Box Score    |    Final Stats

SEATTLE – Coleman Wooten kept his double-double streak intact with a 24-point, 16-rebound performance Friday, but it wasn't enough for the Seattle Pacific men, who dropped a 78-69 non-conference basketball decision to 17th-ranked Minnesota State on the first day of the Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic at Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons (2-1) lost for the first time under new head coach Grant Leep after opening the season with home wins over Humboldt State (102-90) and Hawaii-Hilo (88-80).
 
Wooten (Tahoma HS) has registered double-digit points and rebounds in all three games. The sophomore forward established a new career-high in rebounds with 16 that led SPU's 48-43 edge on the boards. He hit 8 of 16 shots from the field, including 3-for-6 accuracy on 3-pointers.
 
"He's been rebounding so well. Coleman crashes the glass pretty much every time we need him to," Leep said. "There was a time when he was our best, and only, option that was really going scoring-wise. He's been able to deliver and do a really good job."

 

Freshman Sharif Khan (Bellevue HS) was the only other Falcon in double figures with 14 points. He nailed 4 of his 8 trey attempts.
 
A 6-foot-1 backup point guard, Khan saw his most extended playing time as a collegian with 18 minutes. He responded by more than tripling his previous career-high scoring output of four points.
 
"Sharif gives us a different look because he can really shoot it and there's a quickness there with him that really helps us when he's in," Leep described. "It was nice for him to come in and have some success shooting the ball tonight."
 
Poor free throw shooting harmed the hosts as they converted just 9 of 20 charity shots while the Mavericks shot 12-of-18 from the line.
 
Leep was encouraged by the team's effort in some areas, but disappointed by the subpar free throw shooting.
 
 "Tonight was frustrating in the sense that we executed our game plan defensively and then we got some good matchups and we either didn't finish or, when we got fouled, we missed a lot of free throws tonight. We got them into the point that we wanted to get them and we just couldn't capitalize.
 
"That's a really good team and they did some stuff to take us out of our rhythm and the flow that we were trying to get into. When we get to the free throw line we've just got to do a better job of making them."
 
Minnesota State (2-1) was paced by the 22 points of Charlie Brown. Cole Harper added 15 points, Jon Fuqua had 14, AJ Patty 11 and Joey Witthus 10.
 
Each team led by five points, but no more, during a tight first half that saw 10 ties and 12 lead changes. The Falcons led 40-35 at halftime.
 
SPU claimed its largest lead, at 48-42, after Joe Rasmussen made a layup with 14:08 left in the game.
 
The Mavericks tallied the next 12 points, getting scoring from four different sources. Jon Fuqua had four points during that surge, which he capped with a layup at 10:31 to provide a 54-48 advantage.

 

Will Parker and Rasmussen each responded with a 3-pointer for SPU and Wooten made a jumper to tie the game a final time, at 56-56, with 8:49 remaining.
 
After Fuqua grabbed an offensive rebound on the next possession, he fed teammate Brown for a three-point play that gave MSU the lead for good. Brown sank the free throw after making a layup after being fouled at 8:06.
 
The Mavericks' lead steadily grew as SPU kept fouling in an attempt to get back into the game. The visitors hit 5 of 7 free throws inside the final 1:05 to seal the victory.
 
The new-look Falcons feature an entirely different starting lineup from a year ago. Half of the eight players that have played every game this season are underclassmen.
 
"It will probably be a common theme from us this year, but with the youth that we have we didn't handle adversity as well as we need to," said Leep. "A lot of that was frustration on missing a shot and then carrying it over to the defensive end for a breakdown. Missing a free throw, carrying it over to the defensive end and then missing a blockout because we're still thinking about the shot we just missed.
 
"We'll get there. The true test of our group is going to be how fast can we get to the point where we're able to move on and go from one play to the next with the same effort, the same focus and the same intensity."
 
The two-day tournament concludes Saturday with a pair of afternoon games. Minnesota State clashes with Central Washington (3-0) at 12:30 p.m. and Dixie State (0-3) meets Seattle Pacific at 3 p.m.
 
Central defeated Dixie in Friday's first game, posting a 99-95 overtime victory.
 
"Learning the lesson of how you have to play and being able to apply it tomorrow on short rest when you know that you are tired will be the key for us," Leep projected. "This Dixie State team is one of the best coached teams in the region and they're one of the hardest-playing teams in the region.
 
"If we come out with any sort of a hangover from tonight, then it's going to be a long road. We need make sure that we get over what happened tonight, we can address that in time. But we have to play again on short rest and be ready to go."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic
Friday, Nov. 18, 2016
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
(#17) Minnesota State 78, at Seattle Pacific 69
 
MINNESOTA STATE (2-1)
Kirksey 0-3 0-0 0, Patty 4-8 2-2 11, Brown 8-16 4-5 22, Harper 5-11 3-4 15, Witthus 3-9 2-3 10, Fuqua 7-13 0-3 14, Austin 1-6 0-0 3, Krieger 1-3 1-1 3, Knuth 0-0 0-0 0, Asche 0-0 0-0 0, Sampson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-70 12-18 78.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (2-1)
Wooten 8-16 5-9 24, Simpson 2-4 2-3 6, Rasmussen 4-9 0-3 9, Parker 2-7 1-2 7, Betu 1-3 0-0 2, Khan 5-11 0-0 14, Miller 3-13 1-3 7, Long 0-1 0-0 0, Eisenhower 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 9-20 69.
 
Minnesota State...........  35   43   -   78
Seattle Pacific...........  40   29   -   69
 
3-point goals--MSU 8-23 (Harper 2-4, Brown 2-6, Witthus 2-3, Patty 1-2, Austin 1-5, Kirksey 0-1, Sampson 0-1, Krieger 0-1), SPU 10-26 (Khan 4-8, Wooten 3-6, Parker 2-5, Rasmussen 1-2, Simpson 0-1, Miller 0-4). Fouled out--MSU-None, SPU-Parker. Rebounds--MSU 43 (Harper 8), SPU 48 (Wooten 16). Assists--MSU 12 (Harper 4), SPU 10 (Simpson 4). Total fouls--MSU 23, SPU 19. Technical fouls--MSU-None, SPU-None. A-212.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Oak Harbor Freight Lines Classic
Dixie State at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Nov. 19, 3:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.