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• VIDEO: Divant'e  Moffitt
• VIDEO: Gabe  Colosimo driving layup
• PHOTO GALLERY

SEATTLE -- Wins are multiplying fast for the Falcons, who added one in the victory column every game for the last two months. So far, no Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent has been able to solve that equation.
 
Divant'e Moffitt compiled 23 of his game-high 27 points during the second half Thursday for Seattle Pacific, which notched its 13th consecutive men's basketball victory with a 74-65 home win over Western Washington in a battle of the top-two teams in the GNAC.
 
Moffitt hit 8 of 12 shots from the field and converted 11 of 13 his free throws. He also topped SPU with six rebounds and three assists.
 
"Divant'e is so good at getting to the basket," exclaimed SPU coach Grant Leep. "Part of the reason that he's able to do that is because we have so many other solid pieces around him. Where is the other team going to help from?
 
"Divant'e just gets into the paint and makes the right decisions. He was in great control tonight after a slow start with two fouls in the first half."
 
DIVANT'E MOFFITT INTERVIEW

The referees were the only ones able to slow Moffitt, but only briefly. They whistled his second foul just under seven minutes before halftime. He begged the coaches to leave him in, but they replaced Moffitt to avoid drawing a third foul. He did not commit a foul in the second half.
 
The 6-foot-2 sophomore point guard surpassed the 20-point plateau for the third time in the last four games, including a career-high 30 points versus Montana State Billings in the previous outing.
 
Harry Cavell was SPU's only other double-figure scorer Thursday, with 12 points.
 
Streaking SPU
The Falcons (13-4) doubled their lead atop the league standings, improving to 9-0 in GNAC play for the first time in program history. After losing the first four games of the season, they have matched the second-longest overall winning streak in school history, tying last season's squad that won 13 in a row.

 

"We've been so focused on the next game and the one-game-at-a-time mentality," said Leep. "We knew that we had a very talented and skilled group. We got off to a very slow start, and it may have been the trappings of youth. But we learned our lesson and once we tasted success we came into our own."
 
SPU drew within two of the school standard of 15 consecutive victories, established in 2002.
 
Another streak that extended was the Falcons regular-season success against conference opponents. They haven't lost since Jan. 26, 2019, a stretch of 19 straight GNAC triumphs.
 
Second-Half Summary
Seattle Pacific added 10 points to its seven-point halftime cushion with an impressive early surge. After WWU got a jumper from Jalen Green 22 seconds into the second half, the Falcons constructed a 14-2 run that was fueled by eight points from Moffitt.
 
A pair of free throws from Shaw Anderson extended the margin to 51-34 with 14:44 left to play. The Falcons sustained a double-digit margin until a late WWU challenge.
 
The Vikings netted six straight points, the final four from Trevor Jasinsky, to draw within 69-63 with 1:36 remaining.
 
Moffitt turned back that rally by sinking 5 of 6 free throws during the final 1:21, securing the decision in SPU's favor.
 
Western (12-5) had its eight-game winning streak stopped and fell to 7-2 in GNAC play.
 
Jasinsky led the Vikings with 17 points while Green added 16 and Luke Lovelady 10. They struggled from long range, making just 2 of 23 attempts behind the 3-point arc and shooting 37 percent overall (25 of 67).
 
Sure Shots
SPU countered with 44-percent accuracy (24 of 54) and 5-for-18 shooting on treys.
 
That superior shooting proved to be the difference as the visitors collected 13 more attempts (67-54) on the strength of 14 offensive rebounds that led to a 19-7 advantage on second-chance points.
 
Overall, the Vikings managed just a three-rebound edge (39-36).
 
"The togetherness that our group shows, especially in times of adversity, was the difference tonight," Leep said. "Western is a really good team. They continually put pressure on the offensive glass. Jasinsky is the preseason Player of the Year in the conference and he's always a threat to score every time he touches it. Jalen Green has improved so much. They have so many different weapons that you just never feel comfortable.
 
"Our guys weren't perfect, but they banded together, stayed the course and stayed true to what we felt we needed to accomplish to win the game."

GABE COLOSIMO DRIVING LAYUP

Frenetic First Half
A hard-fought first half featured six ties, but just two lead changes. Those changes were drastic as Western broke out to a seven-point advantage during the opening six minutes before the Falcons rallied to go up by 12 with just over five minutes left in the first half.
 
Back-to-back baskets by Green ignited a nine-point run that provided a 13-6 Vikings lead with 14:05 left in the first period.
 
SPU scored the next seven points to begin an 18-4 spree. After Braden Olsen made a contested layup with 4:15 showing on the clock, the Falcons led 31-19.
 
Western closed the period with a 7-2 surge to draw within 37-30 at intermission.
 
The hosts capitalized on turnovers for the first-half lead. SPU parlayed 11 Vikings miscues into 15 points while surrendering just four points on its seven turnovers.
 
Both teams battled hard on defense, creating 18 total turnovers and sub-42 percent shooting on both sides in the initial 20 minutes.
 
Next Game
The SPU men close out their brief, three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon. They entertain fourth-place Simon Fraser at 4 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
 
"We have another team coming in here in Simon Fraser that is a great rebounding team. That's something that we're going to continue to have to improve at," said Leep. "We want to be able to protect our homecourt and continue to have the togetherness that we've shown.
 
"Just another together, tough team effort is what we expect Saturday, and what we will be asking for."
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 74, Western Washington 65
 
WESTERN WASHINGTON (12-5, 7-2 GNAC)
Green 6-10 4-4 16, Jasinsky 8-20 0-1 17, Retherford 0-4 8-8 8, Secrest 2-7 1-1 5, Minnis 3-9 0-0 7, Anderson 0-50-0 0, Eenigenburg 1-5 0-0 2, Lovelady 5-7 0-0 10. Totals 25-67 13-14 65.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (13-4, 9-0 GNAC)
Anderson 2-6 4-4 9, Fullerton 3-5 0-0 6, Cavell 4-15 2-2 12, Moffitt 8-12 11-13 27, Colosimo 1-4 2-2 4, Olsen 3-8 0-0 7, Khan 0-1 0-0 0, El Mardi 1-1 2-3 4, Medjo 2-2 0-1 5. Totals 24-54 21-25 74.
 
Western Washington..........   30   35  -   65
Seattle Pacific.............   37   37  -   74
 
3-point goals–WWU 2-23 (Green 0-3, Jasinsky 1-8, Retherford 0-2, Secrest 0-1, Minnis 1-4, Anderson 0-4, Eenigenburg 0-1), SPU 5-18 (Anderson 1-3, Fullerton 0-2, Cavell 2-7, Colosimo 0-2, Olsen 1-2, Khan 0-1, Medjo 1-1). Fouled out–WWU: Retherford, Secrest. Rebounds–WWU 39 (Jasinsky 10), SPU 37 (Anderson, Moffitt, Olsen 6). Assists–WWU 8 (Secrest 3), SPU 8 (Moffitt 3). Turnovers–WWU 15, SPU 14. Total fouls–WWU 21, SPU 17. Technical fouls–None. Attendance–813.
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Jan. 25, 4:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.