hit 9 of 15 shots from the field and converted 5 of 6 free throws.
 
Garrett Swanson and Matt Borton each contributed 12 points for SPU, which shot a respectable 47 percent as a team (24 of 51), including 6-for-15 accuracy on 3-pointers.
 
The Seasiders (2-0) countered with stellar 63-percent shooting from the field (35 of 56).
 
Friel fueled BYUH with a 20-point 11-rebound double-double. He was one of five Seasider double-figure scorers, joining Pablo Coro with 15 points and Cory Lange with 12 along with Daniel Berger and Luke Aston with 10 apiece.
 
Host BYU-Hawaii, an 87-61 victor over Central Washington on Friday, claimed the championship of its own tournament.
 
SPU seemingly took control with a strong surge over the final seven minutes of the first half. After trailing by four points early, the visitors closed with a 21-8 run to claim a 44-33 halftime advantage. Six different players scored during that stretch led by seven points from Cory Hutsen.
 
The Seasiders made their next five shots, opening the second half with a 12-2 run to erase all but one point of their deficit in less than four minutes.
 
Soon after that SPU's lead was entirely gone when a jumper by Friel at 14:18 produced a 49-48 Seasiders lead.
 
After three quick lead changes and two ties, BYUH went ahead for good at 56-55 on a three-point play by Cory Lange with 10:24 remaining. That margin steadily increased to a high of 17 points before SPU scored six of the final eight points to set the final score.
 
The Seasiders stopped a four-game losing streak in meetings against the Falcons, who still own a 12-2 lead in the all-time series.
 
The SPU men are in the midst of a strenuous stretch of five games in six days in Hawaii. They begin the three-day Vulcans Thanksgiving Classic on Monday at 7 p.m. Pacific Time against Northwest Indian College from Bellingham, Wash. That game is followed by a Tuesday encounter with Washburn (Kan.) and a Wednesday clash with host Hawaii Hilo.
 
After returning from Hawaii, SPU gets a one-week respite from games before Great Northwest Athletic Conference play begins on Dec. 4 at Northwest Nazarene.
 
The Falcons next home game is Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. against George Fox. That is their only December home game at Brougham Pavilion.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
PacWest/GNAC Challenge
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014
Cannon Activity Center / Laie, Hawaii
 
BYU-Hawaii 87, (#22) Seattle Pacific 74
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (3-2)
Swanson 3-7 3-4 12, Hutsen 9-15 5-6 23, Stockton 3-7 0-0 6, Leavitt 1-5 4-4 6, Borton 3-6 4-6 12, Penner 2-6 4-5 8, Carroll 3-5 0-0 7, Reid 0-0 0-0 0, Rasmussen 0-0 0-0 0, Parker 0-0 0-0 0, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 20-25 74.
 
BYU-HAWAII (2-0)
Stone 0-1 2-2 2, Coro 6-15 2-2 15, Mitchell 3-5 2-2 8, Friel 8-10 4-5 20, Berger 4-4 2-2 10, Lange 5-6 1-1 12, Aston 4-8 0-0 10, Harward 4-4 0-0 8, Yamzon 1-1 0-0 2, Tuliau 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 35-56 13-14 87.
 
Seattle Pacific........   44   30  -  74
BYU-Hawaii.............   33   54  -  87
 
 3-point goals--SPU 6-15 (Swanson 3-5, Borton 2-4, Carroll 1-3, Stockton 0-2, Penner 0-1), BYUH 4-11 (Aston 2-6, Lange 1-1, Coro 1-4). Fouled out--SPU-None, BYUH-None. Rebounds--SPU 25 (Borton 6), BYUH 27 (Friel 11). Assists--SPU 14 (Stockton 4), BYUH 22 (Mitchell 8). Total fouls--SPU 18, BYUH 24. Technical fouls--SPU-None, BYUH-None. Att.-550.

Next Men's Basketball Game
Vulcans Thanksgiving Classic
Seattle Pacific vs. Northwest Indian College
Monday, Nov. 24, 7:00 p.m. PST
Hilo, Hawaii