SEATTLE -- Shaw Anderson compiled a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double Saturday and made several pivotal plays late in Seattle Pacific's 63-56 home men's basketball victory over Central Washington that completed the regular season.
 
The Falcons (22-6) finished atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with an 18-2 record, five games ahead the pack. That was the largest differential ever for a GNAC champion as a three-game margin has decided the title on three previous occasions.
 
Seattle Pacific captured its sixth regular-season championship since the GNAC was formed in 2001-02. SPU won the 2014, 2010 and 2006 conference titles outright, shared the 2007 conference crown with Seattle University and in 2002 finished in a three-way tie with Humboldt State and Western Washington.
 
Saturday marked just the fourth time in the 76-year history of the program that the Falcons have played a game on February 29th. They evened their all-time record at 2-2 on that rare date.
 
Fourth-year SPU coach Grant Leep was asked if there is added satisfaction with getting a victory on "Leep Day."
 
"We were joking with the guys about it. I don't care if it's February 29 or March 1, whatever date it is. If we're going to do whatever it takes to get a win, then I'm going to be happy either way."
 
SPU is the top seed for next week's league playoffs that will be contested next week in Seattle on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.

SHAW ANDERSON INTERVIEW

A freshman forward from Kelso (Wash.) High School, Anderson registered his first double-double as a collegian and hit 5 of 9 shots in the process.
 
"That's hopefully the first of many double-doubles for Shaw," said Leep, who had talked to Anderson after a subpar, two-rebound effort Thursday. "We were getting on him a little bit, trying to get him to be a little more aware of how much he can help us when he does go to the glass and get his hands on the ball. He got 10 rebounds tonight.
 
"It's really fun coaching smart guys. Shaw took some coaching today and applied it into the game. That's just a testament to his effort, his ability to make those adjustments."
 
Divant'e Moffitt contributed 18 points and four assists for the Falcons, who also got 17 points from Harry Cavell.
 
Central Washington (17-11) saw its season end just shy of earning a conference playoff position, finishing with a 10-10 record in GNAC games.
 
Davon Bolton paced the Wildcats with 19 points, Micah Pollard had 12 and Marqus Gilson 10.
 
The tight battle of Northwest rivals featured eight ties and 12 lead changes. They were never separated by more than seven points.
 
Central gained its final lead, at 54-52, on a jumper by Bolton with three minutes remaining.
 
Thirty seconds later the Falcons surged ahead for good on a 3-pointer from the right side by Braden Olsen. Anderson followed that with a short-range jumper with 1:41 showing on the clock for a 57-54 advantage.
 
After Bolton nailed another jump shot to close the deficit to one point, Anderson converted a layup off a great pass from Olsen to extend the margin to 59-56 with 1:03 left to play.
 
The Wildcats missed a trio of 3-point tries during the final minutes and one of them, with 21 seconds remaining, was rebounded by Anderson on a tip back to a teammate. Moffitt and Olsen each sank a pair of free throws inside the final 17 seconds to secure the result.
 
"Our defense down the stretch was key. We weren't perfect by any means, but we held them to 25 points in the second half," said Leep, whose Falcons were without two regular starters.
 
"We got some really big stops in the last three and half minutes or so. Then our guys just stepped up and made plays on the other end. We had to be able to scrap around and make some plays today, and our group did that."
 
The 3-point arc and free throw line proved decisive as each team recorded the same number of field goals, the Falcons shooting 44 percent (24 of 55) and Central 43 percent (24 of 56).
 
SPU drained 5 of 15 treys while limiting the Wildcats to 3-for-18 from long distance.
 
The Falcons were 10 of 13 from the line, led by an 8-for-10 effort from Moffitt. CWU countered with just five free throws in six attempts.

HARRY CAVELL DUNK

In the first half, SPU raced out to a 9-2 lead, capped by a jumper from Cavell with 16:13 showing on the clock.
 
After managing just one basket in the opening five minutes, the Wildcats reeled off six straight points in just over a minute. That ignited a 19-6 spree that put them up 19-15. Gilson sparked the surge with six points.
 
Two minutes later, Moffitt netted six straight points for SPU, which reclaimed the lead at 23-21.
 
The lead changed hands five more times for a total of eight during the first half. The final reversal provided a 32-31 halftime edge for the Falcons, who collected five points inside the final minute.
 
Mehdi El Mardi made at layup with 57.6 seconds left and Cavell barely beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds showing on the game clock off an inbounds play that started with three seconds to shoot.
 
MEHDI EL MARDI DUNK

Next Week
The SPU men begin postseason play at home next week. They are hosting the GNAC Tournament that begins with quarterfinal contests on Thursday at noon and 2:15 p.m.
 
The top-seeded Falcons have a bye on Thursday and will match up with a first-round winner at 2:15 p.m. on March 6 in Brougham Pavilion. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
Leep arranged for his team to celebrate the regular-season crown before beginning defense of its 2019 GNAC Tournament title.
 
"We had a great regular season. To go 18-2 in our league is a very big accomplishment. Now it's about getting two wins, getting one on Friday and then hopefully one on Saturday.
 
"We got the championship trophy here and we gave it to our guys today. That's a symbol for us that now there is another one that we have to go get. This is what we earned and that's a big deal. to win your conference is hard and our group did it in a great way. Now we have to turn the page and focus on winning that conference tournament championship. That's the automatic way to get into the NCAA Tournament, which is ultimately where we want to be."

Tickets for the GNAC men's and women's championships can be purchased online in advance at:  http://www.gnactickets.com/

Senior Day
Saturday was Senior Day with a pre-game ceremony conducted to honor Gabe Colosimo and Gavin Long. They are both starters, but unfortunately neither of them were able to play due to injuries.
 
SENIOR DAY CEREMONY

NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 63, Central Washington 56
 
Central Washington (17-11, 10-10 GNAC)
Baker 0-1 0-0 0, Gilson 5-6 0-0 10, Bolton 8-13 2-2 19, Smith 1-7 0-0 2, Stafford 0-2 0-0 0, Pollard 4-6 3-4 12, Boykin 3-8 0-0 7, Poquette 2-4 0-0 4, Lucas 1-9 0-0 2, Hudson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 5-6 56.
 
Seattle Pacific (22-6, 18-2 GNAC)
Medjo 0-3 0-0 0, Anderson 5-9 0-0 10, Khan 1-4 0-0 3 Cavell 8-15 0-0 17,, Moffitt 4-9 8-10 18, El Mardi 4-5 0-0 8, Olsen 2-10 2-3 7. Totals 24-55 10-13 63.
 
Central Washington           31     25    -- 56
Seattle Pacific              32     31    -- 63
 
3-point goals--CWU 3-18 (Boykin 1-4, Pollard 1-2, Bolton 1-3, Smith 0-2, Lucas 0-5, Stafford 0-1, Poquette 0-1), SPU 5-15 (Moffitt 2-3, Cavell 1-4, Khan 1-2, Olsen 1-4, Medjo 0-2). Fouled out--CWU-Pollard, SPU-None. Rebounds--CWU 27 (Gilson 8), SPU 36 (Anderson 10). Assists--CWU 6 (Poquette 2), SPU 10 (Moffitt 4). Turnovers--CWU 9, SPU 10. Total fouls--CWU 16, SPU 13. Technical fouls--None. Attendance-865
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
GNAC Tournament -- Semifinals
Friday, March 6, 2:15 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.