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SEATTLE – Nathan Streufert posted an 18-point, 17-rebound performance Thursday, but it wasn't enough for the Seattle Pacific men as Alaska Anchorage rallied from a halftime deficit for a 67-62 Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball win at Brougham Pavilion.
 
A 6-foot-8 junior forward, Streufert compiled a double-double in the second half alone with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He accounted for nearly half of the scoring total for the Falcons, who accumulated just 22 points after halftime to relinquish their lead.
 
SPU (12-8) fell to 7-6 in conference play with its fourth loss in the last six outings.
 
Streufert (Richland HS) made 8 of 12 shots from the field. His 17 boards, seven of them on the offensive end, represented half of the team total for SPU, which had a 34-30 rebounding advantage.
 
"Nate plays so hard. He's one of those guys that we just know is going to give all he has," Leep exclaimed. "He had a double-double in the second half, let alone the final line.
 
"He just brings us so much. He understands where he fits within our offense and what he's supposed to do and then he just goes and does it at a really high level every time. I love Nate's consistency of effort, and tonight there was the production to back it up."
 
Gavin Long contributed 11 points for the Falcons, whose 62 points represented their second lowest total of the season. The Seawolves were also involved in the lowest scoring game as SPU was a 57-54 victor on Jan. 6 in Anchorage.
 
Malik Clements tallied 18 points to pace UAA, including the first two baskets of the second half that ignited the second-half comeback. D.J. Ursery added 11 points.
 
UAA (10-11) improved to 6-7 in GNAC games.
 
The first eight points of the second half were scored by the Seawolves, on back-to-back 3-pointers by Clements and a Jack Macdonald layup. That spree put the visitors up for the first time, at 44-40.
 
"They got off to a great start in the second half to put our guys back on our heels and we didn't have the response to it tonight. We were playing from behind the whole second half," said Leep.
 
Streufert made a layup at 17:38 to stop his team's 8-minute, 16-second scoring drought that started with 5:54 left in the first half. There were 12 straight SPU misses during that span.
 
"There were times where we got the ball into the paint and we didn't finish our plays. We had some open shots and didn't knock them down," Leep described. "To be at the level that we want to be, we've got to be able to finish plays."

 

The visitors led 64-57 before the Falcons staged a late rally. Long and Streufert scored consecutive baskets and Harry Cavell closed the deficit to 64-62 by sinking the first of two free throws with 18.3 seconds showing on the clock.
 
Brian Pearson missed the front end of a one-and-one on the next UAA possession, but the Falcons couldn't capitalize as Gabe Colosimo missed a driving layup with nine seconds remaining.
 
Josiah Woods converted two charity shots with 8.2 seconds left to secure the Seawolves victory.
 
Anchorage shot 50 percent in each half, making 25 of 50 shots for the game. The Falcons shot just 35 percent in the second half (8 of 23) to lower their complete-game accuracy to 41 percent (24 of 58).
 
For the seventh game in a row SPU utilized a short, eight-man rotation as injuries have sidelined four players. Four Falcons played more than 30 minutes Thursday led by Streufert's 37. Long participated for 34 minutes before fouling out with 1.2 seconds remaining. Colosimo manned the point guard position for 33 minutes and Coleman Wooten saw 31 minutes of action.
 
Leading scorer Tony Miller and his 18.2-point scoring average have been out of the SPU lineup the last eight games. He was the 2017 GNAC Freshman of the Year.
 
The Falcons led by as many as 14 points during the first half. They broke a 4-4 tie with nine straight points and steadily added to that margin until a 3-pointer by Nikhil Lizotte provided a 37-23 advantage with 7:03 on the clock.
 
Colosimo's 3-pointer at 5:54 put the Falcons ahead 40-27. But they didn't score again before halftime, enabling Anchorage to close the period with nine unanswered points to draw within 40-36.
 
In their final eight first-half possessions, SPU missed nine shots and committed two turnovers.
 
The SPU men remain at home to host their annual Homecoming Game on Saturday. Tip-off is 4 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion for the clash with Alaska Fairbanks.
 
"One thing I love about our group is their ability to respond. When we've been in tough situations before they've responded," Leep said. "That's part of our identity, part of who we are. My hope is that we do that again.
 
"We'll do everything that we can to prepare them to play again on Saturday. But we definitely need to have a little bit different level of urgency and consistency to our effort."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Alaska Anchorage 67, at Seattle Pacific 62
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (10-11, 6-7 GNAC)
Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Pearson 3-5 0-1 6, Wood 3-8 2-3 9, Macdonald 3-8 1-2 8, Clements 6-9 3-5 18, Ursery 6-8 0-1 12, Osborne 1-4 2-4 5, Rymer 1-1 1-2 4, Peterson 1-5 0-0 3, Ryan 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-50 9-18 67.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (12-8, 7-6 GNAC)
Wooten 3-6 2-2 9, Streufert 8-12 1-2 18, Cavell 1-8 1-3 4, Long 5-14 1-2 11, Colosimo 3-7 0-0 8, Lizotte 2-4 0-0 6, Eisenhower 2-5 0-0 6, Olsen 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 5-9 62.
 
Alaska Anchorage..............   36   32  -   67
Seattle Pacific...............   40   22  -   62
 
3-point goals--UAA 8-18 (Clements 3-4, Osborne 1-2, Wood 1-4, Macdonald 1-3, Peterson 1-2, Rymer 1-1, Ryan 0-1, Ursery 0-1), SPU 9-21 (Colosimo 2-5, Eisenhower 2-4, Lizotte 2-4, Wooten 1-1, Streufert 1-1, Cavell 1-2, Olsen 0-1, Long 0-3). Fouled out--UAA-None, SPU-Long. Rebounds--UAA 30 (Ursery 8), SPU 34 (Streufert 17). Assists--UAA 13 (Ursery 4), SPU 15 (Streufert, Cavell, Long 3). Total fouls--UAA 14, SPU 18. Technical fouls--UAA-None, SPU-None. A-275.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Feb. 3, 4:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.