SEATTLE -- Divant'e Moffitt tallied five of his 21 points during overtime Saturday and Zack Paulsen blocked the potential game-winning shot at the buzzer for Seattle Pacific, which defeated Northwest Nazarene 68-67 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contest.
 
A Harry Cavell putback and three Moffitt free throws put the Falcons in front for good, at 66-61, one minute into the extra session.
 
Moffitt later added a fall-away jumper for a 68-64 margin. The only points after that came on a three-point play from NNU's Christian Rose with 1:42 left in the period.
 
The Nighthawks had the ball with 11.8 seconds left and Tru Allen drove from the right side toward the basket. He spun and put up a jumper that Paulsen rose to reject. The SPU sophomore guard then grabbed the rebound as time expired.
 
"Zack's super competitive and in that moment, he was going to do what it took to get it done. And he did," said SPU coach Grant Leep. "He's a winner, through-and-through. Zack has such a great ability to know what the team needs and to get it done.
 
"He leaves his heart on the court every night with how hard he plays and there's nothing left in the tank for him when the games are done. I just love that resolve and that competitive nature that he shows."
 
ZACK PAULSEN BLOCKED SHOT

The win wasn't easy for the Falcons to forge, as the overtime can attest. For the third consecutive game they saw a double-digit lead evaporate on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion. They rallied to win two of those, including last Saturday's (Nov. 27) 99-91 victory over Point Loma.
 
On Thursday SPU built a 13-point first-half advantage before Central Washington stormed back to claim a 68-65 win in the GNAC opener for both teams.
 
The Falcons (5-4) evened their league ledger at 1-1. As was the case Thursday, their shooting was superior the farther away from the basket they got.
 
SPU hit 39 percent of its 3-point attempts (9 of 23) and just 30 percent (14 of 46) from inside the arc. The overall figure was 33 percent (23 of 69).
 
SCORING SUMMARY
Moffitt compiled nine of his points from the free throw line where he missed only once in 10 tries.
 
Syon Blackmon registered a season-high 11 points as the only other SPU player in double figures.
 
Four Nighthawks notched double-digits paced by 13 points from Rose. He also collected nine caroms to lead his team's 49-43 rebounding margin.
 
George Reidy pitched in 12 points while Gabriel Murphy and Timothy TenKley each had 11.
 
NNU shot 38 percent from the field (26 of 66), including 33-percent accuracy on treys (6 of 18).

DIVANT'E MOFFITT FOULED, FALLING BASKET

BENEFICIAL BENCH
The Falcons reserves put in a productive shift midway through the first half.
 
With NNU leading 13-12, SPU reeled off 12 unanswered points and 11 of those came from bench players. The only starter contributing in that stretch was Paulsen who sank one of two free throws.
 
Nine points came on treys during that span with Blackmon both starting and finishing the spree with a 3-pointer. Bijon Sidhu also nailed a trey and Mehdi El Mardi added a two-point basket.
 
That surge provided a 24-13 margin for the hosts with 11:13 left in the first half.
 
"We really challenged our group coming after Thursday's game to have more energy and more enthusiasm and energy to play," Leep described. "When Syon and Medhi went in the energy level picked up, the communication picked up. When we do those things ,and do them consistently, we're a good defensive and it obviously helps on the offensive side of the ball as well.
 
"They both made a lot of good defensive plays, but then some good offensive plays as well. I love having them step up and bringing us what we needed."
 
SPU then went cold, missing eight straight shots to enable the Nighthawks to begin a rally that helped them close within 35-30 by halftime.
 
SECOND-HALF SWINGS
The second half featured seven lead changes and four ties.
 
Trailing 43-37, NNU staged a 9-0 run. Reidy's 3-pointer capped the surge that provided a 46-43 edge with 11:54 showing on the clock.
 
It was the Falcons turn to take the lead, and were ahead 59-57 before four straight free throws, two apiece from Allen and Rose, put NNU in front, 61-59, at 1:28.
 
Moffitt finished a floater in the key with 1:10 remaining in regulation to level the score at 61-61. SPU dodged a potential game-ending shot by Reidy, whose fall-away jumper in the lane as the horn sounded banked off the backboard, sending the game into overtime.
 
TIP-INS
• A strange trend continued Saturday as the team that scored first has lost all nine games involving SPU this season.
 
• The Falcons won two of their three overtime games this season.
 
• Divant'e Moffitt vaulted two spots, to No. 29, on SPU's career-scoring list. He has 1,102 points to rank one place above Jim Ballard (1,087 points, 1969-71) and one behind Jeff Case (1,120 points, 1974-78).
 
UPCOMING ACTION
The Falcons complete a four-game homestand on Wednesday (Dec. 8) versus Northwest University from Kirkland, Wash. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion.
 
RECORDS
Northwest Nazarene 2-4, 1-1 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 5-4, 1-1 GNAC
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Northwest University at Seattle Pacific
Wednesday, December 8; 7:00 p.m.
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.