• FINAL STATS (html) 
• VIDEO: CONNER  VAN DYKEN
• PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE – Saturday's Homecoming Game crowd witnessed quite a performance at Brougham Pavilion. And all 11 available Falcons got into the act.
 
Harry Cavell tallied 15 of his career-high 20 points during the second half to help Seattle Pacific pull away for an 87-60 triumph over Alaska Fairbanks in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contest.
 
Alex Baham scored 17 first-half points for the visiting Nanooks, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that brought them within 40-39 at halftime.
 
But the Falcons shut down Baham, and his entire team, in the second half. He was limited to a pair of free throws and Fairbanks mustered just 21 points in the period.
 
SPU countered with 47 second-half points, shooting 55 percent (16 of 29) after halftime.
 
"We switched the matchups. Gavin (Long) switched over to Baham and did a really good job of making him have to work for his stuff," explained SPU coach Grant Leep. "Our guys did a good job of executing our defensive game plan and making those adjustments in the second half.
 
"Fairbanks shoots the three so well and had six of them in the first half. Our guys came out after halftime and did a much better job guarding the 3-point arc. More of their looks were contested, they had to work harder to get them and we held them to only one three in the second half."
 
It took the Nanooks 12 attempts to get their single 3-pointer after intermission.
 


A 12-2 spree to start the second half provided a 52-41 advantage for the Falcons, who scored on their first five possessions.
 
Gavin Long started the surge with a 3-pointer and jumper in the lane. Nathan Streufert completed the run with three consecutive baskets, the third followed by a free throw.
 
That margin steadily increased to a high of 27 points by the end as walk-on guard Conner Van Dyken set the final score on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:04 remaining. He has converted 2 of 3 trey attempts this season.
 
Also getting into the scorebook was SPU senior center EJ Poulsen, who made a layup with 2:32 showing on the clock off a perfect feed from Trey Miller.
 
In just five minutes, Miller distributed three assists. He was sidelined the previous seven games due to injury.
 
"It was great to be able to bring those guys into the game and have them do some good things," said Leep. "With our injuries we've needed everybody to contribute and we got that today."
 
SPU (13-8) improved to 8-6 in league play and completed a season sweep of the Nanooks after recording a 95-79 win on Jan. 4 in Fairbanks.
 
Cavell hit 6 of 10 shots from the field, 2 of 3 treys and 6 of 8 free throws. He also grabbed six rebounds.
 
The 6-foot-6 guard is in his first year competing for the Falcons after serving a red-shirt season last year. He joined the starting lineup for the first time last Saturday and the team won two of the three games since then.
 
The lone loss was Thursday's 67-62 setback against Alaska Anchorage. Cavell struggled in that one, making just 1 of 8 shots from the field.

 

Leep was impressed with Cavell's ability to rebound from Thursday's rough outing.
 
"It's big and it speaks a lot to not only his character, but the character of our group. Our group still trusts him to go and play the right way.
 
"Harry has just done such a great job of developing as a complete player. When he does what he did tonight, he's pretty hard to guard."
 
Long finished with 16 points for the Falcons, who also got 14 from Streufert and 11 from Coleman Wooten. Streufert collected nine caroms to lead a 33-25 rebounding advantage. On Thursday he posted a massive double-double with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
 
For the game, SPU shot 58 percent (33 of 57) while holding UAF at 39 percent (21 of 54).
 
Fairbanks (9-11) dropped one game behind SPU in the standings, evening its GNAC record at 7-7. Baham scored 19 points and Davis Kimble added 12.
 
To start the game, the Falcons hit 4 of their first 5 shots, but still found themselves down 12-8 due to four turnovers in the opening five minutes.
 
The visitors' lead stretched to 24-18 with 7:48 left in the first half sparked by Baham, who already had 11 points by that time.
 
SPU's Wooten notched consecutive baskets and Nikhil Lizotte followed with a scoop layup while falling down that just beat the shot clock to even that score at 26-26. Soon after, another six-point run put the Falcons ahead for good, at 32-28, with 3:27 left in the period.
 
Baham drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to end the half, including a bomb from the left corner as time expired to narrow the Fairbanks deficit to 40-39 at halftime.
 
The 6-foot-4 junior forward hit 6 of 7 shots during the first half, getting 5-for-6 accuracy beyond the 3-point arc, to amass 17 points. Baham missed his only three second-half shots, all of them 3-point tries.
 
The Falcons shot 61 percent (17 of 28) in the opening 20 minutes while holding Fairbanks at 48 percent (14 of 29), but their eight turnovers prevented them from acquiring a larger lead.
 
The SPU men now embark on a four-game road trip, beginning with a visit to Monmouth, Oregon. They clash with fourth-ranked Western Oregon on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
 
"There's no easy night in the GNAC. They're all games that you have to be ready to go and you have to bring your best effort every time you step out there no matter where you're playing.
 
"Western Oregon is playing so well and they can beat you in so many different way so we better be ready for a big battle. We played them tough, but they came out on top when they were in Seattle. We're going to be ready to give them our best shot."
 
The next home game for the Falcons is Feb. 22 with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Central Washington.

 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 87, Alaska Fairbanks 60
 
ALASKA FAIRBANKS (9-11, 7-7 GNAC)
Lendway 0-8 4-5 4, Kluting 4-7 0-0 8, Baham 6-10 2-2 19, Kimble 4-10 3-4 12, Eisenhut 0-4 0-0 0, Mitchell 3-5 2-4 9, Lootens 3-6 0-0 6, Hatch 1-2 0-0 2, Wilder 0-2 0-0 0, McCullough 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 11-15 60.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-8, 8-6 GNAC)
Wooten 5-7 1-3 11, Streufert 6-7 2-3 14, Cavell 6-10 6-8 20, Colosimo 3-6 0-0 9, Long 7-10 0-0 16, Eisenhower 2-3 0-0 6, Lizotte 1-4 2-2 4, Van Dyken 1-2 0-0 3, Olsen 1-5 0-0 2, Poulsen 1-3 0-0 2, Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-57 11-16 87.
 
Alaska Fairbanks..............   39   21  -   60
Seattle Pacific...............   40   47  -   87
 
3-point goals--UAF 7-26 (Baham 5-9, Mitchell 1-2 Kimble 1-4, Lendway 0-4, Hatch 0-1, Eisenhut 0-2, Lootens 0-2, Kluting 0-2), SPU 10-19 (Colosimo 3-5, Eisenhower 2-3, Cavell 2-3, Long 2-2, Van Dyken 1-1, Olsen 0-2, Lizotte 0-2, Wooten 0-1). Fouled out--UAF-None, SPU-None.
Rebounds--UAF 25 (Lootens 6), SPU 33 (Streufert 9). Assists--UAF 6 (Kimble 4), SPU 17 (Streufert, Colosimo 4). Total fouls--UAF 15, SPU 13. Technical fouls--UAF-None, SPU-None. A-762.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at (#4) Western Oregon
Thursday, Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m. PST
New PE Building / Monmouth, Ore.