Box Score    |   Final Stats   |   VIDEO: Cory  Hutsen

SEATTLE – Visits by their rivals from Anchorage bring out the best in Seattle Pacific. It happened again Thursday night.
 
Mitch Penner and Cory Hutsen combined for 39 points as the Falcons continued their men's basketball dominance of Alaska Anchorage with a 73-51 Great Northwest Athletic Conference triumph.
 
The Falcons (13-4) improved to 5-2 in conference play with their 11th consecutive home decision over UAA at Brougham Pavilion. The win was their sixth straight overall versus the Seawolves, marking SPU's longest streak of success in the series.
 
"In my time coaching here, our guys get up for them," SPU coach Ryan Looney said of encounters with UAA.
 
"They're traditionally a very good team. They have a lot of guys characteristic-wise that are similar to our players. All of them are very competitive and want to win. Our guys just rise to the occasion."
 


Anchorage (8-8) had its five-game winning streak halted and fell to 4-2 in GNAC games.
 
Penner (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy HS) pitched in a game-high 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Hutsen (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline HS) was 9-for-12 en route to an 18-point performance.
 
Senior guard Riley Stockton (Spokane, Wash./Ferris HS) recorded his second double-double. He tallied 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead SPU's 30-19 margin on the boards.

 

That double-figure scoring trio collectively shot 22 of 32 from the field. They helped SPU to a 62-percent effort (31 of 50) as a team.
 
Travis Thompson led the Seawolves with 17 points, including his team's first eight points after halftime. Brian McGill added 10 points for UAA, but did not have an assist despite averaging six per game entering the contest.
 
 "I was happy with how our guys paid attention to detail with the scouting report defensively," said Looney. "We wanted to do a real good job in some specific areas, and collectively as a team we did."
 
The normally dangerous Anchorage deep threats were limited to four 3-pointers and took 19 attempts to get those. SPU also had four treys, but in 12 fewer tries (7).
 
"That was our main focus defensively, to take away the 3-point line in this game," Looney explained. "On the other end we wanted to do a really good job giving Cory Hutsen and Mitch Penner and opportunity to score in the post. Those were very good matchups for us on the offensive end.
 
"A lot of credit has to go to all the other guys who got in the game that were unselfish enough to continue to give them the ball."
 
The Falcons utilized an 11-4 run to claim a 20-12 lead 10 minutes into the game. They hit their final four shots in the run, including a 3-pointer and mid-range jumper from Shawn Reid.
 
SPU turned the ball over on its next three possessions, enabling UAA to get back-to-back baskets. But the Falcons staged a seven-point surge, capped by a Garrett Swanson trey at 5:24, to push the margin to 27-16.
 
A layup by Penner with two seconds on the clock produced a 35-23 halftime advantage for the hosts.
 
SPU shot 67 percent (14 of 21) during the opening period, including 4-of-6 accuracy from 3-point range. They held the Seawolves at 42 percent (10-24) and 2 of 9 on treys.
 
In the second half, Penner powered a 9-2 run with seven points that netted a 50-33 Falcons lead. The visitors never drew closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
 
SPU closed the game with a 14-4 run, stretching the lead to its high of 22 points at the end.
 
Before overcoming the Seawolves, SPU had to get past the heartbreak of a 68-66 setback at Western Washington in the last outing. A Vikings layup was ruled to have beaten the final buzzer, sending the Falcons home from Bellingham with a difficult defeat.
 
"One thing we've been trying to preach every day is just moving on to the next play," Looney said. "As disappointing as last Saturday night was, we knew that we needed to wipe it clean, move on and get ready for this one tonight."
 
The Falcons now turn their attention to the next opponent. They remain home for a Saturday game at 5:15 p.m. against Alaska Fairbanks. That is the opener of a Brougham Pavilion doubleheader with the SPU women.


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.

at Seattle Pacific 73, Alaska Anchorage 51

ALASKA ANCHORAGE (8-8, 4-2 GNAC)
Diouf 2-4 0-0 4, Parrish 1-1 0-0 2, McGill 4-10 1-2 10, Thompson 6-12 4-4 17, Bowman 1-2 0-0 3, Hunter 1-7 4-5 6, Berg 2-2 0-0 4, Fain 1-2 0-0 3, Leckband 1-3 0-0 2, Mears 0-0 0-2 0, Pearson 0-0 0-0 0, Blossom 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-44 9-13 51.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-4, 5-2 GNAC)
Penner 7-10 6-8 21; Hutsen 9-12 0-0 18; Stockton 6-10 0-0 13; Carroll 3-5 0-1 6; Borton 1-3 0-0 2; Reid 3-6 1-3 8; Swanson 1-1 0-0 3; Leavitt 1-1 0-0 2; Rasmussen 0-1 0-0 0; Parker 0-1 0-0 0; Simpson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-50 7-12 73.

Alaska Anchorage.......   23   28  -  51
Seattle Pacific........   35   38  -  73

3-point goals--UAA 4-19 (McGill 1-5, Fain 1-1, Thompson 1-4, Bowman 1-2, Leckband 0-1, Hunter 0-6), SPU 4-7 (Stockton 1-1, Reid 1-1, Penner 1-2, Swanson 1-1, Rasmussen 0-1, Borton 0-1). Fouled out--UAA-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--UAA 19 (Berg, Diouf 4), SPU 30 (Stockton 10). Assists--UAA 3 (Hunter, Blossom, Berg 1), SPU 11 (Stockton 4). Total fouls--UAA 17, SPU 16. Technical fouls--UAA-None, SPU-Carroll. Att.-293.


Next Men's Basketball Game
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Jan. 17, 5:15 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.