Box Score • Final Stats
SEATTLE – There is no substitute for experience when it comes to succeeding in difficult environments, according to Coach
Ryan Looney.
David Downs scored 19 points Thursday, including six straight to ignite a late 11-point run and lift the 19th-ranked Seattle Pacific men to an 88-76 Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball victory over Alaska Anchorage at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.
SPU (19-4) extended its current winning streak to eight games and improved to 10-2 in GNAC play to take over sole possession of first place. Western Washington was idle with a second-place record of 9-2.
Anchorage (13-10) saw its conference record leveled at 6-6.
The Seawolves evened the score 70-70 on a layup by Brian McGill with 2:28 left in the game. SPU scored the next 11 points, aided by two technical fouls on UAA coach Rusty Osborne, who was ejected.
Kyle Fossman grabbed the Falcons'
Riley Stockton around the waist to prevent an open layup and was whistled for an intentional foul. Osborne protested the call and drew his first technical with 2:10 on the clock.
Downs (Kirkland, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) converted the ensuing free throws and then followed with a back-door layup at 2:02. He hit two more free throws at 1:49 after Osborne objected to a foul call on Colton Lauwers against SPU's
Mitch Penner to receive his second technical. Penner followed Downs with two free throws of his own.
Patrick Simon was wide open underneath for a dunk at 1:30 and Penner capped the surge on a free throw with 1:19 left to provide an 81-70 SPU lead.
"In a short amount of time it went from a tie game to an 11-point lead and then we just made free throws down the stretch," described Looney, SPU's fifth-year head coach.
The Falcons made 7 of 10 free throws inside the final minute to preserve their second straight victory at UAA, a feat they haven't accomplished since getting back-to-back road wins against the Seawolves in 2004 and 2005. They won 85-79 last season to stop a seven-game losing streak in visits to Anchorage.
Looney credits a roster full of veteran talent for the rare success in unfriendly Anchorage.
"It's experience and having mature guys. We've got a number of people now that fully understand what it's like to come on some of these trips and what you need to do to be able to get out of there with wins. I would attribute it to experience. It would be a lot harder if you were rolling in here with a bunch of freshmen."
Penner (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy HS) scored 20 points, just two shy of his career high, to pace the Falcons. His production sparked SPU's 29-8 advantage in scoring from reserve players.
"Mitch had great energy on a night where we really needed him," said Looney. "They started a different lineup. They went small and played five guards virtually the entire game so for a lot of it we needed to go smaller to. And to some degree foul trouble dictated that. We needed somebody like Mitch to step up and he did."
SPU starters Simon and Borton added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Despite not recording double figures in any category, Stockton (Spokane, Wash./Ferris HS) flirted with a triple-double. The junior guard amassed nine assists, eight rebounds and seven points.
"That's kind of what he does. Riley does a lot of different things for us and even some of it doesn't reflect in the boxscore too," Looney explained.
"He did a great job defensively and helped get our guys settled down there, especially in the second half where it was a little bit heated and somewhat controversial."
Fossman finished with 18 points to lead UAA. Lauwers and Travis Thompson each tallied 14 points and Teancum Stafford had 13.
SPU shot 55 percent from the field (28 of 51), including 12-of-23 accuracy from 3-point range. The Seawolves were limited to 40 percent shooting (27 of 67) and made 9 of 28 treys.
In the first half, the Falcons drained 5 of their first 7 shots to open an early 12-5 edge four minutes into the contest. Anchorage answered with a 9-1 run to claim its first lead with 13:03 left in the half.
The Seawolves were already in the bonus just eight minutes into the game as the beneficiaries of a 7-1 foul disparity. Key SPU contributors Simon and Penner were each saddled with two fouls at that point.
"I was happy with our guys. We fought through a little adversity, especially foul trouble throughout the game and found a way to win in a tough environment," said Looney.
The Seawolves led 34-32 before SPU closed the half with an 11-2 surge to go into the locker room with a 43-36 advantage.
That lead immediately shrunk in the second half as McGill converted two free throws without the clock moving as Looney was issued a technical foul for arguing with officials after time expired in the opening period.
The Falcons remain in Alaska to play third-place Fairbanks on Saturday at 8 p.m. Pacific Time. The Nanooks have a 9-0 record at home in the Patty Center, including wins over five GNAC visitors.
"It presents a new set of challenges for us," Looney said about the second leg of SPU's Alaska road trip. "Fairbanks is a team that we match up much better with, but they also are undefeated at home this year. So it's a big challenge for us to be able to get it done."
SPU's next home game is Feb. 13 against Simon Fraser with a 7:30 p.m. matchup at Brougham Pavilion.
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014
Wells Fargo Sports Complex / Anchorage, Ak.
(#19) Seattle Pacific 88, at Alaska Anchorage 76
SEATTLE PACIFIC (19-4, 10-2 GNAC)
Borton 3-4 6-8 14, Simon 5-7 3-4 15, Hutsen 2-7 0-0 4, Downs 6-11 4-4 19, Stockton 3-7 0-2 7, Penner 6-10 6-8 20, Carroll 2-4 0-0 6, Todd 1-1 1-3 3, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-51 20-29 88.
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (13-10, 6-6 GNAC)
Lauwers 4-8 2-2 14, Stafford 5-10 2-3 13, McGill 3-10 3-4 9, Fossman 8-16 2-2 18, Thompson 5-13 2-2 14, Blossom 2-7 0-1 6, Leckband 0-3 2-2 2, Mears 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-67 13-16 76.
Seattle Pacific............... 43 45 - 88
Alaska Anchorage.............. 36 40 - 76
3-point goals--SPU 12-23 (Downs 3-7, Carroll 2-4, Penner 2-4, Borton 2-2, Simon 2-3, Stockton 1-3), UAA 9-28 (Lauwers 4-7, Thompson 2-6, Blossom 2-5, Stafford 1-4, Leckband 0-1, McGill 0-1, Fossman 0-4).
Fouled out--SPU-None, UAA-McGill.
Rebounds--SPU 33 (Stockton 8), UAA 31 (Stafford 8).
Assists--SPU 24 (Stockton 9), UAA 23 (Thompson 9).
Total fouls--SPU 17, UAA 21.
Technical fouls--SPU-bench, UAA-bench 2.
Att.-623.
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks
Saturday, Feb. 8, 8:00 p.m. PST
Patty Center / Fairbanks, Ak.
