Box Score

ST. GEORGE, Utah – JT Roach compiled 16 points and three steals for Concordia (Calif.), which tallied 21 points off turnovers on Friday en route to a 68-60 overtime win over Seattle Pacific in the men's basketball season opener for both teams at the Dixie State Classic.
 
The Falcons (0-1) will play again at Burns Arena on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. PST against host Dixie State.
 
SPU lost its opener for the season straight season. The Falcons overcame a 70-67 home setback to Academy of Art last year to advance all the way to the NCAA Division II West Regional semifinals.
 
Concordia (1-0) got a victory in its NCAA debut. They Eagles, from Irvine, Calif., joined the Division II ranks after a successful run as a NAIA competitors.
 
Justin Davis erased a three point SPU lead, forcing overtime on a trey with 20 seconds left in regulation.
 
After Mitch Penner's two free throws with 3:44 left in overtime forged the Falcons final lead, at 56-54, they came up empty on the next six possessions with five missed shots and a turnover. The final four misses were all 3-point tries.
 
That drought enabled CU to surge to a 63-56 lead before SPU finally scored on a Bryce Leavitt free throw with 0:42 remaining.
 
SPU drew within 64-60 on Sam Simpson's 3-pointer with 27 seconds left, but Davis and Case Bruton each drained a pair of free throws in the final 23 seconds and two SPU trey tries went awry.
 
Penner (Kennedy HS) scored nine of his team-high 13 points during the first half for the Falcons, who also go 11 from Brendan Carroll (Brisbane, Australia).
 
Joining Roach in double-digits for the Eagles were Stephen Grosey with 11 and Geoff Gerlach with 10.
 
The Falcons won the board battle, 48-32, led by Leavitt and Gilles Dierickx, who each grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
The SPU men also won the shooting contest, hitting 43 percent (23 of 54) while holding Concordia at 30 percent (20 of 66). They made just 3 of 18 treys and 11 of 18 free throws.
 
The Falcons were undone by 25 turnovers. Eleven of those were created by steals from the Eagles, who had just 10 turnovers of their own.
 
The Falcons were even, 26-26, at halftime despite committing 11 turnovers during the opening 20 minutes. They were ahead 17-16 before Concordia reeled off nine straight points to claim their largest advantage, at 25-17 with 4:04 on the clock.
 
Coleman Wooten answered with a put-back layup, starting a run of nine SPU points that he capped with a layup at 0:56. The Eagles got a free throw from Roach to even the score at 26-26.
 
The turnover troubles continued into the second half as SPU had four miscues in the first three minutes of the second half. Concordia didn't capitalize, claiming only a 28-26 lead at that point.
 
Neither team led by more than four points during the second half until the Falcons opened a 52-47 margin with 1:23 left in regulation on a free throw line jumper by Carroll. But CU answered with a put-back shot by Grosey, and then a Carroll turnover set up Davis' tying trey.
 
Half (6) of the players that saw action for the Falcons Friday were making their regular-season debut in an SPU uniform. Three of them are transfers; Dierickx is a 7-foot center who transferred from Washington, Olivier-Paul Betu came from UC Davis and Hunter Eisenhower from Chadron State. Wooten and Nathan Streufert are red-shirt freshman while Gabe Colosimo is a true freshman from Sandy, Utah.
 
The SPU men play their home openers next weekend in the Sodexo Challenge at Brougham Pavilion. They host BYU-Hawaii on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. in a rematch of last season's NCAA Tournament first-round clash, won 81-69 by the Falcons. On Saturday, Nov. 21 they entertain Hawaii-Hilo at 3 p.m.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Dixie State Classic
Friday, Nov. 13, 2015
Burns Arena/St. George, Utah
 
Concordia (Calif.) 68, Seattle Pacific 60 (ot)
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (0-1)
Simpson 2-4 0-0 5, Penner 5-9 3-6 13, Dierickx 2-5 0-0 4, Carroll 5-12 1-2 11, Colosimo 2-2 2-3 7, Streufert 1-4 3-3 5, Swanson 2-5 0-0 5, Wooten 2-2 0-0 4, Parker 1-7 1-2 3, Leavitt 1-4 1-2 3, Eisenhower 0-0 0-0 0, Betu 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 11-18 60.
 
CONCORDIA, CALIF. (1-0)
Gerlach 4-7 2-2 10, Grosey 5-11 0-2 11, Scott 1-8 0-2 2, Thomas 3-12 2-4 8, Bruton 1-8 4-4 6, Roach 5-12 4-6 16, Davis 1-6 6-8 9, Turner 0-0 4-4 4, Mellinger 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 20-66 24-34 68.
 
Seattle Pacific...............  26   26    8  -  60
Concordia (CA)................  26   26   16  -  68
 
3-point goals--SPU 3-18 (Simpson 1-3, Swanson 1-3, Colosimo 1-1, Parker 0-4, Leavitt 0-1, Carroll 0-6), CUI 4-17 (Roach 2-5, Grosey 1-1, Davis 1-3, Bruton 0-3, Mellinger 0-1, Scott 0-2, Thomas 0-2). Fouled out--SPU-Penner, CUI-None. Rebounds--SPU 48 (Leavitt 10, Dierickx 10), CUI 32 (Grosey 11). Assists--SPU 15 (Leavitt 5), CUI 10 (Roach 3; Thomas 3). Total fouls--SPU 30, CUI 18. Technical fouls--SPU-None, CUI-None. B-317.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Dixie State
Saturday, Nov. 14, 6:30 p.m. PST
Burns Arena/St. George, Utah