SEATTLE -- Falcons fans had to wait a while to see their team in person. Their patience was rewarded with some bonus basketball, and eventually a win.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Shaw Anderson and Zack Paulsen early in overtime Saturday night followed by eight straight points from Harry Cavell propelled Seattle Pacific to a 99-91 non-conference men's basketball victory over Point Loma in the home opener.
 
SPU (4-3) started the season with six straight road games, playing two times each in Missouri, California and Bellingham, Washington.
 
The Falcons first time on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion began beautifully. They led by as many as 24 points with 12:08 left in the second half before the visitors staged a remarkable rally.
 
After twice drawing within one point inside the final five minutes, the Sea Lions finally completed their comeback. SPU's Anderson managed to make just 1 of 2 free throws with 7.7 seconds left in regulation, Luke Haupt forced overtime with a tip-in of his own missed layup with 1.6 showing on the clock.
 
A desperation half-court shot at the buzzer by SPU's Sharif Khan banked off the backboard and the teams embarked on a five-minute extra session.
 
PLNU's Hugh Baxter opened overtime with a put-back in the paint before the Falcons tallied seven straight points. Anderson drained a 3-pointer from the left corner and Paulsen got a trey from the left side on top.
 
Cavell then made a jumper to produce a 93-87 lead. Brock Mackenzie netted consecutive baskets, narrowing the gap to 93-91 with 50.1 seconds remaining. Cavell converted four straight free throws and scored on a fastbreak layup, all within the final 18.9 seconds, to close out the win.
 
ZACK PAULSEN FOUR-POINT PLAY

Paulsen pitched in a career-high 26 points for SPU and 17 of them came before halftime. He hit 9 of 11 shots from the field, including 3-for-5 accuracy on treys, and sank all five free throw attempts. The sophomore guard also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
 
"He's playing so well," said SPU coach Grant Leep. "We always knew about Zack's versatility and toughness. But the efficiency right now that he's playing with is really remarkable. To have 26 points on 11 shots is really impressive.
 
"It's been consistent all season the way that he's been playing and his development is just fantastic."
 
Divant'e Moffitt added 22 points for the Falcons, who also got 15 from Anderson, 14 from Cavell and 10 from Kelton Samore.
 
Point Loma (3-4) was paced by the 27-point performance of Mackenzie, a product of Eastside Catholic High School in nearby Sammamish, Washington. Baxter finished with 21 points and Myles Franklin had 19.
 
BUILDING, THEN LOSING A LEAD
SPU rapidly turned a two-point deficit into a 34-25 advantage with a streak of 11 unanswered points. Paulsen netted the final seven points in the spree that put the hosts up by nine with 6:47 left in the first half.
 
The Falcons were ahead by a 50-38 margin at halftime and forged their largest lead of the game at 67-43 after opening the second half with a 17-5 run.
 
"I love how our guys stayed together and continued to build that thing up," said Leep. "We had five guys in double figures and another guy with seven. So, everybody we put out there can hurt you in one way or another, and that lends itself to good team basketball and we saw that from our group a lot tonight."
 
The Sea Lions steadily chipped away at that deficit fueled by runs of 12 and nine points.
 
When Mackenzie followed a Baxter 3-pointer with a backdoor layup, PLNU found itself within one. The score was 77-76 with 3:37 remaining.
 
 

Kelton Samore answered with a pair of free throws and Anderson nailed a baseline jumper on the next trip down the floor. Those baskets only kept the Sea Lions at bay briefly as they made three of their final four shots in regulation to draw even.
 
"Our guys played with resilience. When you are put in that situation it's tough," Leep said of his team withstanding the rally. "All the credit in the world to Point Loma's guys for competing and fighting and scratching and clawing their way back into that game.
 
"Our guys stayed composed, they never panicked, they never freaked out about it. They just stayed together, stayed the course and got it done. They executed really well in the overtime period."
 
Both teams shot well from the floor, Point Loma making half of its shots (37 of 74), including a 14-for-31 effort behind the arc, and the Falcons countering with 49-percent accuracy (33 of 67) and 12 of 28 on treys.
 
The free throw line proved decisive, giving SPU 18 extra points with 21-for-25 shooting. The Sea Lions made 3 of 4 free throw tries.
 
UPCOMING ACTION
The Falcons start Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Thursday, the first of three home games during a seven-day span. They host Central Washington on Dec. 2 and Northwest Nazarene, on Dec. 4.
 
SPU was a unanimous choice as the conference favorite by the league's coaches in the preseason poll.
 
"We're ready to go. I'm really excited for the challenge of what the GNAC brings," Leep said. "We've seen that the conference is really good and it's really deep. We need to be ready to go from the jump.
 
"The two teams coming in here this week are going to be hungry and really wanting to come in here and show where they stand in the GNAC. This week is going to be a really good test for us, but with the teams that we've played, where we've played, we're ready for whatever teams are going to throw at us."
 
The current four-game homestand concludes on Dec. 8 versus Northwest University from Kirkland.
 
RECORDS
Point Loma 3-4
Seattle Pacific 4-3
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Central Washington at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, December 2; 5:15 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.