Box Score    |   Final Stats   |   VIDEO: Matt  Borton

SEATTLE – The Falcons had a much-needed break with just one game this week. Nobody took advantage of the additional rest more than Matt Borton.
 
Borton and Cory Hutsen each scored 20 points Saturday afternoon, lifting Seattle Pacific to an 81-59 victory over Montana State Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Brougham Pavilion.
 
The second-place Falcons (19-7) improved to 11-5 in league play after completing a sweep of the season series against MSUB. They were 60-44 victors on Jan. 24 in Billings.
 
The Yellowjackets (5-21) lost their fourth straight game and dropped to 3-13 in GNAC games.



A senior starting guard, Borton (Yakima, Wash./West Valley HS) hit 6 of 10 shots from the field and 8 of 9 free throws. He grabbed 10 rebounds to complete his fourth double-double of the season and spark SPU's commanding 45-25 advantage on the boards.
 
This was one of two weeks during the conference schedule when the Falcons play just once, getting a respite from their usual Thursday-Saturday routine. The lighter load did wonders for Borton, who had not compiled more than seven points or five rebounds since suffering a shoulder injury on Jan. 31.
 
"Matt hurt his shoulder at Western Oregon and ever since he hasn't really been able to lift it above his head," SPU coach Ryan Looney described. "Because of that his individual rebounding and our team's rebounding has gone way down. Obviously with a little extra rest this week and a lot of time in the training room you can tell he feels better."

 

Hutsen (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline HS) shot 10-for-14 en route to his 11th 20-point performance. The 6-foot-8 center helped his team register 53-percent accuracy (31 of 58) from the floor while holding MSUB at 36 percent (22 of 61).
 
Marc Matthews scored 21 points to lead Billings, which also got 15 from Antoine Hosley and 10 from Emmanuel Johnson.
 
The Falcons scored the game's opening eight points while forcing misses on the first five MSUB shots. The visitors' first score, a layup by Johnson, came 2:56 into the contest.
 
The lead was 21-16 before SPU broke the game open with a 22-4 run, fueled by eight points from reserve Shawn Reid (Post Falls, Idaho). The Yellowjackets were scoreless on four straight possessions to start the surge while the hosts netted eight straight points, the final six coming on consecutive three-point plays by Borton.
 
By the time Reid made a layup with 10 seconds left in the half, the Falcons led 43-20.
 
Johnson put back a teammate's missed jumper at the buzzer to draw Billings within 43-22 at halftime.
 
"I'm extremely happy with our execution on offense, especially in the first half," Looney said. "Our guys did a really good job sharing the ball and got good shots.
 
"We could get better in a couple areas. I thought our block outs defensively in the first half needed to improve and then in the second half defensively we needed to do a better job helping each other out."
 
Neither team strung together more than two straight baskets after intermission, but the Falcons had the better of it while stretching their margin to as many as 27 points.

 

"We've won three straight now, so obviously have a little bit of confidence," said Looney. "At the end of the day right now we are just trying to take it one day at a time, whether it's practice or a game, to give ourselves the best chance possible to have a bye in the first round of the conference tournament."
 
With two wins next week, the Falcons would secure the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the GNAC Tournament that is scheduled for March 5- 7 in Billings.
 
The SPU men close out the regular season next week with a pair of home games. They clash with Central Washington on Thursday before hosting Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
 
Thursday's matchup is huge as CWU is one of two teams, along with Alaska Anchorage, that are vying for the vital second-place position. The Wildcats dealt SPU a 73-67 loss on Dec. 6 in Ellensburg, Wash.
 
Will revenge play a role in the Seattle rematch?
 
"Absolutely we use that as motivation," Looney said. "We still feel the sting of that a little bit. Any game against Central is a big one and for us there's a lot at stake too, so we'll be ready to play."


NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.

at Seattle Pacific 81, Montana State Billings 59

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS (5-21, 3-13 GNAC)
Johnson 5-10 0-0 10, Nelson 2-7 2-3 6, Denham 1-6 0-0 2, Matthews 8-17 3-3 21, Anderson 1-6 0-0 2, Hosley 5-12 3-4 15, Perry 0-3 3-5 3. Totals 22-61 11-15 59.

SEATTLE PACIFIC (19-7, 11-5 GNAC)
Hutsen 10-14 0-0 20, Borton 6-10 8-9 20, Reid 4-7 3-3 12, Penner 4-9 0-1 9, Stockton 3-7 1-2 7, Leavitt 3-3 0-0 7, Parker 1-4 0-0 2, Rasmussen 0-2 2-2 2, Morse 0-0 2-2 2, Swanson 0-1 0-0 0, Poulsen 0-1 0-0 0, Carroll 0-0 0-0 0, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-58 16-19 81.

Seattle Pacific................   22   37  -   59
Montana State Billings.........   43   38  -   81

3-point goals--MSUB 4-14 (Matthews 2-6, Hosley 2-3, Denham 0-2, Anderson 0-2, Johnson 0-1), SPU 3-14 (Reid 1-2, Leavitt 1-1, Penner 1-3, Parker 0-2, Rasmussen 0-1, Swanson 0-1, Stockton 0-3, Borton 0-1). Fouled out--MSUB-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--MSUB 25 (Perry, Nelson, Johnson 5), SPU 45 (Borton 10). Assists--MSUB 4 (Denham 3), SPU 9 (Leavitt, Penner 3). Total fouls--MSUB 16, SPU 15. Technical fouls--MSUB-None, SPU-None. Att-304.


Next Men's Basketball Game
Central Washington at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Feb. 26, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.