Box Score
FAIRBANKS, Ak. – Coach Ryan Looney persistently preaches to his players about developing good habits. One habit they have definitely displayed is a knack for producing 20-win seasons.
 
 
The Falcons (20-4) secured their unprecedented fifth consecutive 20-win season and the 22nd overall in school history. They previously strung together four 20-victory seasons from 1999 to 2002.
 
The current 20-win streak started in Looney's first season at the helm, a 22-6 campaign in 2009-10. That was followed by records of 20-10, 23-8 and a 27-4 mark last season that tied the school record for victories and marked the finest winning percentage (87.1%) in the 70-year history of the program.
 
 
"I didn't know that. That's pretty special and is a testament to the hard work all of our guys have put in and the habits we've been able to develop."
 
SPU's first-place conference record improved to 11-2 while Fairbanks (13-8) remains in third place with an 8-5 GNAC mark after having its 11-game home winning streak stopped.
 
Matt Borton (Yakima, Wash./West Valley HS) scored 11 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds for the Falcons, who dominated their hosts on the boards by a 41-22 margin. The lopsided rebound margin enabled them to score 17 second-chance points.
 
That was the second double-double of the season for Borton and he was nearly joined by Simon (Ephrata, Wash./WSU), who had nine rebounds.
 
"Matt's a guy that has consistently gotten better as the year has gone on and that's a reason that we're playing a lot better now," Looney said, pointing to Borton's improved rebounding. "He's started to value that part of the game and it's been big for him."
 
Borton transferred to SPU from Idaho prior to this season. The 6-foot-5 junior guard's previous rebounding high was 10, accomplished on Dec. 21 against Walla Walla.
 
Stefan Tica paced UAF with 17 points and Andrew Kelly added 15.
 
SPU fell behind 37-36 on a layup by Dallen Bills with 14:32 left to play. That was the Nanooks final lead as a pair of nine-point runs fueled an 18-6 scoring spree by the visitors. Simon capped the surge with a 3-pointer that provided a 54-43 Falcons advantage with 6:40 remaining.
 
SPU shot 44 percent for the game (24 of 55), including 10-for-23 accuracy on 3-pointers. Simon made 4 of 8 treys.
 
Fairbanks was limited to 39-percent shooting (20 of 52) and made 6 of 17 treys.
 
Paired with Thursday's 88-76 win at Anchorage, SPU swept its two-game Alaska road trip for the second straight season. Prior to last year, the Falcons had not won both games in Alaska since 2002.
 
"Obviously we are excited to come to Alaska and get two wins," Looney exclaimed. "Not very many teams are able to do that. I'm proud of our guys because on a night where we didn't shoot it as well as maybe we normally do we were able to rely on our defense and rebounding to carry us through."
 
In the first half, Ronnie Baker nailed two free throws with 13:38 left in the first half to put the Nanooks ahead 11-9. They would not score again for the next 7:26, missing eight shots and committing two turnovers during that span.
 
SPU capitalized on that drought with a run of 11 unanswered points with five different players doing the damage. The first three baskets came on second-chance opportunities following offensive rebounds.
 
 
Kelly halted UAF's slump on a layup 6:12 before halftime.
 
The Nanooks tallied the final five points of the half, on a three-point play and tip-in by Kelly, to draw within 30-25. Kelly accumulated 12 points by intermission, nearly half of his team's total.
 
The SPU men play their next three games at Brougham Pavilion to close out their home schedule. They host Simon Fraser on Thursday and second-place Western Washington on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7:30 p.m. as the nightcap of doubleheaders with the Falcons women who play at 5:15 p.m. both nights.
 
"It will be nice to be home for two weeks after this long trip," Looney said.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014
Patty Center / Fairbanks, Ak.
 
(#19) Seattle Pacific 67, at Alaska Fairbanks 56
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (20-4, 11-2 GNAC)
Borton 3-11 3-4 11, Simon 7-15 0-0 18, Hutsen 2-7 0-2 4, Downs 2-6 2-2 7, Stockton 3-7 2-2 9, Penner 7-7 2-2 18, Todd 0-0 0-0 0, Carroll 0-2 0-0 0, Parker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 9-12 67.
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (13-8, 8-5 GNAC)
Tica 6-9 2-2 17, Kelly 6-10 3-4 15, Pucar 2-9 0-0 5, Baker 1-9 4-4 6, Slocum 3-9 1-1 8, Stepovich 1-2 0-0 3, Bills 1-1 0-0 2, Pierson 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 0-2 0-0 0, Reese 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 10-11 56.

Seattle Pacific...............   30   37  -   67
Alaska Fairbanks..............   25   31  -   56

3-point goals--SPU 10-23 (Simon 4-8, Penner 2-2, Borton 2-5, Stockton 1-2, Downs 1-4, Carroll 0-2), UAF 6-17 (Tica 3-5, Slocum 1-4, Stepovich 1-2, Pucar 1-3, Allen 0-1, Baker 0-2). Fouled out--SPU-None, UAF-None. Rebounds--SPU 41 (Borton 14), UAF 22 (Kelly 8). Assists--SPU 13 (Downs 5), UAF 13 (Pucar 5). Total fouls--SPU 13, UAF 13. Technical fouls--SPU-None, UAF-None. Att.-544.


Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.