Box Score    |   Final Stats   |   VIDEO: Will Parker

SEATTLE – A lengthy bench paired with superb long-distance shooting helped Seattle Pacific make short work of its opponent Saturday.
 
Reserve point guard Will Parker nailed all four of his 3-point attempts to lead SPU's finest long-range shooting performance of the season in an 87-52 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over Saint Martin's at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (11-3) stretched their winning streak to a season-best five games while improving to 3-1 in league play. They are tied atop the GNAC standings with Western Oregon, a team SPU defeated 83-76 at home on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage.
 
 "Great team effort," exclaimed SPU coach Ryan Looney. "Everybody got in and did a nice job in a lot of different areas. We were extremely unselfish on offense, our rebounding effort was great and our attention to detail with the scouting report defensively was good."


 
The hosts shot a sizzling 52 percent (14 of 27) from long distance against the Saints and four players made multiple treys. That fueled the Falcons 58 percent overall effort from the field (33 of 57).
 
"Our guys have worked really hard in that area and have a lot of confidence right now. The statistics reflect that," Looney said of his team's stellar shooting.
 
SPU tops all GNAC teams in both field goal percentage (52.9%) and 3-point precision (40.9%).
 
Saint Martin's (5-9) saw its conference record evened at 2-2.
 
SPU's league-leading accuracy was on display early. Four of the first five 3-point attempts went down, all of them from different players, en route to a 14-7 lead.
 
That figure improved to 7-of-8 when Parker entered the game and drained three consecutive treys to account for nine straight SPU points. His third 3-pointer, with 10:48 left in the first half, provided a 26-14 advantage.
 
"Will was the guy who gave us a punch off the bench tonight and that depth is what has allowed us to be good recently," said Looney. "Thursday night Shawn Reid did it and he did it one night down in Las Vegas as well."
 
Reid scored 14 points on Thursday versus Western Oregon. He erupted for 30 points in only 18 minutes to lead a 76-66 win over Dixie State on Dec. 17.

 

Mitch Penner netted the final four points of the half on Saturday, including a tip-in at the buzzer, to give SPU a 47-26 halftime margin.
 
Six separate players hit first-half 3-pointers for the Falcons, who were 10-for-15 from beyond the arc. That was more treys than they compiled in any entire contest as nine was their previous game-high total.
 
SPU shot 62 percent (18 of 29) from the field while holding the Saints at 42 percent (11 of 26) during the opening 20 minutes.
 
Parker (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline HS) matched his career-high with 12 points, all of them on treys.
 
Penner led six SPU double-figure scorers with 17 points. Cory Hutsen added 14 points while Riley Stockton and Matt Borton each had 13.
 
"We're excited about the balance that we have on offense, but right now we're even more excited about Will Parker, Joe Rasmussen, Shawn Reid and all those guys giving us a lift off the bench," Looney said.

Stockton (Spokane, Wash./Ferris HS) hauled in 10 rebounds to lead SPU's 40-20 dominance on the glass. Along with notching his first double-double of the season, and fourth of his career, Stockton distributed a game-high six assists.
 
Tyler Idowu was the Saints only double-digit scorer. He tallied 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor and 6-of-9 from the free throw line.
 
The Falcons lead was 56-31 before SMU reeled off eight straight points, five of them from Ryan Rogers. That surge narrowed the gap to 56-39 with 14:42 left to play.

 

Parker responded with his fourth 3-pointer to start a five-point SPU run that turned back the visitor's challenge. The lead eventually grew as high as 38 points.
 
The Falcons hit the road for two GNAC games next week. They visit Simon Fraser on Thursday at 7 p.m. before an encounter with Western Washington on Saturday. Tip-off for that clash in Bellingham was recently changed to 9 p.m. to accommodate a live television broadcast on ROOT Sports.
 
"Both of those teams play a lot faster than we do, so a lot of our preparation for both will be about controlling tempo," Looney said. "We'll do what we do in those areas all week in practice to get ready."
 
Simon Fraser scores at a remarkable 124.3-point clip to lead the nation. Western ranks second in the GNAC with an 84.1-point scoring average.
 
The Falcons counter with the stingiest defense in the conference, surrendering just 62.3 points per game.


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.

at Seattle Pacific 87, Saint Martin's 52

SAINT MARTIN'S (5-9, 2-2 GNAC)
Rogers 3-6 0-0 7, Idowu 6-8 6-9 18, Ingram 2-6 0-0 6, Copp 3-7 0-0 7, Chatwin 0-4 0-0 0, Counts 3-6 0-0 6, Ieronymides 1-1 1-2 3, Roggenbach 0-0 2-3 2, Bond 1-3 0-0 2, Carel 0-5 1-2 1, Bianchini 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 10-16 52.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (11-3, 3-1 GNAC)
Penner 6-8 4-7 17, Hutsen 6-12 2-2 14, Stockton 5-6 0-0 13, Carroll 4-6 0-0 10, Borton 5-9 0-0 13, Parker 4-5 0-0 12, Reid 1-5 0-0 3, Rasmussen 1-2 0-0 2, Poulsen 1-2 0-0 2, Simpson 0-0 1-4 1, Swanson 0-1 0-0 0, Morse 0-1 0-0 0, Leavitt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-57 7-13 87.

Saint Martin's ........   26   26 -   52
Seattle Pacific........   47   40  -  87

3-point goals--SMU 4-13 (Ingram 2-3, Copp 1-4, Rogers 1-2, Bond 0-1, Chatwin 0-2, Bianchini 0-1), SPU 14-27 (Parker 4-4, Stockton 3-4, Borton 3-5, Carroll 2-4, Penner 1-3, Reid 1-4, Swanson 0-1, Morse 0-1, Rasmussen 0-1). Fouled out--SMU-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--SMU 20 (Chatwin 4), SPU 40 (Stockton 10). Assists--SMU 6 (Carel 3), SPU 19 (Stockton 6). Total fouls--SMU 15, SPU 14. Technical fouls--SMU-None, SPU-None. Att.-281.


Next Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser
Thursday, Jan. 8, 7:00 p.m. PST
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.