• FINAL STATS   |   • VIDEO: HARRY  CAVELL
• PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE – Second-year coach Grant Leep isn't accustomed to looking down the bench and seeing so many available options.
 
Tony Miller tallied 17 of his game-high 27 points inside the opening nine minutes of Seattle Pacific's 110-77 exhibition men's basketball victory over Capilano University on Friday in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The scoring output was third highest ever for the Falcons in an exhibition game and their most points since a 116-79 rout of the Blue Angels in 2009.
 
Miller hit 11 of 19 shots from the field and gathered 13 rebounds. His 17th point came on a jumper with 11:34 left in the first half.
 
"He's gotten so much better as far as just his understanding of offensive concepts and how to play," Leep said. "We've been working on some things with shooting and becoming more efficient and Tony just absorbs everything we teach him.
 
"And he's just come leaps and bounds as a defensive player. He's become so much more of a complete player this year."
 
Earlier Friday, the 6-foot-6 sophomore forward was named to the 15-man preseason all-league team by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Junior teammate Coleman Wooten was also named to that all-star squad. He contributed eight points and eight rebounds Friday.


 
Injuries hit SPU hard last year, sidelining three primary players essentially the entire season and others missed extended stretches. Just one player started all 28 games and only two others participated in every contest.
 
On Friday, every player on the 15-man roster was available. All of them saw playing time. Fourteen of them scored a basket.
 
Leep almost didn't know what to do with such a surplus of talent at the ready.
 
"With everything that happened a year ago it was strange having so many options at the end of the bench. It's been a very competitive group and we have a lot of competitive positions and they're buying into that. That's going to be something that continues to make us better throughout the year."
 
Five players made their debut in an SPU uniform:

 

• Freshman guard Harry Cavell, who practiced but did not participate in games last year while red-shirting, compiled nine points and seven rebounds.

 

• Nikhil Lizotte, a junior transfer guard from Humboldt State, scored 14 points.

• Sophomore forward Trey Miller, Tony's brother, had five points and two rebounds. He was sidelined by injury last season after transferring from North Dakota State.

• Freshman guard Braden Olsen from West Linn (Ore.) High School had eight points, six rebounds and three assists.

 

• Christian Russell, a 6-11 red-shirt freshman center who transferred from Oregon State, had two points, one rebound and one assist.

 

Denver Sparks-Guest scored 19 of his team-leading 21 points during the second half for Capilano, which is located in North Vancouver, B.C. He made 5 of 8 attempts from 3-point range after halftime.
 
When Sparks-Guest drove the baseline for a reverse layup, his only first-half basket, Capilano was within 15-11 with 14:21 remaining. The visitors would not score again until the 10:57 mark, a span of seven scoreless possessions during they missed four shots and committed three turnovers.

 

SPU took advantage, going on a 14-point run fueled by 10 points from Miller and four from Wooten, to claim a 29-11 lead.
 
The margin was 60-31 at halftime as the Falcons made 50-percent of their first-half shots (25-50) while holding Capilano at 36 percent (13 of 36).
 
The Blues never got closer than 24 points in the second half and an 18-4 SPU spree midway through the period produced the widest margin, at 90-50, with 9:43 left to play.
 
"We got some things that we wanted out of it. We needed to play against somebody different than ourselves. We hadn't had that chance to do that yet," Leep said. "I was pretty pleased with our first half, we did a good job of executing and playing hard. This team needs to still work on creating an identity defensively, but we did a wonderful job on the glass."
 
SPU dominated the backboards, outrebounding the Blues 60-25. Eight Falcons grabbed at least three rebounds and seven had seven or more.
 
"Rebounding is something that this group is going to be good at because we have size and length at multiple positions," Leep projected. "With the way we emphasize it in practice everyday, we should do well in that area."
 
Friday was the Falcons only tune-up game. They begin the regular-season on the road at the Pioneer Challenge in Hayward, Calif. SPU meets Sonoma State on Nov. 10 and Cal State East Bay on Nov. 11.
 
The first SPU home games that count come the following week with the Sodexo Classic at Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons clash with Concordia-Irvine on Nov. 17 and Hawaii-Hillo on Nov. 18. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL (exhibition)
Friday, Oct. 27, 2017
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 110, Capilano 77
 
CAPILANO
Sparks-Guest 7-19 2-2 21, Mottus 1-5 0-0 2, Bromige 2-3 3-4 7, Campbell 2-9 3-4 7, Untalan 4-4 1-2 10, Knight 4-7 0-0 9, Huskisson 2-2 2-2 7, Kelly 2-5 0-0 5, Phills 2-7 0-0 5, Stupar 2-7 0-0 4, Hajisafar 0-0 0-0 0, Teny 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-68 11-14 77.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC
Miller,To 11-19 2-3 27, Lizotte 5-9 2-2 14, Eisenhower 3-7 0-0 9, Cavell 4-7 0-0 9, Wooten 4-8 0-0 8, Olsen 3-5 1-3 8, Poulsen 2-3 3-5 7, Khan 2-2 0-0 6, Long 3-6 0-0 6, Colosimo 2-5 0-0 5, Miller,Tr 2-5 1-2 5, Simpson 1-3 0-0 2, Streufert 1-3 0-1 2, Russell 1-1 0-0 2, Van Dyken 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 44-86 9-16 110.
 
Capilano...............31   46  -   77
Seattle Pacific........60   50  -  110
 
3-point goals--CAP 10-32 (Sparks-Guest 5-14, Huskisson 1-1, Knight 1-3, Untalan 1-1, Phills 1-3, Kelly 1-4, Mottus 0-2, Bromige 0-1, Campbell 0-3), SPU 13-38 (Miller,To 3-8, Eisenhower 3-7, Khan 2-2, Lizotte 2-4, Colosimo 1-3, Cavell 1-3, Olsen 1-1, Van Dyken 0-2, Streufert 0-1, Simpson 0-2, Long 0-1, Wooten 0-4). Fouled out—CAP-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--CAP 25 (Knight, Campbell, Mottus, Kelly, Stupar 3), SPU 60 (Miller,To 13). Assists—CAP 12 (Untalan 4), SPU 18 (Streufert 4). Total fouls--CAP 16, SPU 12. Technical fouls--CAP-None, SPU-None. A-283.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Pioneer Challenge
Seattle Pacific vs. Sonoma State
Friday, Nov. 10, 12:00 p.m. PST
Pioneer Gymnasium / Hayward, Calif.