Box Score    |    Final Stats    |    VIDEO: Coleman  Wooten

SEATTLE –Coach Grant Leep was immediately impressed by Coleman Wooten's first double-double. It may take time for Leep to fully appreciate his own significant first-time achievement.
 
Wooten produced a 26-point, 11-rebound performance on Friday that sparked a 102-90 season-opening win over Humboldt State in first round of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic men's basketball tournament.
 
The Falcons (1-0) registered the first victory for Grant Leep in his head-coaching debut. He served seven seasons on the Brougham Pavilion sidelines as an assistant coach and also worked on the staff at two previous stops. But Friday marked the first time that a win will officially be listed on Leep's ledger.
 
 "It feels good, but I don't know that it's hit me yet because we were just so focused on how good of a team Humboldt State was," Leep admitted. "It just became such a grind at the end. They played so hard and they came out with so much grit in the second half and made it so difficult for us.
 
"So I don't know that it's truly set in yet, and now we have to turn our attention to a good Hawaii-Hilo team."


 
The SPU men surpassed the 100-point plateau in a season opener for the first time since Nov. 19, 2010. They did not reach triple digits in any game last season.
 
Wooten (Tahoma HS) hit 9 of 13 shots from the field, including 5-for-8 accuracy on 3-pointers. His 11 boards keyed SPU's 48-27 rebounding advantage. The 26 points more than doubled the previous career-high by the sophomore forward. A 12-point game at Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 30 was Wooten's previous high scoring output.
 
His previous rebounding best was seven at Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 28.
 
"Coleman is such a tough driver and attacker of the basket. When he gets going downhill it's so hard to stay in front of him," Leep exclaimed. "When he gets a couple threes rolling that just gives his game another level. He did such a great job of establishing himself, especially when Joe (Rasmussen) was in foul trouble."

 

Senior Joe Rasmussen tallied 19 of his game-high 22 points during the first half. He made 8 of 13 shots and converted all four of his 3-point tries.
 
The 6-foot-8 center was limited to 16 minutes and eventually fouled out with 3:47 remaining.
 
"Joe's been great. He has such a unique skill-set," said Leep. "In that first half he hit three 3-pointers and he had some baskets in the post. What Joe really brings for us is that versatility. He's our best low post scorer right now, but then he can also step out and hit the three.
 
"We want to find ways to utilize Joe's skill set and keep him in the flow and the rhythm of the game so that he can make those plays."
 
Rasmussen (Mercer Island HS) is the son of former eight-year NBA veteran Blair Rasmussen, who played in Denver and Atlanta.
 
Tony Miller (Woodinville HS) scored 17 points for SPU and Will Parker (Skyline HS) added 13.
 
Tyras Rattler Jr. and Nikhil Lizotte paced Humboldt (0-1) with 17 points apiece. Colin Caslick finished with 16 and Malik Morgan 12.
 
Rasmussen scored the Falcons first nine points followed by a three-point play by Sam Simpson that provided a 12-6 lead three minutes into the contest.
 
SPU sank seven straight shots, including five treys, to open a 41-17 advantage. After Calvin Young made a layup with 10:01 showing on the clock, the Lumberjacks went scoreless for the next three minutes. They missed five shots and committed a turnover in those six possessions.
 
The Falcons capitalized on the visitors' scoring drought by reeling off 13 consecutive points, eight of them from Rasmussen who nailed two 3-pointers during the run.
 
The hosts' largest first-half lead was 27 points, at 50-23, after Miller hit a trey with 3:50 left.
 
Humboldt netted the next eight points, and got a jumper by Morgan as time expired to close the deficit to 59-38 by intermission.
 
The Falcons shot 57 percent in the first half (20 of 35), including a 9-for-15 effort beyond the 3-point arc. The limited HSU to 38-percent accuracy (12 of 32) and just 3-for-18 on 3-pointers.
 
The lead again grew to 27 points in the second half after an eight-point SPU spree set the score at 70-43.
 
The Lumberjacks climbed back into it by forcing four turnovers in a row and scoring eight straight points, trimming the deficit to 72-55 with 13:14 left to play.
 
HSU drew within 88-77 when Caslick made a layup with 4:59 left to play. SPU scored the next six points, four of them from Wooten, to turn back the rally.

 

After the game the team huddled around the Falcons logo at center court and celebrated their new head coach.
 
"We've generally always come together at half court. This group has been so much fun to be around and so much fun to coach," Leep described. "So for them to recognize what this meant for me personally and professionally, that meant a lot to me and it speaks so much to the character of the people that we have in the program."
 
The Sodexo Classic concludes Saturday in Brougham Pavilion, beginning at 3 p.m. with Simon Fraser playing Humboldt State. SPU clashes with Hawaii-Hilo at 7 p.m.
 
Hilo defeated Simon Fraser 88- 73 in Friday's opening game of the tournament.
 
Rather than relishing his first victory, Leep is already setting his sights on a potential second triumph.
 
"We have one day to prep for Hilo. Hilo played very well and they have some guys that can really fill it up from the outside, so we've got to prepare a game plan and do this on short rest."

 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Sodexo Tip-Off Classic
Friday, Nov. 12, 2016
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 102, Humboldt State 90
 
HUMBOLDT STATE (0-1)
Lizotte 5-11 6-7 17, Rattler Jr. 6-11 3-3 17, Caslick 5-8 3-3 16, Morgan 5-11 2-4 12, Kaub 3-6 0-2 7, Taylor 3-7 1-3 7, Green 2-5 0-0 6, Davis 2-4 1-3 5, Junior 1-1 0-0 2, Young II 0-3 1-2 1, Lucas 0-1 0-0 0, Gerig 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-68 17-27 90.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (1-0)
Wooten 9-13 5-8 26, Rasmussen 8-13 2-2 22, Miller 4-12 5-6 17, Parker 3-6 7-11 13, Betu 2-4 4-6 8, Simpson 3-6 1-1 8, Khan 1-4 2-2 4, Long 2-2 0-0 4, Eisenhower 0-0 0-0 0, Poulsen 0-2 0-0 0, Van Dyken 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-62 26-36 102.
 
Humboldt State............  38   52   -   90
Seattle Pacific...........  59   43   -  102
 
3-point goals--HSU 9-32 (Caslick 3-5, Rattler Jr. 2-5, Green 2-5, Lizotte 1-5, Kaub 1-3, Lucas 0-1, Davis 0-2, Taylor 0-2, Morgan 0-4), SPU 12-23 (Miller 4-7, Rasmussen 4-4, Wooten 3-5, Simpson 1-3, Khan 0-2, Betu 0-1, Parker 0-1). Fouled out--HSU-Kaub, SPU-Rasmussen. Rebounds--HSU 27 (Rattler Jr. 9), SPU 48 (Wooten 11). Assists--HSU 11 (Morgan 5), SPU 17 (Parker, Simpson 4). Total fouls--HSU 27, SPU 22. Technical fouls--HSU-None, SPU-None. A-745.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Sodexo Tip-Off Classic
Hawaii-Hilo at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Nov. 12, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.