Box Score    |    Final Stats

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Falcons bought into the team concept, and it paid off.
 
Gilles Dierickx compiled a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double Saturday, his first for Seattle Pacific, which led wire-to-wire for an 83-64 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball triumph over Western Washington.
 
The Falcons (7-1) improved to 2-0 in league play while extending their winning streak to seven games. It was their most convincing victory over Western in 16 seasons, dating to a 104-79 decision in Bellingham on Jan. 15, 2000.
 
The Vikings (6-4) saw their GNAC mark evened at 1-1. They are playing home games at the Whatcom Community College Pavilion while Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus is being renovated.


 
Dierickx hit 6 of 12 shots from the field, including a dunk 14 seconds into the contest. The senior center is a transfer from the University of Washington and the first 7-foot player in SPU history.
 
"We placed a huge emphasis on getting the ball into the post and our guys did a good job executing that plan," said SPU coach Ryan Looney.
 
"Gilles is very skilled in the low post. It's nice to have a guy on our team that can score it down there like he can. In all reality he would have been even more effective if he didn't get in foul trouble."
 
Dierickx was limited to 10 first-half minutes due to two personal fouls.
 
The Falcons surged to an early 18-8 lead on the strength of stellar shooting. They hit 6 of 7 shots during a four-minute span, capped by a layup from Joe Rasmussen with 11:51 left in the first half. Meanwhile the Vikings were held to just one field goal in five tries during that stretch.
 
The visitor's margin grew to 30-16 with a six-point run, featuring four points from Dierickx. Will Parker's trey at 6:07 provided the 14-point cushion.

That was the halftime margin as Mitch Penner and Rasmussen made consecutive baskets in the final 2:11 to send SPU into intermission leading 38-24.
 
The Falcons converted half of their shots (17 of 34) in the opening period while limiting their host's accuracy to 36 percent (10 of 28).
 
"Defensively, especially the first 30 minutes of the game, our guys were very, very good. It's not one specific guy," said Looney.
 
"We're not doing it with like a Riley Stockton, who we had a year ago taking out the other team's best scorer. Our guys collectively are doing a really good job guarding together."
 
Rasmussen, a reserve center, produced all 10 of his points during the first half, fueling the Falcons 19-2 bench scoring advantage during the opening 20 minutes.
 
The 6-foot-8 junior led the team with 18 points in Thursday's 89-55 win at Simon Fraser. He is the son of Blair Rasmussen, who played eight seasons in the NBA.
 
"I'm proud of Joe and his consistency," Looney said. "This past weekend was really the first time he's put together two great games back-to-back."
 
SPU is getting production from several sources this season as five different players have achieved the team's top scoring honors during the eight games.

 

Saturday was Penner's turn as he led with 17 points while Brendan Carroll added 15 and Bryce Leavitt 11. Sixteen of the 28 baskets were created by assists, with Leavitt distributing six and Penner five.
 
"Right now our guys are doing a good job collectively," Looney described. "We're not beating people with one guy. They're guarding together and sharing the ball on offense. It's getting done together."
 
Ricardo Maxwell paced the Vikings with 18 points. Jeffrey Parker and Kyle Impero each contributed 13.
 
SPU tallied the opening 12 points of the second half to put the game out of reach. While shooting 5 of 7 during that span, the defense forced five missed Western shots and two turnovers.
 
When Penner's 3-pointer dropped through 3:46 into the second half, the Falcons owned their largest lead of the game at 50-24.
 
Looney credited a reminder of past lapses, leading to lost leads, for his team's inspired play to start the second half.
 
"We challenged them at halftime with examples of games we've played against Western in the past where they've been able to make big runs. We tried to not make some of the same mistakes again."
 
WWU mustered a late rally, netting seven straight points to start a late 11-2 run that closed the gap to 77-62 with 1:30 left to play. But it was too-little, too-late.
 
The Falcons return home to host the four-team Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic next weekend. They entertain Northwest University on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. before clashing with 2015 NCAA West Region champion Azusa Pacific on Saturday, Dec. 12 also at 7 p.m.
 
Montana State Billings plays those same two opponents in the 4:30 p.m. opener both days. The Yellowjackets meet Azusa on Friday and Northwest on Saturday.


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015
Whatcom CC Pavilion / Bellingham, Wash.

(#16) Seattle Pacific 83, at Western Washington 64

SEATTLE PACIFIC (7-1, 2-0 GNAC)
Penner 5-11 5-6 17, Swanson 2-5 2-2 7, Dierickx 6-12 2-6 14, Leavitt 3-8 5-6 11, Parker 1-5 4-4 7, Carroll 5-7 4-4 15, Rasmussen 5-8 0-0 10, Simpson 1-1 0-0 2, Betu 0-0 0-0 0, Streufert 0-0 0-0 0, Colosimo 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Wooten 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 22-28 83.

WESTERN WASHINGTON (6-4, 1-1 GNAC)
Mitchell 1-5 0-0 2, Parker 4-9 4-5 13, Johnson 1-4 0-0 3, Maxwell 8-14 1-4 18, Impero 5-12 2-3 13, Kingma 3-6 0-0 8, Wallace 1-2 1-1 3, Bowen 1-4 0-0 2, Fernandez 0-1 2-2 2, Javier 0-1 0-0 0, O'Keefe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 10-15 64.

Seattle Pacific      38    45   -- 83
Western Washington   24    40   -- 64

3-point goals--SPU 5-13 (Penner 2-2, Swanson 1-2, Parker 1-3, Carroll 1-3, Rasmussen 0-2, Leavitt 0-1), WWU 6-20 (Kingma 2-4, Parker 1-3, Johnson 1-1, Maxwell 1-3, Impero 1-4, Mitchell 0-1, Fernandez 0-1, Bowen 0-2, Wallace 0-1). Fouled out--SPU-None, WWU-Mitchell. Rebounds--SPU 38 (Dierickx 10), WWU 28 (Mitchell 8). Assists--SPU 16 (Leavitt 6), WWU 11 (Maxwell 3). Total fouls--SPU 19, WWU 23. Technical fouls--SPU-None, WWU-None. Att-688.

Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic
Northwest University at Seattle Pacific
Friday, Dec. 11, 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.