ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Divant'e Moffit collected all of his team-high 19 points after halftime Sunday for 21st-ranked Seattle Pacific, but it wasn't enough to offset the 27-point performance of Trevor Hudgins, who led top-ranked Northwest Missouri State to a 64-59 win on the final day of the SCB National Hall of Fame Classic at Civic Arena.
 
The Falcons (1-1) were unable to overcome a 17-point disparity at the free throw line despite missing only one of 13 attempts. They did not attempt a first-half free throw as their first trip to the line came two minutes after halftime.
 
NMSU (2-0) shot 29-of-40 from the charity stripe. The Bearcats are the defending national champions and won three of the last four NCAA Division II titles. They have lost just three times in their last 102 outings.
 
Despite the outcome, SPU coach Grant Leep believes his team will benefit from having played this game.
 
"Our guys stayed together through adversity as far away from home as we are, they battled through a lot in a game against the No. 1 ranked team in the country. That shows a lot about how talented our team is, how good our team is.
 
"We're going to be so much better from having played in this. This gives us the blueprint for the next level that we need to go. To be on this national stage in this event was so big for us to be able to find that out."
 
The Falcons trailed by as many as 15 points midway through the second half before Moffitt asserted himself. The senior point guard was scoreless through the first 27 minutes before finally getting on the board with a runner at the 12:20 mark.
 
SPU faced a 50-35 deficit before Moffitt amassed 17 points over the final 9:27. His six points sparked an 8-0 run that closed the gap to 56-49 with 3:41 remaining. The other two points during that surge came on drive and dunk by Shaw Anderson after he stole the ball in the frontcourt.

SHAW ANDERSON DUNK

Moffitt nailed a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left and Harry Cavell followed with two free throws that drew the Falcons within 60-56 with 23.7 seconds showing on the clock.
 
The Bearcats responded with two free throws apiece on consecutive possessions, from Hudgins and Byron Alexander, the last coming with 12.5 seconds to play.
 
On the ensuing SPU possession, Anderson was fouled on a 3-point try and converted a trio of free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining to set the final 64-59 score.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
Moffitt made 7 of his final 10 shots, finishing at 7-for-17 overall, and converted all four free throws. He matched the 19-point total produced in Saturday's 77-71 victory over No. 20 Alabama Huntsville and was named to the all-tournament team of the eight-school event.
 
"Divant'e is always putting pressure on teams. They did a good job on him in the first half, but he kept staying aggressive and adjusted to the coverages that they were throwing at him," Leep said. "He was able to get in a rhythm and find some stuff. One of the things that we probably don't talk enough about Divant'e is his finishing ability when he gets in the paint. He is a fantastic finisher and has all the shots as far as the floaters and finishes of that nature.
 
"He did a really good job keeping his composure and grew so much as a point guard this weekend. That is something that's going to come back home with us to Seattle."
 
Anderson scored 18 points and Cavell had 15 for SPU. They each grabbed five rebounds, as did Kelton Samore, to keep the board battle close.
 
Wes Dreamer posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double to spark the Bearcats 33-28 edge on the boards. He was his team's only double-figure scorer other than Hudgins, who compiled 15 points on a perfect day from the free throw line.
 
SPU shot slightly better than their opponent, hitting 42-percent from the field (22 of 53) to 40 percent for the Bearcats (17 of 43).
 
Neither team shot well from long distance. One day after nailing 13 treys in 38 tries, the Falcons shot 3-for-13 behind the arc. Northwest made just 1 of its 9 treys.
 
"We shoot a lot of threes in practice and we tell our guys if it's within the rhythm of what we're running and your feet are set to let them fly," Leep explained. "The thing about this team is it's very versatile in how we can attack and score. The options that were presented to us today were more playing out of the post, trying to get them spread out and then drive. We took what was there for us."
 
HARRY CAVELL REVERSE LAYUP

FIRST HALF SUMMARY
SPU utilized an 8-1 surge, with four points apiece from Anderson and Cavell, to open an early 12-5 advantage. A tenacious defense that forced three turnovers and seven missed shots sparked the run that Cavell capped on a layup with 12:59 displayed the clock.
 
Those were the Falcons last points for over six minutes, until Cavell made a jumper at 6:31. In between baskets they turned the ball over three times and tossed up nine errant shots, enabling NMSU to reel off 14 unanswered points.
 
The Bearcats spree was fueled by 5-for-6 accuracy and four free throws, resulting in a 19-12 margin.
 
Northwest closed the half with an 8-3 run to claim a 31-19 lead at intermission.
 
NEXT GAME
The Falcons participate in another tournament next weekend with a trip to Pomona, California. They meet host Cal Poly Pomona in the Conference Crossover Challenge on Friday at 2:00 p.m. On Saturday at noon SPU has a matchup with Chico State.
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
SCB National Hall of Fame Classic
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Civic Arena / St. Joseph, Mo.
 
(#1) Northwest Missouri State 64, (#21) Seattle Pacific 59
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (1-1)
Anderson 6-14 5-5 18, Samore 1-2 0-0 2, Paulsen 1-2 0-0 3, Cavell 6-9 3-4 15, Moffitt 7-17 4-4 19, Khan 0-2 0-0 0, El Mardi 1-4 0-0 2, Whitman 0-2 0-0 0, Sidhu 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 12-13 59.
 
NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE (2-0)
Dreamer 4-10 3-4 12, Abreu 0-2 2-2 2, Bernard 3-8 1-2 7, Hudgins 6-13 15-15 27, Waters 3-8 1-4 7, Alexander 1-2 7-13 9, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-43 29-40 64.
 
                                1    2   -  Final
Seattle Pacific.............   19   40   -   59
Northwest Missouri State....   31   33   -   64
 
3-point goals--SPU 3-13 (Paulsen 1-1, Moffitt 1-3, Anderson 1-5, Whitman 0-1, Sidhu 0-1, Cavell 0-2), NMSU 1-9 (Dreamer 1-5, Abreu 0-1, Hudgins 0-3). Fouled out--SPU-Cavell, NMSU-Bernard. Rebounds--28 (Anderson, Samore, Cavell 5), NMSU 33 (Dreamer 10). Assists--6 (Moffitt 2), NMSU 3 (Hudgins, Abreu, Alexander). Total fouls--SPU 26, NMSU 13. Technical fouls--SPU-Bench 2, NMSU-None.
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Conference Crossover Challenge
(#21) Seattle Pacific at Cal Poly Pomona
Friday, November 12; 2:00 p.m.
Kellogg Arena / Pomona, Calif.