• FINAL STATS (html)   |   • PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE – Ali Faruq-Bey converted the decisive free throws with 42 seconds remaining Saturday and his 10th-ranked Western Oregon teammates added three more to turn back Seattle Pacific's impressive second-half comeback in an 83-79 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball win at Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Falcons trailed by as many as 16 points before rallying to claim their only lead, at 79-78, on two free throws by Harry Cavell with 1:01 left to play.
 
Faruq-Bey was fouled on the subsequent WOU possession and sank both attempts. JJ Chirnside stole the ball from Cavell and was immediately fouled with 24.5 seconds on the clock. He made the first, but had his second waived off as a lane violation was whistled on a teammate.
 
Nikhil Lizotte shot a deep 3-pointer from the right side that would have put SPU ahead, but it rimmed off and Wolves' rebounder, Riley Hawken, sank both free throws with 8.8 seconds showing to secure the victory.
 
"I was really proud of how our group responded in the second half," said second-year SPU coach Grant Leep. "The challenge for us is to play with that level of intensity to start a game, and not wait until we've been challenged, or wait until we are down. Our guys did a good job of executing in the second half with the adjustments that were made.
 
"We battled. To have come back and taken the lead with one minute to go, and put ourselves in that position, we were just a play away."
 
Seattle Pacific (10-5) had its four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-3 in GNAC play.

 

Gabe Colosimo scored 14 points to lead five double-figure scorers for the Falcons. Cavell finished with 13, including six points on back-to-back possessions to start a 9-0 run that ignited the rally.
 
Cavell had a three-point play, with a layup and free throw, then nailed a 3-pointer 41 seconds later. After Hunter Eisenhower followed with a trey, the Falcons were within 71-68 with 6:20 left to play.
 
"The first 12 minutes of the second half felt like we were kind of spinning our wheels. We were playing extremely hard, but we weren't making up any ground," Leep described. "It was an 11-point deficit at that half and it kind of stayed at that point until the under-eight mark where we really made a push.
 
"We are a young group learning how to win and to close out games against a really good, veteran team."
 
Gavin Long scored 11 points for SPU while Lizotte and Nathan Streufert each chipped in 10.
 
Tanner Omlid compiled 15 of his 20 points during the first half, helping the Wolves build a 51-40 lead by intermission.
 
Hawken also netted 20 points for Western Oregon (15-1), which won its eighth straight game and improved to 7-1 in conference action. The Wolves extended their winning streak over SPU to seven.
 
Chirnside had 13 points for WOU and Farug-Bey 10.
 
The Wolves shot 55 percent from the field (31 of 56) while holding their hosts at 43 percent (25 of 58).
 
To start the game, WOU made its first four shots and added a pair of free throws to claim a 10-6 edge.
 
The Wolves did early damage from close range, accumulating 19 of their first 21 points from inside the lane. The other two came from the free throw line. Omlid tallied eight points inside the opening six minutes, all of them on layups.
 
The score was 25-21 in favor of the Wolves before they went on a 12-1 run, sparked by seven points from Hawken. His 3-pointer, with 8:04 left in the half, provided a 37-22 advantage.
 
SPU closed the half with a 6-2 spurt to draw within 51-40 by halftime.
 
The visitors posted 60-percent accuracy in the first half (21 of 35), with 30 points in the paint, and the Falcons shot 41-percent (13 of 32).

 

"We challenged our guys at halftime to play a little tougher, to not just let them cut and get layups and to drive us down to the paint, spin and get layups," said Leep. "We challenged them to step up and fight back, and they did. We showed a lot more competitive spirit, competitive grit in the second half."
 
Two nights after being issued just two free throws in a 74-72 home victory over Concordia-Portland, SPU had 36 attempts, making 23 of them.
 
Eight Falcons saw action Saturday, the same number that played Thursday. Illness and injuries have depleted the roster, sidelining Sharif Khan, Trey Miller and Sam Simpson.
 
Also out with an injury is Trey's brother, Tony Miller, the team's leading scorer who missed the last three games. The sophomore forward, who was the 2017 GNAC Freshman of the Year, is averaging 18.0 points and 6.2 rebounds.
 
The SPU men continue their four-game homestand on Tuesday against Saint Martin's. Tip-off is 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
 
"Now, we have to start preparing for a very good Saint Martin's team that plays extremely hard," Leep said. "We definitely don't want to overdo it in our prep because of the numbers that we have right now. But we do have to put some of that scouting report in and work towards getting back in that win column again.
 
"This group played extremely hard tonight and I know we're going to play hard again. We have to get ourselves in position to bounce back."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Western Oregon 83, at Seattle Pacific 79
 
WESTERN OREGON (15-1, 7-1 GNAC)
Omlid 9-12 1-2 20, Boumann 0-2 2-4 2, Hawken 7-9 4-4 20, Morgan 1-4 0-1 2, Faruq-Bey 3-8 4-6 10, Chirnside 5-7 1-1 13, Alaby 3-6 1-1 7, Trammell 2-5 0-0 5, Lubom 1-2 2-2 4, Evans 0-1 0-0 0, Triano 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-56 15-21 83.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-5, 5-3 GNAC)
Wooten 3-6 3-5 9, Streufert 4-4 2-8 10, Lizotte 3-12 3-6 10, Colosimo 4-11 4-4 14, Long 3-6 5-6 11, Cavell 4-8 3-3 13, Olsen 2-6 3-4 7, Eisenhower 2-5 0-0 5. Totals 25-58 23-36 79.
 
Western Oregon................   51   32  -   83
Seattle Pacific...............   40   39  -   79
 
3-point goals--WOU 6-14 (Hawken 2-2, Chirnside 2-3, Trammell 1-1, Omlid 1-2, Morgan 0-1, Lubom 0-1, Alaby 0-2, Faruq-Bey 0-2), SPU 6-17 (Cavell 2-2, Colosimo 2-4, Lizotte 1-6, Eisenhower 1-3, Olsen 0-1, Wooten 0-1). Fouled out--WOU-None, SPU-Streufert. Rebounds--WOU 30 (Omlid 9), SPU 34 (Wooten 8). Assists--WOU 14 (Morgan 4), SPU 12 (Colosimo 4). Total fouls--WOU 25, SPU 18. Technical fouls--WOU-Faruq-Bey, SPU-None. A-697.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Tuesday, Jan. 16, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.