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VIDEO: Post-Game Press Conference   

MONMOUTH, Ore. –- A season comprised of 6,115 minutes was stopped by a six-minute stretch of subpar Seattle Pacific basketball.
 
Bryce Leavitt had a 14-point, 13-rebound performance Friday, but it wasn't enough for fourth-seeded SPU, which was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament after allowing a 16-point first-half closing run to No. 5 seed Azusa Pacific en route to a 77-66 loss.
 
The Falcons completed the campaign with a 22-9 record after being dealt just their third first-round exit in the last nine years. They participated in the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season, the longest current streak among Division II men's basketball teams.
 
"Hopefully when they look back they will come to recognize that what happened in this game won't define what we accomplished this year," said Coach Ryan Looney whose seventh season ended like all of those previous, in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Azusa (23-8) will play again Saturday night in the New P.E. Building against host and top-seeded Western Oregon.



Neither team established more than a four-point separation during the opening 14 minutes. SPU claimed its largest margin, at four points, by scoring five consecutive points. Mitch Penner started that surge on a layup with 7:24 left in the first half and Gilles Dieirckx followed with one-of-two free throws at 6:45.
 
When Dierickx converted two free throws with 5:58 showing on the clock, the Falcons possessed a 24-20 edge. They did not score again in the first half, a situation compounded when their leading scorer, Penner, was sent to the bench at 5:39 after being whistled for his second foul. Dierickx, who also had two personals, joined him on the sidelines one minute later.
 
"Mitch and Gilles both got in foul trouble during that time," Looney said of his team's near six-minute offensive drought. "We had to take both of them out of the game and we didn't have enough scoring on the floor. It's hard for our team to score when we have our two leading scorers sitting on the bench."
 
SPU went without a point over its final nine possessions of the first half and the Cougars capitalized with 16 unanswered points, taking a 36-24 halftime advantage. During that stretch the Falcons missed six shots and committed three turnovers while APU countered with 5-for-7 shooting, including two treys, and four free throws.
 
"You're playing in the region tournament against some very good teams," said Leavitt. "If you show a little bit of weakness and get behind it's really hard to crawl yourself out of that hole. We just dug ourselves a little bit too deep tonight."
 
Austin Dyer tallied six of his nine points during that scoring spree for APU, which shot 52 percent in the first period (12 of 25) while holding the Falcons at 33 percent (9 of 27). SPU was 1-for-10 from 3-point range.
 
Will Parker and Penner made back-to-back layups to start the second half and bring SPU within 38-26. Azusa answered with a basket and later staged a 10-5 run to lead 51-47 with 12 minutes remaining.
 
The Falcons reeled off nine of the next 11 points. When Leavitt made a layup with 8:50 remaining they were within 53-46.
 
APU again answered, netting the next three baskets to repel that rally and gain a 59-46 lead and 5:49 left to play.
 
SPU never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way. The Cougars sealed the victory by registering their final 13 points from the free throw line. They shot 13-for-18 from the stripe during the final 2:33.
 
The final 11-point margin marked the largest loss of the season for the Falcons, who had not previously been beaten by more than eight. It took a perfect storm to do them in as they mustered a season-low 24 points in the first half while the Cougars' 16-point run was the longest scoring streak surrendered this season by SPU.
 
A trio of seniors each scored in double-digits for the Falcons. Penner led all scorers with 19 points and Gilles Dierickx compiled nine of his 10 in the first half. Leavitt added five assists to his 14 points and 13 rebounds.

 

A senior forward from Seattle's Kennedy High School, Penner departs as the program's No. 11 all-time scorer with 1,296 career points.
 
While seated next to Coach Looney at the post-game press conference, Penner talked about his maturation process off the floor.
 
"He went from a guy who forgot his practice gear on the very first road trip of his freshman year to somebody that became our program's 11th all-time leading scorer," Looney exclaimed. "He said he that grew more as a man than he did as a basketball player.
 
"The reality of it is none of us like to lose. Our program is about wanting them to do the best job they can on the basketball floor, but we want them to grow in all areas of their life while they're with us. Mitch definitely has done that."
 
Corey Langerveld score 17 points to lead Azusa. Reserves LyDell Cardwell and Connor Peterson contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively to lead a 37-13 bench scoring advantage.
 
The Cougars made half of their shots during the game (24 of 48) while SPU could only counter with a 37-percent effort (22 of 59).
 
The loss ends the collegiate careers of five SPU seniors: Brendan Carroll, Dierickx, Leavitt, Penner and Garrett Swanson. Carroll and Penner are four-year lettermen who helped SPU to a 99-27 record during their careers. They contributed to four NCAA Tournament appearances, three GNAC Tournament titles and one conference regular-season championship.
 
The 2015-16 group became the seventh straight SPU squad to reach the 20-win standard. So how will Coach Looney remember this team?
 
"The biggest thing that's just going to stick out for me is, regardless of exactly how many games we won or lost, to find a way to compete on every night like we did is pretty special."


NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
First Round
Friday, March 11, 2016
New P.E. Building / Monmouth, Ore.

Azusa Pacific 77, Seattle Pacific 66

AZUSA PACIFIC (23-8)
Langerveld 4-10 7-8 17, Kutlesic 2-3 0-0 4, Ward 1-2 0-0 2, Peterson 3-4 3-8 11, English 2-8 2-2 6, Cardwell 5-7 2-2 14, Dyer 2-2 5-6 9, Zoller 2-6 2-2 7, Schreiber 2-5 0-0 5, Byrd 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 24-48 21-29 77.

SEATTLE PACIFIC  (22-9)
Penner 7-12 5-7 19, Swanson 1-6 0-1 2, Dierickx 3-5 4-6 10, Parker 3-6 0-0 8, Leavitt 5-10 4-4 14, Carroll 2-9 1-2 6, Simpson 0-4 4-4 4, Rasmussen 1-1 0-0 3, Betu 0-0 0-0 0, Streufert 0-2 0-0 0, Colosimo 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 18-24 66.

Azusa Pacific.................   36   41  -  77
Seattle Pacific...............   24   42  -  66

3-point goals--APU 8-23 (Cardwell 2-4, Peterson 2-3, Langerveld 2-5, Zoller 1-3, Schreiber 1-4, English 0-4), SPU 4-20 (Parker 2-3, Carroll 1-5, Rasmussen 1-1, Simpson 0-2, Swanson 0-2, Colosimo 0-2, Leavitt 0-2, Penner 0-3). Fouled out--APU-Dyer, SPU-None. Rebounds--APU 33 (Dyer 8), SPU 37 (Leavitt 13). Assists--APU 9 (Ward 3), SPU 11 (Leavitt 5). Total fouls--APU 22, SPU 24. Technical fouls--APU-None, SPU-None.