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BILLINGS, Mont. -- The Falcons did not look like a championship-caliber team four games into the season.
 
They lost the opening quartet of games, three of them at home, with an ominous five-game road trip approaching.
 
"It's crazy to think that we were 0-4, and how much we have come around," exclaimed SPU coach Grant Leep.
 
Harry Cavell and Braden Olsen each pitched in 15 points Thursday, lifting Seattle Pacific to an 83-62 victory at Montana State Billings that clinched at least a tie for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball regular-season championship.
 
The Falcons (19-5) won for the fifth time in a row and notched their 19th victory in the last 20 games. Their league ledger improved to 15-1, temporarily giving them a five-game lead in the standings before the three second-place squads play later Thursday.

Sixth Regular-Season Title
Picked second in the preseason conference coaches poll, Seattle Pacific has clinched at least a share of its sixth GNAC championship. That ties Western Washington for the most regular-season crowns since the league was formed in 2002.

 

"It feels really good. We set that as a goal for our group at the start of the season," Leep said of the conference crown. "We thought that we had a group that was capable to of making a run for the title."
 
After losing the season's first four games, these Falcons may not have appeared to be title contenders, but they persevered and followed the season-opening skid with a 14-game winning streak.
 
"Not only did we clinch a share of the championship, but the way that we started and the struggles that we endured and pushed through and the improvements that we've continued to make, that's where I'm most proud of this group," Leep continued.
 
"Sure it's going to be nice to hopefully clinch the league outright and have that bye in the conference tournament, but we showed the ability to battle through a difficult time and to stay the course and to stay together when it would have been much easier to feel sorry for ourselves."
 
The Falcons need one win in any of their final four outings, or single losses by WWU, Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Fairbanks, to claim sole possession of the title and gain the No. 1 seed for the GNAC Tournament that will be conducted March 5-7 in Seattle on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion. They captured their fourth GNAC playoff championship in 2019 and only one other school (Western Oregon) has won as many as two.
 
Stellar Shooters
SPU surpassed the 50-percent shooting plateau Thursday for the 13th time this season and has won all of them. A 65-percent second-half (20 of 31) improved the overall accuracy to 54 percent (36 of 67).
 
The Falcons held their hosts at 38-percent (24 of 63) from the field, maintaining a perfect record in the 16 games in which they outshot their foe.
 
Along with his 15 points, Cavell grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the Falcons, who faced a 36-35 deficit on the boards. Red-shirt freshman Jacob Medjo collected a career-high six rebounds to go along with his seven points.
 
Cavell shot 6-for-13 from the floor and Olsen was 7-for-13. Joining them in double figures for SPU was Divant'e Moffitt with 14 points.
 
Brendan Howard tallied 15 points and Psalm Maduakor had 11 for the Yellowjackets (9-14), who saw their GNAC record fall to 4-11.

First-Half Recap
 

The visitors quickly jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening 1:19, on a layup by Filip Fullerton and Cavell 3-pointer. That induced MSUB to call an early timeout.
 
The brief break seemed to work as Billings reeled off four points to ignite a 13-5 run that produced a 13-10 lead with 12:50 left in the first half.
 
The intensity on defense rose for the Falcons, who prevented points on seven straight possessions by forcing five missed shots and three turnovers.
 
SPU's offense capitalized, compiling 10 unanswered points on baskets by five different players. That spree captured the lead for good. When Shaw Anderson made a hook shot with 8:15 showing on the clock, the Falcons led 20-13.
 
A seven-point run late in the first half increased the margin to 31-20 and SPU went into intermission ahead 36-24.
 
Neither team was particularly sharp in the first half, but the Falcons were a bit better with 44-percent shooting (16 of 36) and six turnovers. Billings committed eight turnovers and shot 30 percent (10 of 33).
 
"We're a good defensive team. When we lead with our defense then we're going to be in situations to catch up on the offensive end," said Leep. "Despite some offensive struggles in the first half our defense was really solid. They were 30 percent from the field and 17 percent from the three in the first half. When you do that, you are going to be in position to put teams in tough spots.
 
"We knew that the offense would come around, we've been playing too well on that end to struggle like that for the duration of the game. Our guys just stayed true to our principles, the ball was moving and we were finding some open shots to start the half. We just got in such a good rhythm and flow."

Second-Half Summary
A 3-pointer by MSUB's Stevie James started the second half, closing the deficit to nine points. But that was as close as the margin narrowed as Cavell knocked down consecutive jumpers and Gabe Colosimo followed with a driving layup to expand the lead back out to 42-27.
 
Beginning at the 13-minute mark SPU scored nine straight points, part of a 19-5 surge over the next five minutes that provided the largest advantage, at 70-41.
 
Billings never drew closer than 19 points the rest of the way.
 
After surviving unscathed through a gauntlet of four games in four days, the Falcons get a deserved break from competition. They don't play again for six days.
 
"We get a well-earned, much-needed day off Friday. We'll get on the court again on Saturday and they will have Sunday off as well," Leep explained of the upcoming practice plans.
 
"I was really proud with how we handled tonight and how we handled this really difficult four-game stretch. Our group is still improving. We're still getting better and we have more room to grow."

Upcoming Action
The SPU men embark on their final regular-season road trip next week with a pair of games against Northwest rivals. They visit Simon Fraser on Thursday (Feb. 20) and Western Washington next Saturday (Feb. 22).
 
The regular season slate concludes at home when the Falcons host Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Central Washington on Feb. 29 at 4:15 p.m.
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 
Seattle Pacific 83, at Montana State Billings 62
 
Seattle Pacific (19-5, 15-1 GNAC)
Anderson 4-7 0-0 9, Fullerton 2-5 0-0 4, Cavell 6-13 2-2 15, Moffitt 6-11 0-0 14, Colosimo 4-6 0-0 9, Olsen 7-13 0-0 15, El Mardi 3-5 1-2 7, Medjo 3-3 0-0 7, Khan 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 36-67 3-4 83.
 
Montana State Billings (9-14, 4-11 GNAC)
Richmond 4-10 0-0 8, James 3-4 0-0 7, Howard 4-14 6-6 15, Dixon 3-10 0-0 6, Green 3-11 0-0 7, Maduakor 4-5 0-0 11, Lehrer 1-3 2-2 4, Elliott 1-4 0-0 2, Daniels 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-63 8-8 62.
 
Seattle Pacific                36     47    -- 83
Montana State Billings         24     38    -- 62
 
3-point goals--SPU 8-23 (Moffitt 2-3, Khan 1-3, Medjo 1-1, Cavell 1-4, Anderson 1-4, Colosimo 1-2, Olsen 1-4, Fullerton 0-2), MSUB 6-22 (Maduakor 3-4; James 1-2, Howard 1-3, Green 1-7, Elliott 0-1, Dixon 0-3, Richmond 0-2). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--SPU 35 (Cavell 7), MSUB 36 (Dixon 6). Assists--SPU 13 (Colosimo, Moffitt 3), MSUB 15 (Green, Dixon 4). Turnovers--SPU 8, MSUB 13. Total fouls--SPU 13, MSUB 10. Technical fouls--None. Attendance-324.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser
Thursday, Feb. 20, 7:00 p.m. PST
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.