• FINAL STATS

ANCHORAGE, Ak. – Gavin Long rebounded a teammate's missed free throw and scored on a drive to the basket with 2.4 seconds remaining Thursday, lifting Seattle Pacific to a 65-64 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball win at the Alaska Airlines Center.
 
Long had drawn the Falcons within 64-63, converting the second of two free throws with 55.9 seconds showing on the clock.
 
After missing a 3-pointer on its possession, Anchorage fouled Coleman Wooten near the top of the key as soon as he touched the ball instead of allowing SPU to attempt a go-ahead shot.
 
Wooten is a 35 percent shooter and the Seawolves strategy appeared to work as he missed the front end of the one-and-one. But Long rose to grab the rebound in the lane, took two dribbles and lofted a short bank shot from the right side for the game-winner.
 
Alaska's Brennan Rymer had a chance to reverse the outcome, but his 25-foot 3-point attempt from the right side rimmed off at the final buzzer.
 
SPU (12-6) won its third straight game, improving to 9-4 in GNAC play. Thursday's decision, along with an 87-74 home victory on Jan. 12, completed a season sweep of the Seawolves.
 
Nikhil Lizotte led the Falcons with 15 points while Wooten had 14 points and eight rebounds.

 
Wooten, a product of Tahoma (Wash.) High School, became the 14th player in SPU history to surpass the 600-rebound plateau. He is the ninth Falcon to reach both the 1,000-point and 600-rebound career milestones, having compiled 1,055 points and 601 boards.
 
Long finished with seven points, six below his team-leading 13-point average. The winning basket was only his second field goal of the game and the critical rebound also his second.
 
Perhaps Long wasn't himself due to wearing No. 31 for the first time. His usual No. 33 jersey was left behind in Seattle.
 
SPU shot 57 percent (25 of 44) and got nearly half (32) of its points in the paint, 10 more than Anchorage produced.
 
Tyler Brimhall tallied 26 points, including 6-for-8 accuracy on 3-pointers, to pace the Seawolves (12-9). They dropped to 7-6 in league action.
 
Rymer and Jack Macdonald each had 11 points for UAA.
 
UAA hit 46 percent of its shots, needing 11 more attempts (55) to match Seattle Pacific's 25 field goals.
 
Divant'e Moffitt entered in the fifth minute for the Falcons and had an immediate impact, sparking an 11-4 run. The freshman point guard made a layup after a nifty dribble to the basket, then stole the ball and fed Wooten for a fastbreak layup.
 
After a layup and 3-pointer by Sam Simpson, Moffitt capped the surge with a driving layup that provided a 20-11 lead with 11:07 left in the first half. That was the largest lead of the game for either team.
 
At that point, SPU had made 8 of 10 shots, including all four of its 3-point tries.
 
That stellar shooting cooled off slightly, enabling the Seawolves to claw back into the contest. They compiled eight straight points, with a Sjur Berg layup sandwiched by Brimhall treys, to even the score at 22-22.
 
UAA twice moved into the lead before halftime, the final time on Brimhall's fourth 3-pointer of the period in just five attempts. He tallied 17 points before intermission on 6-for-10 shooting.
 
Lizotte nailed a trey from the top of the key with one second showing on the clock to put the Falcons ahead, 35-33, going into halftime.
 
SPU shot 62 percent (13 of 21) in the opening 20 minutes, making 5 of 7 treys. In a battle of the league's two best rebounding teams, the visitors had the upper hand at halftime by collecting 14 caroms while limiting Anchorage to just seven.
 
Anchorage shot 46 percent (12 of 26) in the opening half featuring 6-for-12 accuracy behind the 3-point arc.
 
The Seawolves made their first four shots of the second half, erasing the two-point halftime deficit to build a 42-37 lead. That was short-lived as the Falcons went on a 7-2 run for a 44-44 tie.
 
The teams were never separated by more than three points the rest of the way, setting up the dramatic finish.
 
The SPU men remain in Alaska for one more game. They visit Fairbanks on Saturday for a 3 p.m. Pacific Time contest.
 
Next week the Falcons start a four-game homestand, beginning on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. against Western Oregon.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska
 
Seattle Pacific 65, at Alaska Anchorage 64
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (12-6, 9-4 GNAC)
Wooten 6-8 0-1 14, Streufert 1-2 1-2 3, Cavell 2-5 1-2 6, Lizotte 6-11 0-1 15, Long 2-7 3-4 7, Simpson 3-4 1-2 8, Moffitt 3-3 0-0 6, Boone 1-1 1-2 3, Khan 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 25-44 7-14 65.
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (12-9, 7-6 GNAC)
Brimhall 10-17 0-0 26, Bevens 2-9 0-0 4, Berg 1-1 1-2 3, Rymer 5-12 0-0 11, Macdonald 4-7 2-3 11, Adams 1-4 2-2 4, Karlberg 1-2 0-0 3, Dowell 1-1 0-0 2, Pearson 0-2 0-0 0, White 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 5-7 64.
 
Seattle Pacific.......35...30..--..65
Alaska Anchorage......33...31..--..64
 
3-point goals--SPU 8-18 (Lizotte 3-6, Wooten 2-4, Cavell 1-1, Simpson 1-2, Khan 1-3, Long 0-2), UAA 9-20 (Brimhall 6-8, Karlberg 1-2, Macdonald 1-2, Rymer 1-3, Bevens 0-5). Fouled out--SPU-None, UAA-None. Rebounds--SPU 26 (Wooten 8), UAA 22 (Brimhall 5). Assists--SPU 17 (Cavell 4), UAA 18 (Rymer 7). Total fouls--SPU 13, UAA 17. Technical fouls--SPU-None, UAA-None. A-869.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks
Saturday, Feb. 9, 3:00 p.m. PST
Alaska Airlines Court / Fairbanks, Ak.