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     • VIDEO: Shaw  Anderson 3-pointer

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Trevor Jasinsky tallied 22 points and Luke Lovelady made two critical baskets down the stretch Saturday, leading Western Washington to a 73-68 victory over 20th-ranked Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball clash in Carver Gymnasium.
 
SPU's Divant'e Moffitt made a driving layup with 2:29 showing on the clock to level the score, 67-67.
 
Lovelady slammed home a dunk on the Vikings next possession and, after Moffitt sank the first of two free throws, freed himself for a layup with a crafty move under the hoop to provide a 71-68 WWU margin with 33.1 seconds remaining.
 
After the Falcons' Harry Cavell rebounded his own missed jump shot, Western's Leif Anderson stole the ball and converted two free throws with 10.3 seconds left to secure the result.
 
Streak Stopped
Seattle Pacific (20-6) saw its six-game winning streak stop, losing for just the second time in the last 22 games. It was only the second league setback for the regular-season champions, who have a 16-2 GNAC record and still own a four-game lead in the standings with two games left to play.
 
The only other league loss was also a close one on the road, an 83-77 setback at Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 30.

SHAW  ANDERSON 3-POINTER

Moffitt and Shaw Anderson each scored 16 points for the Falcons, who also got 14 from Cavell.
 
The Vikings (17-9) won for the fifth time in six outings, improving to 12-6 in conference play to maintain a share of second place. They halted a four-game losing streak in the series versus the Falcons.
 
With 51.7-percent accuracy from the field (30 of 58), Western became just the second team to make more shots than they missed this season against SPU. Chico State shot 51.9 percent versus the Falcons in the Nov. 8 season opener.
 
"Western made some big shots. Some of them were contested and some of them were due to our breakdowns," said SPU coach Grant Leep.
 
"They were ready to play tonight, not that we weren't by any means. But some of the plays that they made early on to build that lead and also down the stretch, they really took advantage of being able to get the ball inside and then hit some very timely threes."
 
A trio of Vikings joined Jasinsky in double figures. D'Angelo Minnis scored 12 points, Anderson had 11 and Jalen Green 10.
 
The Falcons were limited to 44.4-percent shooting (24 of 54) and made a season-low four 3-pointers in 13 tries.
 
"We had some pretty good in-rhythm looks that we missed. We're not going to make them all," Leep said of the subpar 3-point shooting. "We've got multiple guys that can make them, and when we do that just starts to spread the floor out.
 
"Because we weren't shooting well, they were able to stay compacted inside and protect the paint. They're a good defensive team and did a really good job."
 
Second-Half Summary
A 13-5 spree coming out of halftime sent SPU in front. Jacob Medjo's 3-pointer from the top of the key produced the Falcons' first lead, at 41-39 with 15:51 left to play.
 
After Minnis answered with a trey, SPU scored six straight points to gain a 47-42 advantage with 13:23 showing on the clock.
 
The visitors maintained that lead until Jasinsky evened the score, 59-59, with a 3-pointer and Luke Lovelady followed with a layup for a 61-59 WWU edge with 5:41 remaining.
 
The teams traded baskets until Lovelady sparked Western's game-closing surge.
 
Slow Start
In the first half SPU survived a slow start, making just 2 of its first 17 shots and committing four turnovers during the opening 11 minutes to fall behind 18-7.

 

After Moffitt evened the score, 2-2, on the Falcons' second shot of the game, they missed their next six attempts before Anderson beat the shot clock with a left-corner trey at 13:52 off a nifty behind-the-back pass from Cavell. That made the score 13-7 and Western netted the next five points.
 
When Green capped that run on a no-look shot from six feet, with his back to the basket, the Vikings were up 18-7 with exactly nine minutes left in the first half.
 
"With Western's length and athleticism, it took us a little time to adjust. We settled in a little bit, but unfortunately by then we were down 11 and we were playing from behind the whole night," Leep described. "But our guys were really resilient and we found a stretch of playing well together. Obviously, it helped just seeing a couple of those shots go down.
 
"One thing I was really proud of during that stretch, when we were down 11 and fighting back, was that our defense stayed consistent. That defense at the end of the first half and into the first part of the second half helped us go from down 11 to eventually up five, that's a pretty big jump to make on a team that's as good as they are."
 
The shots finally started falling for the Falcons, who hit their next four attempts, to draw within 23-16. A quartet of different players accounted for those baskets that ignited a strong finish to the first half.
 
SPU closed the period by nailing 11 of 14 shots from the field to finish at a respectable 42 percent for the half (13 of 31).
 
The Vikings countered with 50-percent accuracy in the opening 20 minutes (16 of 32), but were just 4 of 14 from 3-point range.
 
Consecutive pairs of free throws, from Filip Fullerton and Moffitt drew SPU within 32-30, but that is as narrow as the margin closed before intermission.
 
Anderson's layup with five seconds showing on the clock set the halftime score at 37-34 in favor of the Vikings.
 
Next Games
The SPU men conclude the regular season next week with pair of home games. They host Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Central Washington on Feb. 29 at 4:15 p.m. Both games are nightcaps of Brougham Pavilion doubleheaders with the women's team.
 
Coach Leep plans to fine-tune some things in practice and games before heading into the conference championship.
 
"We don't feel like we're a finished product by any means. We're still working some things out, making sure that we're doing everything that we can to continue to get better as a program and better as a team.
 
"We're going to be hyper-focused this week on the things that we need to do better and making sure that we stay strong in the areas that we've been performing well."
 
Seattle Pacific has already secured the No. 1 seed for the GNAC Tournament that will be contested March 5-7 on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
 
at Western Washington 73, (#20) Seattle Pacific 68
 
Seattle Pacific (20-6, 16-2 GNAC)
Anderson 7-14 0-0 16, Fullerton 2-5 2-2 6, Cavell 4-10 6-7 14, Moffitt 5-11 6-8 16, Colosimo 3-4 0-0 7, Olsen 2-4 2-2 6, Medjo 1-4 0-0 3, El Mardi 0-2 0-0 0, Khan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 16-19 68.
 
Western Washington (17-9, 12-6 GNAC)
Green 5-8 0-1 10, Jasinsky 8-15 2-3 22, Schilder 2-4 0-0 4, Minnis 5-9 1-1 12, Rojas 1-4 0-0 2, Anderson 3-8 2-2 11, Secrest 1-2 0-0 2, Lovelady 4-6 0-0 8, Retherford 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-58 5-7 73.
 
Seattle Pacific              34     34    -- 68
Western Washington           37     36    -- 73
 
3-point goals--SPU 4-13 (Anderson 2-4, Medjo 1-4, Colosimo 1-1, Fullerton 0-1, Cavell 0-2, Moffitt 0-1), WWU 8-23 (Jasinsky 4-7, Anderson 3-6, Minnis 1-3, Schilder 0-2, Green 0-1, Retherford 0-1, Rojas 0-3). Fouled out--SPU-None, WWU-None. Rebounds--SPU 32 (Anderson, Cavell, Moffitt 5), WWU 29 (Jasinsky 6). Assists--SPU 11 (Olsen, Cavell, Anderson, Medjo, Moffitt 2), WWU 22 (Minnis 9). Turnovers--SPU 10, WWU 8. Total fouls--SPU 15, WWU 12. Technical fouls--None. Attendance-1201.
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.