BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Divant'e Moffitt compiled 18 of his game-high 27 points during the first half Friday for Seattle Pacific, which took control early in a 75-66 non-conference men's basketball victory over Azusa Pacific at Carver Gymnasium.
 
The senior point guard produced an efficient all-around performance during his 31 minutes on the floor. Moffitt shot 8-for-12 from the field and sank 11 of 13 free throws. He also contributed six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
 
"We don't have to draw much up for Divant'e to be able to get open. He just has a knack for how to do that," said SP coach Grant Leep. "He's a load, he's hard for other teams to guard. The moment you think you've got him contained, he changes his pace and finds a way back into the paint.
 
"The fact that he's able to get so many finishes is a credit to how good the other guys are that teams aren't helping off of them. Azusa stayed home on some of our other guys and Divant'e was able to make some great plays."
 
The Falcons (2-3) halted a three-game losing streak, winning for the first time since their Nov. 6 season opener.
 
DIVANT'E MOFFITT STEAL & FASTBREAK DUNK

SCORING SUMMARY
Harry Cavell scored 13 points for SPU and Shaw Anderson added 11. Cavell collected seven rebounds.
 
The teams posted the exact same shooting figures from the field with matching 46-percent efforts on 24-for-52 accuracy. The difference came from the free throw line where the Falcons converted 23 of 29 attempts to gain a 12-point advantage. Azusa made 11 of 14 free throws.
 
The Wildcats (0-3) closed that gap from 3-point range, hitting 7 of 22 treys to 4 of 17 for SPU.
 
Allan McBride made each of his seven shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, to pace APU with 22 points. His only miss on the night came from the free throw line where he made 5 of 6 tries.
 
Ken West tallied 19 points for the Wildcats who also got 14 from McKelary Robertson.
 
FANTASTIC FIRST-HALF FINISH
The Falcons forced seven early Azusa turnovers before committing their own first miscue, with 11:29 showing on the first-half clock. That helped them build a 14-9 lead fueled by 10 points from Moffitt.
 
"It just felt good for us to not only get the result that we wanted, but how we got it. I was really proud of our defensive effort," Leep said. "We did a good job executing that and we did a much better job of taking care of the ball with only 11 turnovers.
 
"When you look at what really hurt us in California last week, it was the amount of times that we gave the ball away. For us to maintain that defensive intensity, but then also take care of the ball is going to keep us in a lot of games if we keep doing that.
 
McBride single-handedly kept the Wildcats in the contest. He scored his team's next seven points. The first five forged the game's initial tie, at 14-14.
 
After SPU pushed the lead out to 22-16, Azusa answered with seven straight points to claim a 23-22 edge. The Wildcats claimed their final lead, a 25-24, on a tip-in by Nate Kleppe with 4:07 left in the half.
 
The Falcons concluded the period with an 11-2 spree, capped by a remarkable buzzer-beating play. Shaw Anderson inbounded the ball from four feet inside the halfcourt line with just 0.7 seconds showing on the clock. He heaved a lob toward the basket and Moffitt went airborne to gather the ball and bank in off the right-side glass as the horn sounded.

That provided a 35-27 halftime advantage that was the largest margin of the game for either team to that point.
 
DIVANT'E MOFFITT BUZZER-BEATING ALLEY-OOP

STRETCHING THE MARGIN AFTER HALFTIME
The lead stretched to as many as 16 points, at 52-36, after Mehdi El Mardi capped an eight-point run on a layup with 12:08 left to play.
 
Azusa kept battling and managed to draw the deficit within single digits.
 
A 9-2 surge brought APU within 59-53 with 3:06 remaining. The next six points were scored by the Falcons, four of them from Moffitt, to repel the rally.
 
The Wildcats kept fouling, but gained little ground as SPU drained 14 of 16 free throws to account for all of its points over the final 2:08.
 
UPCOMING ACTION
Seattle Pacific stays in Bellingham for the second day of the Chuck Randall Classic with a clash with Concordia-Irvine on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
 
The Falcons host their home opener on Nov. 27 against Point Loma. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m. on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.
 
RECORDS
Azusa Pacific 0-3
Seattle Pacific 2-3
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Chuck Randall Classic
Seattle Pacific vs. Concordia-Irvine
Saturday, November 20; 5:00 p.m.
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.