SEATTLE -- Divant'e Moffitt posted game highs of 27 points and five assists Friday afternoon, but that wasn't enough for the Seattle Pacific men, who lost for the first time in nearly a month with an 80-66 home men's basketball setback against Saint Martin's.
 
The Falcons (5-3) had a five-game winning streak snapped. They hadn't tasted defeat since opening the campaign with consecutive losses to Whitworth, on January 13 and 14 on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.
 
Alex Schumacher and Demonte Malloy each tallied 18 points to pace the Saints (1-6), who picked up their first win of the season. Three other SMU players reached double figures in points: Marky Adams with 11 along with Tyke Thompson and Ty Velasquez with 10 each.
 
Moffitt hit 9 of 17 shots from the field for the Falcons, including 5-for-6 accuracy on 3-pointers. The 6-foot-2 junior point guard surpassed the 20-point plateau for the fifth time this season, a figure that includes two 30-point performances.
 
"In a game that we weren't great on offense he did a nice job of picking the opportunities to make shots," said SPU coach Grant Leep. "Five threes is a career high for him.
 
"They kind of dared Divant'e to make those. He's never defined his game as just a 3-pointer shooter by any means, but he shoots them better than people give him credit for. He made the right reads to take those tonight."

DIVANT'E MOFFITT STEAL & DUNK
 
Harry Cavell chipped in 11 points to remain the lone Falcon to pitch in double-digit points in every game.
 
Zack Paulsen collected a career-high nine rebounds for SPU, which was out-boarded by a 41-34 margin.
 
Red-shirt freshman Clayton Whitman gave the Falcons a spark off the bench, scoring nine first half points. All of them came on treys. He finished with a career-high total of 14 points.
 
"That's a guy that we've been seeing do that in practice," Leep said of Whitman. "He plays really hard, he's extremely active and when he comes in, he provides a lot of energy on both ends of the floor.
 
"Clayton made four threes today and found some good open looks in the corner, but he also had three blocked shots. He had some really good moments of activity and showing, as a freshman, what he has the potential to become."
 
Whitman nailed 4 of 5 treys. He and Moffitt combined to made 9 of 11 shots behind the arc while their teammates collectively converted just one of 18 long-range attempts.
 
Saint Martin's sailed to an early 14-7 lead after Schumacher capped an eight-point run on a layup with 11:18 showing on the clock. The Falcons steadily narrowed that margin and went ahead briefly, at 34-31, on a 3-pointer by Whitman with 2:35 left in the first half.
 
Those were their final points of the period as SMU closed with back-to-back 3-pointers, by Thompson and Schumacher, to claim a 37-34 halftime edge.
 
The visitors gained control a quarter of the way through the second half. Moffitt's layup with 15:50 on the clock forged the Falcons' third, and final, lead of the game. After three subsequent ties, SMU sustained a modest lead of six points or less for the next 10 minutes.
 
A late 10-2 spurt put the game away, fueled by four points apiece from Malloy and Goy Wang. Malloy's two free throws with 1:18 remaining provided a 75-64 advantage for the Saints.
 
Saint Martin's finished at 48 percent for the game (29 of 61) after shooting 52 percent (15 of 29) after intermission.

 

"Saint Martin's came in and did a really nice job. They played hard and got out and ran in transition and found some easy baskets to find a rhythm," said Leep. "They out-rebounded us and they made the plays that they needed to, to leave with a win.
 
"We just never really got into a good flow. We've seen with our group that we can go on long, sustained runs, but we just never had that tonight. We'll figure it out and get it back, but today just wasn't our day."
 
The Falcons were held to 38 percent from the field (23 of 60).
 
The same two teams meet again in Seattle on Saturday at 2 p.m. for their fourth, and final, encounter of the year.
 
The SPU men seek to complete their five-game homestand on a positive note to win the season series. They swept two games from the Saints in Lacey, Washington, winning 91-81 on Jan. 20 and 70-62 on Jan. 21.
 
What would Coach Leep like to see his team do different in Saturday's rematch?
 
"We need to keep the intensity that we had guarding them in the halfcourt today, but we obviously have to do a better job of taking away their transition game.
 
"I'd love to see those rebound numbers flip too. In a game that we only shot 38 percent from the floor, I'd love to see us have a better crash and have more than seven offensive rebounds."
 
The Falcons hit the road next Friday, Feb. 19, traveling to Ellensburg for a single game versus Central Washington at 6 p.m. The Wildcats then visit Seattle on Feb. 20 for a 7 p.m. contest at Brougham Pavilion.
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Friday, February 12, 2021
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Saint Martin's 80, at Seattle Pacific 66
 
SAINT MARTIN'S (1-6)
Wang 4-5 0-0 8, Adams 4-5 3-6 11, Schumacher 6-13 3-6 18, Thompson 4-12 0-0 10, Moore 2-3 1-2 5, Malloy 5-11 7-7 18, Velasquez 4-10 1-2 10, Coddington 0-2 0-0 0, Camper 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-61 15-23 80.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (5-3)
El Mardi 3-5 1-2 7, Paulsen 0-4 0-0 0, Khan 2-6 0-0 4, Cavell 3-10 4-4 11, Moffitt 9-17 4-4 27, Whitman 5-8 0-0 14, Samore 1-4 0-0 2, Medjo 0-2 1-2 1, Elsner 0-1 0-0 0, Penner 0-1 0-0 0, Blackmon 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 23-60 10-14 66.
 
                            1    2   -  Final
Saint Martin's..........   37   43   -   80
Seattle Pacific.........   34   32   -   66
 
3-point goals--SMU 7-21 (Schumacher 3-7, Thompson 2-6, Velasquez 1-3, Malloy 1-3, Moore 0-1, Wang 0-1), SPU 10-29 (Moffitt 5-6, Whitman 4-5, Cavell 1-7, Samore 0-1, Medjo 0-2, Elsner 0-1, Penner 0-1, Blackmon 0-1, Paulsen 0-2, Khan 0-3). Fouled out--SMU-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--SMU 41 (Schumacher 8), SPU 34 (Paulsen 9). Assists--SMU 11 (Schumacher 4), SPU 12 (Moffitt 5). Total fouls--SMU 17, SPU 20. Technical fouls--SMU-None, SPU-None.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.