Box Score    |    Final Stats    |    VIDEO: Nathan  Streufert

SEATTLE – Coleman Wooten tallied 11 of his game-high 24 points from the free throw line Saturday, lifting short-handed Seattle Pacific to a 79-61 men's basketball victory over Central Washington in front of a Homecoming crowd of 1,745 at Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons (11-13) won their second straight game to draw even with Central (12-10) in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with matching 7-9 records. They leveled the season series after losing 89-85 on Jan. 12 in Ellensburg.
 
SPU moved into a three-way tie for seventh place in the league. They are just one game out of fourth place as three teams are tied with matching 8-8 records. Among those are the Falcons next two opponents – Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings. Teams are battling to finish in the top six and earn a berth into the GNAC Tournament, set for March 2-4 in Lacey, Wash.
 
"Our conference this year has been so deep. Anyone can win on a given night," said first-year SPU coach Grant Leep. "We're very fortunate that this week at home we had some good crowds and some good opportunities to show what we've been working on. Our guys just went out and did exactly what we needed them to do."


 
A rash of injuries have left the Falcons with just two players that started every game, Wooten and Joe Rasmussen. Eight of the 16 players on the roster have missed a game due to injury, including four with likely season-ending setbacks.
 
On Saturday, SPU was playing without its leading scorer (18.3 ppg) and rebounder (9.3 rpg) as freshman forward Tony Miller (Woodinville HS) was sidelined. In his place, Hunter Eisenhower drew his first career start.
 
"This was an opportunity for some guys," Leep said. "Hunter went into the starting lineup and all year long we've been working with him about not just defining himself as a guy who can make threes. He did a good job defensively for us tonight."
 
A put-back layup by Wooten started a quick, five-point run that put SPU ahead for good at 7-2. That margin stretched to 14-6 with a seven-point surge sparked by four points from Nathan Streufert and a Rasmussen 3-pointer.
 
Another Rasmussen trey, with 6:16 showing on the clock, produced the Falcons largest first-half advantage, 27-13.
 
Central finally drained a 3-pointer, after missing its firsts eight attempts, when Jawan Stepney scored from long range with 3:21 left in the period. Stepney converted two free throws with 26.2 seconds left to draw the visitors within 33-21 at halftime.
 
Rasmussen compiled 12 points in the opening 20 minutes for the Falcons, who shot 46 percent (13 of 28). They held CWU to 1-for-10 accuracy beyond the arc and 8 of 30 (27 percent) overall.
 
In the second half, Stepney ignited a seven-point Wildcats spree with a 3-pointer and jumper. Marc Rodgers followed with a steal and fastbreak layup to bring them within 37-30 with 15:47 left to play.
 
That was the closest Central had been to their hosts since the 11-minute mark of the first half. It was the closest they would ever get as Wooten drained two free throws on the next possession to begin a 12-5 Falcons run.
 
Leep's concerns about the diminishing lead were alleviated by intelligent play from his team.
 
"Our guys are really coming together with an understanding of how we coach them. We were getting close to calling a timeout, but every time we were we either got a really big stop and a key rebound or we were able to execute something and get a basket to keep that margin where we needed it to be."
 
SPU sank 12 free throws inside the final five minutes to secure the win.

 

Walk-on senior guard Chris Bench (Skyline HS) brought the crowd to its feet by nailing a 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining for his first points of the season. Every Falcons to participate in a game this season has scored at least one point.
 
Wooten (Tahoma HS) accumulated 15 of his points during the second half and finished with nine rebounds.
 
"Coleman made the right reads with the ball in his hands in a game that he knew that we needed to use him a lot," said Leep.
 
Rassmussen (Mercer Island HS) tallied 15 points, Olivier-Paul Betu had 12 and Gavin Long 10.
 
Streufert (Richland HS) collected a career-high 12 rebounds to fuel the Falcons 44-29 lead on the boards.
 
"Nathan Streufert was phenomenal for us. I can't praise him enough for what he did and how he did it and the effort that he brought," Leep exclaimed. "Twelve rebounds and he made some great decisions and just did a good job."
 
Stepney scored 16 points to lead CWU and Sage Woodruff had 13.
 
For the game, SPU shot 48 percent (24 of 50) f rom the field, with 14 assists setting up the 24 baskets, while holding Central at 35 percent (24 of 68).
 
The Falcons were 83-68 victors over Northwest Nazarene in Brougham Pavilion on Thursday. They are midway through a difficult stretch of four games in eight days.
 
"It was a great team win," Leep said. "Thursday and then again tonight were two of the best games that we've played all year long as far as sharing the ball and doing some of the things that we've been working on and valuing so much in practice.
 
"Now we look forward on short rest to another home game on Tuesday."
 
The Falcons men close out their home schedule on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Saint Martin's. That will be Senior Night as SPU seniors Bench, Olivier-Paul Betu, Will Parker and Rasmussen will be honored in a ceremony before the game.

 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 79, Central Washington 61
 
CENTRAL WASHINGTON (12-10, 7-9 GNAC)
Niles 4-7 0-1 8, Rodgers 1-3 0-0 2, Hunter 1-11 1-2 3, Dawn 2-5 0-0 5, Stepney 5-13 3-6 16, Woodruff 5-10 0-0 13, Bryant 3-5 0-0 7, Garret 3-9 0-0 7, Chaplik 0-1 0-0 0, Burton 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 24-68 4-9 61.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (11-13, 7-9 GNAC)
Wooten 6-13 11-15 24, Eisenhower 0-3 0-0 0, Rasmussen 6-12 0-0 15, Betu 2-3 7-12 12, Long 4-8 2-2 10, Khan 2-6 3-6 8, Streufert 3-4 1-4 7, Bench 1-1 0-0 3, Poulsen 0-0 0-0 0, Van Dyken 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 24-39 79.
 
Central Washington.....21   40  --  61
Seattle Pacific........33   46  --  79
 
3-point goals--CWU 9-27 (Woodruff 3-6, Stepney 3-7, Bryant 1-1, Dawn 1-4, Garret 1-4, Burton 0-1, Hunter 0-4), SPU 7-22 (Rasmussen 3-7, Betu 1-2, Khan 1-3, Wooten 1-5, Bench 1-1, Eisenhower 0-3, Streufert 0-1). Fouled out--CWU-Burton , SPU-None. Rebounds--CWU 29 (Stepney 8), SPU 44 (Streufert 12). Assists--CWU 11 (Burton 4), SPU 14 (Betu 4, Streufert 4). Total fouls—CWU 25, SPU 15. Technical fouls--CWU-None, SPU-None. A-1745.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Tuesday, Feb. 14, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.