• FINAL STATS

TURLOCK, Calif. – Gabe Colisomo proved a point Monday, producing a prolific all-around game that should keep him in the playmaker role.
 
Colosimo compiled nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds and sparked the decisive second-half starting surge that led Seattle Pacific to a 90-79 men's basketball victory over Stanislaus State at Fitzpatrick Arena.
 
SPU (6-3) completed the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 5-2 record.
 
Colosimo drew his first start since the 2016 season and paid immediate dividends. The sophomore point guard distributed assists on SPU's first three baskets.
 
"Gabe was our starting point guard in the exhibition game and our vision was being able to have Nikhil (Lizotte) kind of be a hybrid guy where we're playing him some at the point and we're moving him of the ball," said second-year coach Grant Leep. "When Gabe had some of his knee issues, Nikhil had to step into that point guard role. We felt that Gabe was ready tonight and it benefited both guys.
 
"Gabe was able to get out there and do the things that he does really well and it allowed us to get Nikhil off the ball where he could use his creativity, explosiveness and speed on offense. That was our vision entering the year and hopefully we're back to that."
 
The Falcons shot 67 percent in the first half, hitting 18 of 27 attempts from the field, but still found themselves down 46-45.
 
They quickly gained control after halftime, scoring the first 10 points of the period. Colosimo nailed two 3-pointers during that spree, the second providing a 55-46 advantage with 17:00 left to play.
 
An run of eight unanswered points midway through the second half helped stretch that lead to a high of 19 points, the largest deficit the Warriors have encountered this season.

 

Tony Miller tallied 18 points to top the Falcons and his eight rebounds fueled a 36-24 lead on the boards. After Stanislaus had a two-rebound edge in the first half, SPU dominated the glass in the second by a 22-8 margin.
 
"Our group is maturing and they're understanding what standard they need to play at," said Leep. "We were getting whatever we wanted on offense and executing well there, but in the first half Stanislaus had eight offensive rebounds that turned into 12 points.
 
"That was number one for us, let's cut those out and see if they can score on us in their first shot. We did a great job holding them to 33 points only one offensive rebound and two threes in the second half. The areas they hurt us in the first half we were able to correct."
 
Gavin Long added 16 points for SPU, which also got 15 from Nikhil Lizotte and 11 from Sam Simpson.
 
All five starters scored in double figures for Stanislaus (9-3), which had its five-game winning streak stopped. Caleb Baskett scored 20 points and Vida Faniel netted 19 while Kyle Gouveia, Andy Cleaves and Ty Davis each had 11.
 
Colosimo was sidelined all of last season with an injury and utilized his red-shirt year. A different ailment limited him to just games this year.
 
"He's smart and he's so tough. When he sat out last year with that injury there were so many moments where he was in our ear asking our coaches questions," Leep described. "He truly used that year as an opportunity to learn and become better and now he is able to go put that into practice. Gabe takes what you give him, he's a good shooter, he has such a great control and grasp of the concepts that we're trying to do both offensively and defensively, and he's a terrific communicator.
 
"I'm extremely proud of how he played because it's been a long time coming. That kid has worked so hard in rehab and had a couple setbacks. For him to keep the attitude that he's had and to battle like he has says a lot about who he is. It's so much fun to see him out there doing what he did tonight."

 

A byproduct of Colosimo's start was that Lizotte was moved to the off guard position. The junior had opened the first eight games at the point. Lizotte came off the bench Monday and compiled 13 points by halftime, nailing all five of his shots, including a trio of 3-pointers.
 
"Being removed from the starting lineup is never easy. The maturity with which Nikhil has handled this has been just another level," said Leep. "I'm really proud of what he did. He went 5-for-5 and then 3-for-3 from the arc in the first half. If he doesn't do that we're nowhere near a one-point game at the half.
 
"For him to be able to so quickly buy into that role and then have some success with it is so important."
 
Neither team led by more than four points during the opening 20 minutes of action that featured seven ties and nine lead changes.
 
After Faniel converted two free throws with 30 seconds remaining to put Stanislaus up 46-43, the visitors closed within one on a reverse layup by Harry Cavell with one seconds showing on the clock.
 
The Falcons finished at 59-percent shooting for the game (33 of 56), a figure that included 10-for-21 accuracy on 3-pointers. Stanislaus shot 49 percent (30 of 61) and was 9-for-25 behind the arc.
 
The SPU men will focus on Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at home after Christmas. They host Western Washington on Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m. before Simon Fraser visits on Dec. 30 for a 7 p.m. contest.
 
"I'm excited to be back home. It's been a long time coming," said Leep, whose Falcons last played in Brougham Pavilion on November 18.
 
"The GNAC had a great non-conference portion of the schedule and we're better than we were a year ago. I'm just excited to sink our teeth into the big part of the GNAC conference schedule here and looking forward to the great teams that we have in our conference. Hopefully we can continue what we've been doing."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Monday, Dec. 18, 2017
Fitzpatrick Arena / Turlock, Calif.
 
Seattle Pacific 90, at Stanislaus State 79
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (6-3)

Wooten 3-6 0-0 6, Simpson 4-5 1-2 11, Miller 8-16 1-6 18, Colosimo 3-4 0-0 9, Long 4-6 7-9 16, Lizotte 6-9 0-0 15, Streufert 3-5 2-2 8, Cavell 2-3 0-0 4, Olsen 0-1 3-4 3, Eisenhower 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-56 14-23 90.

 
STANISLAUS STATE (9-3)

Faniel 7-12 2-2 19, Gouveia 5-8 1-1 11, Cleaves 5-12 0-0 11, Davis 5-12 0-1 11, Baskett 7-9 3-3 20, Bradshaw 1-3 3-3 6, Francois 0-2 1-2 1, Mitchell 0-2 0-0 0, Ragsdale 0-0 0-0 0, Dunham 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 30-61 10-13 79. 

 
Seattle Pacific....... 45   45   -   90
Stanislaus State...... 46   33   -   79
 

3-point goals--SPU 10-21 (Lizotte 3-6, Colosimo 3-3, Simpson 2-3, Long 1-2, Miller 1-4, Eisenhower 0-1, Wooten 0-2), SSU 9-25 (Faniel 3-7, Baskett 3-4, Cleaves 1-7, Bradshaw 1-2, Davis 1-2, Mitchell 0-2, Dunham 0-1). Fouled out--SPU-None, SSU-None. Rebounds--SPU 36 (Miller 8), SSU 24 (Faniel, Gouveia 4). Assists--SPU 20 (Colosimo 8), SSU 15 (Davis 6). Total fouls--SPU 17, SSU 23. Technical fouls--SPU-None, SSU-None. A-278.

 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Dec. 28, 7:30 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.