• FINAL STATS   |   • VIDEO: GAVIN  LONG

SEATTLE – Nathan Streufert grabbed a game-high nine rebounds Thursday. None of them were more impactful than the final two of the contest.
 
Streufert scored the winning basket on a tip-in with 24.8 seconds remaining and then gathered the game's last rebound on the other end to secure Seattle Pacific's 74-72 men's basketball victory over Concordia-Portland at Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons (10-4) registered their fourth consecutive win and improved to 5-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.


 
Gabe Colosimo, who's earlier 3-pointer provided a 70-65 lead, scored on a driving layup with 1:08 to play to put SPU ahead, 72-69. Concordia's Bryan Michaels answered with a three-point play, on a layup and free throw, to level the score at 72-72 with 39.8 seconds left.
 
After a timeout, the Falcons ran a play for Gavin Long, who drove into the lane, but his spinning shot near the basket rimmed off. Streufert was there to tap it in for the decisive score.
 
Jarrett Gray missed a 3-pointer on the subsequent CU possession and Streufert collected the carom before being fouled with 0.3 seconds left.
 
"Nate is playing with such confidence right now," said SPU coach Grant Leep. "That last play that we drew up in the timeout, we talked about making sure that our guys that are responsible for crashing the boards, that they crash.
 
"The thing I love about Nate is that when you tell him to do something, you only have to tell him once and he does it. He's so coachable. He does such a great job of being where he's supposed to be when he's supposed to be there."
 
When Streufert was fouled with 0.3 showing on the clock, it was just Concordia's sixth foul of the half. Instead of a trip to the free-throw line, the Falcons inbounded the ball from the end line.
 
Their long fling to the top of the opposite key was intercepted by CU's Jace Cates, whose three-quarter court heave cleanly banked into the basket, but was ruled to have been released after the final buzzer. The referees reviewed the play on video to confirm that call.

 

Long had 15 points to lead five double-digit scorers for SPU. Harry Cavell added 14 points while Colosimo and Nikhil Lizotte had 10 apiece.
 
Streufert led all rebounders with nine, sparking SPU's 40-25 advantage on the boards.
 
Gray amassed 27 points, on 11-for-24 shooting, to pace Concordia with 27 points. He hit 5 of 10 shots from 3-point range.
 
"He got loose from the arc and he hit a bunch of threes, then that sets up everything else for him," Leep said. "He's a very good player and a guy that we really wanted to focus on, but he made us pay. He did a really good job."
 
Christopher Edward finished with 13 points and Hunter Sweet had 10 for the Cavaliers (4-11) who remained winless in seven GNAC outings.
 
Both teams earned their points as there were only 20 fouls called, 10 on each team, resulting in just six free-throw attempts. The lone visit to the free-throw line by a Falcon came with 4:50 left when Long missed his first and made the second for a 63-62 lead.
 
SPU entered the game averaging 28 free throws per game, 26 more than they attempted Thursday.
 
"Our guys executed very well down the stretch. We needed to manufacture some big baskets late and our guys did a really good job of it," Leep said.
 
"We're accustomed to getting to the free throw line a lot more than tonight. But our guys battled through and they kept playing hard. We just focused hard on trying to finish some of those plays, and down the stretch tonight we did."
 
SPU posted 53-percent accuracy from the floor (32 of 61) and the Cavaliers shot 46 percent (31 of 67).
 
The lead changed hands six times during a frenetic first half that finished with SPU leading 38-37. The hosts shot 55 percent (16 of 29) and were 6-for-11 on treys, but committed nine turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Concordia shot 49 percent (16 of 33) and had just three miscues.

 

Lizotte nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to provide a 6-0 SPU lead to start the game. CU stormed back with a 12-2 run, fueled by six points from Sweet, to go ahead 12-8 at the 13:53 mark.
 
"Nikhil obviously got us off to a great start, hitting two early threes," Leep said. "We had so many contributions from a lot of different guys."
 
All eight Falcons that saw action, scored a basket. Half of them finished with double-figure points. One who didn't was Coleman Wooten, who had another outstanding all-around game with eight points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists.
 
The Cavaliers' margin was 28-21 before Wooten registered consecutive baskets, both on driving layups, to ignite a 15-4 surge that included 3-pointers from three different Falcons.
 
After a trey and layup by Concordia, Long ended the half on a layup with 14 seconds left to forge a 38-37 Falcons edge.
 
The SPU men continue their four-game homestand on Saturday against second-place Western Oregon. Tip-off is 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
 
The 10th-ranked Wolves (14-1) won 79-71 at Saint Martin's on Thursday to improve to 6-1 in GNAC games. WOU is one game ahead of the third-place Falcons in the standings.
 
"They are such a good team. They are very well coached, they play extremely hard, they shoot it really well and they can beat you in a lot of different ways scoring the ball," Leep described. "So we definitely need to make sure that we are ready to defend, and then execute our things on the other end."

 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 74, Concordia-Portland 72
 
CONCORDIA-PORTLAND (4-11, 0-7 GNAC)
Michaels 4-10 1-1 9, Sweet 5-8 0-0 10, Edward 6-11 1-1 13, Gray 11-24 0-0 27, Harris 1-3 0-0 3, Cates 1-3 2-2 4, Fields 1-2 0-0 2, Wells 1-2 0-0 2, Starr 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 31-67 4-4 72.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-4, 5-2 GNAC)
Wooten 4-7 0-0 8, Long 6-12 1-2 15, Streufert 4-8 0-0 8, Lizotte 4-10 0-0 10, Colosimo 4-7 0-0 10, Cavell 6-10 0-0 14, Olsen 3-5 0-0 7, Eisenhower 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-61 1-2 74.
 
Concordia-Portland.... 37   35   -   72
Seattle Pacific....... 38   36   -   74
 
3-point goals--CU 6-16 (Gray 5-10, Harris 1-2, Michaels 0-2, Cates 0-1, Starr 0-1), SPU 9-17 (Long 2-2, Lizotte 2-5, Cavell 2-2, Colosimo 2-4, Olsen 1-1, Eisenhower 0-1, Streufert 0-1, Wooten 0-1). Fouled out--CU-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--CU 25 (Gray 8), SPU 40 (Streufert 9). Assists--CU 12 (Starr 5), SPU 10 (Wooten 4). Total fouls--CU 10, SPU 10. Technical fouls--CU-None, SPU-None.
A-437.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
(#10) Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Jan. 13, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.