• FINAL STATS

SALT LAKE CITY – In the city that made Rick Majerus famous, Seattle Pacific's Grant Leep drew inspiration from the coaching legend to spark his team's second-half comeback.
 
Nikhil Lizotte compiled all of his 20 points during the second half Friday, helping the Falcons rally for a 79-70 men's basketball victory over Dixie State on the first day of the Westminster Thanksgiving Invitational at Behneken Field House.
 
SPU (4-1) overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to win its fourth straight game.
 
Lizotte fueled a furious Falcons rally four minutes into the second half. They trailed 44-37 before reeling off 13 consecutive points. Tony Miller nailed a 3-pointer with 14:06 showing on the clock that gave SPU its first lead, at 47-44, with 14:06 left to play. Lizotte followed with a 3-pointer to cap the 13-point run.
 
After two Trailblazers free throws, SPU scored six more points, four of them from Lizotte.
 
That 19-2 run that ended with 12:01 remaining forged a 56-46 Falcons advantage they never relinquished. They hit 8 of 10 attempts during that spree, including 3-of-4 shooting on treys.
 
On the other end, Dixie was held without a basket for 7:44, missing seven shots and committing three turnovers during that span.
 
The Trailblazers (2-4) trimmed the deficit to four points on two occasions but SPU sealed the win by netting its final 13 points from the free throw line in 16 attempts during the final two minutes.
 
Despite an even foul count at 26-26, three players were disqualified for SPU and none for Dixie. Sam Simpson, Harry Cavell and Miller were each whistled for five fouls.
 
Lizotte is a graduate of Davis High School in Yakima, Wash. and transferred from Humboldt State prior to this season. The junior point guard's previous SPU scoring high was 18 and he is the only player on the team to register double-digit points every game this season.
 
"Nikhil didn't play up to his standard in the first half," Leep said. "In our first four games he was really competitive and gave us a great boost. We needed him to do that in the second half so we challenged him to get back out there and do the things that he does well.
 
"He is so quick, he's able to get the ball up the floor in a hurry and was able to create a few easy baskets for others and himself. He did a wonderful job of responding."
 
Miller (Woodinville HS) contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead in both categories for the Falcons, who won despite shooting just 39 percent (22 of 57) from the floor. Dixie was limited to 34-percent shooting (19 of 56) and made only 25 percent of its second-half tries (7 of 28).
 
Trevor Hill tallied 22 points to pace the Trailblazers, who also got 15 from Brandon Simister.
 
Three minutes into the contest, Miller drew SPU within 8-5 on a back-door dunk off a pass from Simpson.
 
Dixie scored the next five points to start a 16-5 run, sparked by seven points from Simister. The surge closed with eight unanswered points that provided a 25-12 DSU advantage with 10:07 left in the first half.
 
The lead never got larger than 13 points and the Falcons moved within 38-29 at halftime on a three-point play by Braden Olsen. He drove the length of the floor after a missed free throw to make a driving layup while getting fouled with 0.4 seconds remaining.
 
The Trailblazers posted 43-percent shooting accuracy (12 of 28) during the first half while holding SPU at 31 percent (9 of 29).

 

"Going into the half we had a couple layups we missed and few threes go in-and-out. In the locker room at halftime we challenged the guys to not carry those plays with them on the defensive end," explained Leep.
 
He told the Falcons about a phrase attributed to Majerus, who amassed 517 collegiate coaching wins and 328 of them were recorded at the University of Utah. Majerus directed the Salt Lake City-based Utes from 1989-2004, including an appearance in the 1998 NCAA championship game.
 
"A great term Rick Majerus always used was 'offensive sensitive.' Our guys were being very sensitive about the result of their offensive plays in the first half and then letting it affect them on the defensive end. Once we got over that and launched back into our own identity in the second half, the shots started dropping, we made that great run and we were able to hold on and make our free throws."
 
The Falcons men remain in Salt Lake City to play Westminster, the tournament host. Tip-off is 6 p.m. Pacific Time in Behnken Field House.
 
The Griffins (3-0) routed Dickinson State 81-65 in the nightcap of Friday's doubleheader. They feature 6-foot-8 senior forward Dayon Goodman, who is averaging 27 points per game.
 
"One of the biggest lessons we learned from a year ago is the value of experience. This Westminster team is loaded with seniors and veteran guys," Leep described. "They are very well coached and are going to come ready to go. They have a couple guys very capable from three and Dayon Goodman on the inside is a load to handle.
 
"It's going to be a great matchup. Our guys need to come out ready to play and hopefully we'll be able to continue the defensive success that's we've had."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Westminster Thanksgiving Invitational
Friday, Nov. 24, 2017
Behnken Field House / Salt Lake City, Utah
 
Seattle Pacific 79, Dixie State 70
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-1)
Wooten 2-4 0-0 5, Simpson 2-6 2-4 8, Tony Miller 7-20 6-7 22, Lizotte 4-12 11-12 20, Long 3-4 3-4 9, Olsen 2-3 3-3 8, Cavell 0-2 0-0 0, Eisenhower 0-1 0-0 0, Colosimo 0-1 1-2 1, Streufert 2-2 2-2 6, Trey Miller 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 28-34 79.
 
DIXIE STATE (2-4)
Hunter 1-6 1-2 3, Clark 2-3 0-0 4, Simister 4-7 5-5 15, Nielson 2-3 4-4 9, Hill 5-14 12-16 22, Youngblood 2-2 0-0 5, Cool 0-0 0-0 0, B. Miller 2-8 0-0 5, Frampton 0-0 0-0 0, Mathews 0-0 0-0 0, Price 1-7 5-8 7, W. Miller 0-2 0-2 0, Montgomery 0-4 0-1 0. Totals 19-56 27-38 70.
 
Seattle Pacific....... 29   50  -   79
Dixie State........... 38   32  -   70
 
3-point goals—SPU 7-26 (Simpson 2-5, Tony Miller 2-8, Olsen 1-1, Wooten 1-2, Lizotte 1-6, Long 0-1, Cavell 0-1, Eisenhower 0-1, Colosimo 0-1), DSU 5-18 (Simister 2-5, Nielson 1-1, Youngblood 1-1, Hunter 0-1, W. Miller 0-1, Hill 0-2, Price 0-4). Fouled out--SPU-Simpson, Cavell, Tony Miller, DSU-None. Rebounds—SPU 44 (Tony Miller 10), DSU 36 (Hill 7). Assists—SPU 14 (Wooten, Simpson, Lizotte 3), DSU 11 (Hill 7). Total fouls—SPU 26, DSU 26. Technical fouls--SPU-None, DSU-None.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Westminster Thanksgiving Invitational
Seattle Pacific at Westminster
Saturday, Nov. 25, 6:00 p.m. PST
Behnken Field House / Salt Lake City, Utah