Box Score

BILLINGS, Mont. – Matt Borton tallied 13 of his 15 points during the first half Saturday, helping Seattle Pacific build an early lead en route to a 60-44 win over Montana State Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (15-4) completed their first swing through the league schedule with a 7-2 record. They sit one game in the standings behind Western Oregon (8-1), a team they visit on Saturday.
 
"We're not necessarily focused on where we're at in the conference standings," said SPU coach Ryan Looney. "We just want to try to get better every game and, when it's all said and done, give ourselves a chance to play in another NCAA Tournament.
 
SPU boasts the nation's longest active streak of consecutive playoff appearances among Division II men's programs, a stretch of 10 years.
 
Borton (Yakima, Wash./West Valley HS) hit 6 of 11 shots from the field, including 3 of 4 attempts from 3-point range. The senior guard grabbed nine rebounds to lead the visitors' 38-21 advantage on the boards.

 

Junior forward Mitch Penner (Seattle, Wash./Kennedy HS) contributed 13 points and eight rebounds for SPU.
 
The Yellowjackets (4-15) dropped to 2-7 in GNAC play and were held to their lowest point total of the season. They did not have a double-figure scorer, being led by the eight points of Emmanuel Johnson.
 
The Falcons compiled 20 of their first-half points from inside the paint. The rest of their scoring came from behind the 3-point arc (12) and the free throw line (3).
 
"A lot of credit goes to our bigs," Looney explained. "Billings doubled the post on us, especially early in the game, and our guys did a nice job getting the ball out of there. Matt was the benefactor of some of that."
 
Borton drained back-to-back treys to provide an early 10-3 lead. Following consecutive baskets by Billings, SPU staged an 11-3 surge. By the time Cory Hutsen completed a three-point play at 5:12, the Falcons owned their largest lead at 26-14.
 
MSUB chipped away at the deficit and drew within 35-26 at halftime on a pair of free throws by Johnson with 37 seconds showing on the clock.
 
The Yellowjackets strung together six straight points early in the second half to close the gap. A jump shot by Antoine Hosley with 13:11 left to play brought them within 41-37.

 

The Falcons netted the next six points, three apiece from Penner and Joe Rasmussen. That ignited a game-closing spree during which they outscored the hosts 19-7.
 
MSUB scored only 18 points after halftime, shooting just 49 percent (7-24) during that span.
 
"We struggled a little bit offensively, but anytime you can go on the road in a conference game and only give up 44 points you've got to be pretty excited about your defensive effort," said Looney.
 
For the game, SPU shot 44 percent (24 of 54) and was 5-of-13 on treys while limiting the Yellowjackets to 34-percent accuracy (16 of 47).
 
The Falcons remain on the road for two games next week. They visit Saint Martin's on Thursday before wrapping up the three-game road trip on Saturday at league-leading Western Oregon.

SPU dealt the Wolves their lone league loss, an 83-76 decision on Jan. 1 in Seattle.


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.

Seattle Pacific 60, at Montana State Billings 44

SEATTLE PACIFIC (15-4, 7-2 GNAC)
Penner 5-11 3-6 13, Hutsen 2-6 4-5 8, Stockton 3-9 0-0 6, Borton 6-11 0-1 15, Carroll 1-4 0-0 2, Rasmussen 4-5 0-0 9, Reid 2-5 0-0 5, Swanson 1-1 0-0 2, Parker 0-2 0-0 0, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0, Leavitt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 7-12 60.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (4-15, 2-7 GNAC)
Nelson 2-4 3-5 7, Perry 3-14 0-0 6, Gataric 2-7 0-0 4, Denham 0-5 2-2 2, Anderson 2-4 0-0 5, Johnson 2-5 2-2 8, Matthews 3-5 1-1 7, Hosley 2-3 0-0 4, Adams 0-0 1-2 1, Henderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-47 9-12 44.

Seattle Pacific..............   35   25  -  60
Montana State Billings.......   26   18 -   44

3-point goals--SPU 5-13 (Borton 3-4, Rasmussen 1-1, Reid 1-2, Stockton 0-2, Parker 0-1, Penner 0-3), MSUB 3-12 (Johnson 2-4, Anderson 1-2, Matthews 0-1, Perry 0-3, Gataric 0-1, Denham 0-1). Fouled out--SPU-None, MSUB-None. Rebounds--SPU 38 (Borton 9), MSUB 21 (Nelson, Perry 5). Assists--SPU 7 (Hutsen 3), MSUB 3 (Gataric, Denham, Perry 1). Total fouls--SPU 15, MSUB 14. Technical fouls--SPU-None, MSUB-None. Att.-628.


Next Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's
Thursday, Jan. 29, 7:00 p.m. PST
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.