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Nampa, Idaho – Entering final exams week in the classroom, the Falcons passed a challenging test on the court Saturday night.
 
Reserve point guard Braden Olsen led five double-figure scorers with a career-high 17 points, helping Seattle Pacific stretch its winning streak to five games with a 77-68 victory over Northwest Nazarene in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game at the Johnson Sports Center.
 
Olsen hit 5 of 7 shots from the field, including 2-for-4 accuracy on 3-pointers. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
 
The sophomore from West Linn (Ore.) High School surpassed his previous high collegiate total of 14 points achieved twice.
 
"I just love how he played tonight," exclaimed SPU coach Grant Leep. "Braden got in the paint. He plays fast, he's aggressive and when he gets in the paint good things happen for us.
 
"He was finishing the right plays. He got to the free throw line a bunch, which is an easy way to score. He was so aggressive on offense tonight and under control."
 
Harry Cavell and Gavin Long each chipped in 11 points for SPU while Sharif Khan and Divant'e Moffitt had 10 apiece.
 
Road Results Reap Winning Record
The Falcons (5-4) have a winning overall record for the first time this season after starting with four straight losses. The five consecutive victories all were registered on the road, including Thursday's 76-66 decision at Central Washington.
 
"After how we started, we tried so hard to right the ship and put so much effort into correcting things," Leep said. "We've got it in a really good place now and want it to just keep going. What we've focused on with this team is to get better every time that we play.
 
"Now we have hit a certain level of play that is expected from our group, now we're having to find ways to win, which is the next step in the growth of the team. Tonight, we had guys that were tired with the travel and staying on top of their schoolwork and they won a hard-fought game."
 
The last time a Seattle Pacific team followed a four-game losing skid with five straight wins was 1995 when the team responded to four consecutive losses by reeling off six victories.
 
Defending GNAC Tournament champion SPU won its first two conference games for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
 
The Nighthawks (3-4) suffered their fourth straight setback and dropped to 0-2 in GNAC play. They were GNAC Tournament semifinalists last season, losing 89-81 to SPU, which was victorious in the last three matchups.
 
NNU had four double-digit scorers, pace by 16 from Adalberto Diaz. Jaylen Fox contributed 14 points, George Reidy 11 and Ezekiel Alley 10.
 
Back & Forth Battle
The outcome was very much in doubt until SPU staged the decisive stretch midway through the second half.
 
A 36-29 halftime deficit was quickly erased by the Nighthawks, who evened the score, 43-43, after a layup by Diaz capped a six-point run with 16 minutes left to play. After Olsen responded with a 3-pointer for the Falcons, NNU scored the next four points to claim a 49-48 edge with 11:55 remaining.

 

Back-to-back treys, by Jacob Medjo and Khan, ignited a 15-2 SPU spree. Khan followed his 3-pointer with a steal and fastbreak layup that created a 56-49 lead for the visitors.
 
By the time Moffitt concluded the run, on a steal and fastbreak dunk with 7:12 showing on the clock, the Falcons comfortably led 63-51. That margin grew to a high of 15 points, at 68-53, before the Nighthawks rallied.
 
A 15-5 run closed the gap to 73-68 with 50 seconds remaining. SPU halted that comeback bid with a pair of free throws from both Moffitt and Khan in the final 35 seconds to secure the result.
 
Overall shooting was nearly equal, actually slightly favoring NNU which made 28 of 59 field goals (47.5 percent), one more make and attempt than the Falcons, who countered with 47.4-percent shooting (27 of 57).
 
Long-range and free throw accuracy was the difference. SPU compiled a season-high 11 treys (in 28 tries) and sank 12 of 14 charity shots compared to 7-for-18 on 3-pointers for the Nighthawks, who converted just 5 of 12 free throws.
 
Super Subs
Coach Leep credited contributions from his reserves for Saturday's success.
 
"Tonight we had some great efforts off the bench. Braden off the bench was awesome. Sharif was terrific off the bench. We got Zack Paulsen back healthy and playing at a high level. He gave us some really good minutes."
 
The SPU reserves outscored their Nighthawks counterparts by a lopsided 37-17 margin.
 
First-Half Recap
After falling behind 8-5 early, the Falcons capitalized on five straight scoreless possessions by the hosts. They forced four turnovers and one missed shot to pave the way for a string of eight unanswered points, the first four from Olsen.
 
That produced a 13-8 lead, which was short-lived as NNU answered with a 12-6 surge to go ahead, 20-19, after Diaz's 3-pinter with 7:14 showing on the clock.
 
Another Nighthawks run, of six straight points helped provide a 28-27 edge.
 
The lead swung back to the Falcons, who produced points on five of six possessions. They reeled off nine unanswered points, four of them from Moffitt, to surge into a 36-28 advantage.
 
A free throw by Diaz with 21.9 seconds left before intermission set the halftime score at 36-29 in favor of the Falcons.
 
Moffitt nearly added to that lead with 1.8 seconds left, but his trey from the left corner was disallowed after he was whistled for traveling.
 
Exams then Final 2019 Game
The Falcons take a break from competition to concentrate on final exams next week.
 
Their next test on the hardwood comes at home on Dec. 20. They play one last game in the 2019 calendar year, concluding their non-conference schedule against Puget Sound. Tip-off is 7 p.m. on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.
 
"We still haven't won a game in Seattle yet," Leep said of the Falcons, who are 0-3 at home. "We want to get back on our home floor and start showing our fans what we're capable of and how well we've been playing on the road."
 
The SPU men resume GNAC play at home to start 2020. Alaska Anchorage travels to Seattle on Jan. 2 for a 5:15 p.m. matchup and Alaska Fairbanks visits on Jan. 4 at 4:15 p.m.
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
Seattle Pacific 77, at Northwest Nazarene 68
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-4, 2-0 GNAC)
Anderson 0-4 2-2 2, Fullerton 2-3 0-2 6, Cavell 5-12 0-0 11, Moffitt 4-9 2-2 10, Long 4-8 1-1 11, Olsen 5-7 5-5 17, Khan 3-6 2-2 10, Medjo 3-5 0-0 8, Paulsen 1-3 0-0 2, El Mardi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 12-14 77.
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (3-4, 0-2 GNAC)
Diaz 6-10 2-4 16, Adetunji 3-3 1-1 7, Fox 5-7 0-0 14, Roth 1-7 1-2 3, Reidy 5-12 1-5 11, Alley 5-12 0-0 10, Furgerson 3-6 0-0 7, Murphy 0-0 0-0 0, White 0-1 0-0 0, Wright 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-59 5-12 68.
 
Seattle Pacific.............   36   41  -   77
Northwest Nazarene..........   29   39  -   68
 
3-point goals--SPU 11-28 (Fullerton 2-2, Medjo 2-4, Olsen 2-4, Khan 2-5, Long 2-3, Cavell 1-5, Paulsen 0-2, Anderson 0-3), NNU 7-18 (Fox 4-6, Diaz 2-3, Furgerson 1-2, Roth 0-1, White 0-1, Wright 0-1, Alley 0-2, Reidy 0-2). Fouled out--SPU-None, NNU-None. Rebounds--SPU 32 (Cavell 8), NNU 34 (Roth 10). Assists--SPU 14 (Moffitt 5), NNU 16 (Roth 7). Total fouls--SPU 15, NNU 16. Technical fouls--SPU-None, NNU-None. A-529.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Puget Sound at Seattle Pacific
Friday, Dec. 20, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.