• STATS (pdf)
• VIDEO: Jacob  Medjo interview
• VIDEO: Filip  Fullerton dunk
• PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE -- Divant'e Moffitt led all scorers with 18 points Thursday, including five late free throws that secured Seattle Pacific's seventh straight men's basketball win, 83-76, against Alaska Anchorage in a matchup of teams undefeated in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The Falcons (7-4) remain atop the standings, improving to 3-0 in league action. After starting the season with four straight setbacks, they have strung together seven consecutive wins since November 16.
 
Moffitt hit 5 of 10 shots and was 7-for-8 from the free throw line on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion. The sophomore point guard from Spanaway Lake (Wash.) High School distributed a game-high five assists.
 
"He's just coming into his own," SPU coach Grant Leep said of Moffitt. "He's becoming so much better at managing the game. He's becoming such a good point guard. He's not just a scoring guard anymore, he's a point guard.
 
"Divant'e runs the team, he's making the right decisions, we trust him when the ball is in his hands and our guys love playing with him. There are still things that he needs to do to continue to improve, but he's sure playing at a high-level right now."
 
Moffitt is averaging 18.4 points and 4.8 assists during the last five games.
 
SPU led by as many as 14 points in the second half Thursday before back-to-back baskets by Tobin Karlberg, one of them a 3-pointer, trimmed the Seawolves deficit to 73-68.
 
Moffitt responded with two free throws at 1:14, two more with 35.4 seconds left to play and sank the first of two with 16.8 seconds showing on the clock. On all three occasions he extended the Falcons lead to seven points.
 
Three other Falcons netted double-figures. Gavin Long contributed 15 points and Shaw Anderson had 11. Harry Cavell totaled 14 points and led his team's 38-30 advantage on the boards with nine rebounds.
 
Center Filip Fullerton had seven points, six rebounds and a dunk off a nifty pass from Braden Olsen in the final minute of the first half.
 
"The defense that he played and the effort that he put out, he left it all out there today," Leep exclaimed. "We love the effort that Filip gave us and we've just seen him continue to get better as the season goes on."

FILIP FULLERTON DUNK

 Pivotal Point
The decisive stretch came early in the second half.
 
A layup by Oggie Pantovic four minutes after halftime drew the Seawolves within 44-43. SPU followed with nine unanswered points to gain a double-digit lead for the first time in the game.
 
Cavell's trey ignited the spree that Jacob Medjo caped with an offensive rebound and put-back to provide a 53-43 margin with 13:28 remaining.
 
After UAA's Karlberg cut into the lead with a 3-pointer, Medjo answered with a trey for SPU.
 
The visitors never got closer than five points the rest of the way.
 
"What spurred that series for us was the ability to get some stops. We finally were in a position where we were either forcing a turnover or making them take contested shots," Leep said of the pivotal juncture during which SPU forced two turnovers and three missed shots.
 
"Being able to string a few stops together allowed us to get out on transition, put them back on their heels a little bit and really get out and attack them. When we can do that our guys make great decisions with the basketball."
 
Pantovic registered a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double for Anchorage (9-5), which dropped to 2-1 in GNAC games. Karlberg added 15 points and Tyrus Hosley 10.
 
The Seawolves had the upperhand in field goal accuracy at 49 percent (30 of 61) to 44 percent for SPU (28 of 63).
 
The Falcons countered with a 13-point advantage from the line. They converted their first 18 free throw attempts before the final try, by Moffitt, rimmed off. UAA made 5 of 9 charity shots.

JACOB MEDJO INTERVIEW

 Tight First-Half Battle
Anchorage got off to a great start. After getting a 3-pointer from the top of the key from center Filip Fullerton, SPU went silent for over three minutes with five straight missed shots during that stretch. UAA capitalized with four consecutive baskets for nine consecutive points.
 
When Amari Hale capped that surge with a trey from the left corner, the visitors led 9-3 with 16:18 left in the first quarter.
 
The Falcons responded with seven straight points to edge ahead, 10-9. The teams alternated baskets for the next six minutes, each notching five scores in that span.
 
The teams were never separated by more than three points over the final 16 minutes of the first half that featured three ties and eight lead changes.
 
Trailing 36-33, SPU netted the final five points of the half to gain a 38-36 lead at intermission. The go-ahead bucket was a 3-pointer from the left corner by Braden Olsen with 6.5 seconds showing on the clock.
 
Coach Leep pointed to productive practice sessions upon return from an eight-day holiday break as the source that made Thursday's success possible. The Falcons had only three days of practice to prepare for the Seawolves.
 
"This short week of prep that we had was the best of any team that we've had going on 11 years at SPU. This break has been going on for many years, but this is the best post-Christmas prep that our guys have ever had.
 
"They've been handling things with a maturity and energy that's infectious. It's fun to come to practice every day and they do such a great job of absorbing information and then applying it on the court."

Next Game
The SPU men remain at home to host Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. That is a clash of the only remaining unbeaten teams in the GNAC. The Nanooks moved their league ledger to 3-0 with a 98-88 win Thursday at Saint Martin's.
 
That first-place matchup comes in the nightcap of a Brougham Pavilion doubleheader with the women's team, which meets Fairbanks at 2 p.m.
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 83, Alaska Anchorage 76
 
ALASKA ANCHORAGE (9-5, 2-1 GNAC)
Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Pantovic 7-11 2-2 16, Hale 2-5 1-2 6, Hosley 4-9 0-0 10, Macdonald 2-3 0-0 5, Karlberg 6-8 0-0 15, Bevens 3-8 0-0 9, Brimhall 3-10 1-1 7, Osuigwe 2-5 1-2 6, Crosby 1-1 0-0 2, Riley 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 30-61 5-9 76.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (7-4, 3-0 GNAC)
Anderson 4-10 2-2 11, Fullerton 3-7 0-0 7, Cavell 4-11 4-4 14, Moffitt 5-10 7-8 18, Long 6-8 3-3 15, Olsen 2-8 2-2 7, Medjo 2-4 0-0 5, Colosimo 1-3 0-0 3, Khan 1-2 0-0 3, El Mardi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-63 18-19 83.
 
Alaska Anchorage..............   36   40  -   76
Seattle Pacific...............   38   45  -   83
 
3-point goals--UAA 11-25 (Karlberg 3-5, Bevens 3-6, Hosley 2-3, Hale 1-2, Macdonald 1-1, Osuigwe 1-2, Brimhall 0-5, Pantovic 0-1), SPU 9-22 (Cavell 2-3, Olsen 1-4, Fullerton 1-2, Anderson 1-4, Khan 1-1, Moffitt 1-2, Colosimo 1-3, Medjo 1-3). Fouled out--UAA-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--UAA 30 (Pantovic 10), SPU 38 (Cavell 9). Assists--UAA 11 (Hale 4), SPU 9 (Moffitt 5). Total fouls--UAA 16, SPU 10. Technical fouls--UAA-None, SPU-None. A-435.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Jan. 4, 4:15 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.