SEATTLE -- One team wearing Seattle Pacific colors was definitely going to win Saturday night. It was the players who truly belonged in those jerseys that fashioned a stylish home victory.
 
Harry Cavell and Kelton Samore each compiled 18 points for the Falcons, who shot 58 percent from the field to cruise past Central Washington, 92-74. They converted 30 of 52 shots from the field, including 8-for-17 accuracy on 3-pointers.
 
The Wildcats left their jerseys behind in Ellensburg and needed to borrow the maroon road uniforms of their hosts, with "Seattle Pacific" splashed across the front. SPU wore its traditional home white jerseys with "Falcons" scripted on their chests.
 
"It was bizarre. Why not one more weird thing in a COVID year, right?" exclaimed SPU coach Grant Leep. "We had to play the game, that was the most important thing for us and I don't think the uniform thing really had any effect on our guys whatsoever. But it was a unique situation."
 
While his players weren't duped by opponents wearing the Falcons familiar maroon kit, Leep admitted that he was fooled for a moment.
 
"Central has a freshman (Gaige) Ainslie who is tall and skinny and was wearing number three. I was walking along the baseline while they were warming up and I saw a tall, skinny number three. Well, that was Sam Simpson's jersey when he was here (2015-19), another tall, skinny guy. So, I did a double-take for a second, thinking 'what in the world is Sam doing here?'
 
The two teams met on Friday night in Ellensburg, each wearing the appropriate uniforms. SPU came out on top 86-82, setting up a weekend sweep of their Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals.
 
SYON BLACKMON INTERVIEW

The Falcons (7-3) were on fire in the first half Saturday, hitting 64 percent of their shots (18 of 28) en route to a 49-36 halftime advantage on the scoreboard.
 
Junior point guard Divant'e Moffitt distributed five of his game-high eight assists during the Falcons' fabulous first half.
 
"Divant'e did a really nice job of getting guys involved. He executed and ran our offense so well.," Leep said. "We have a very unselfish team, our guys share the ball very well. We were able to get some paint touches early, which created some really good opportunities for layups and open shots.
 
"Our guys did a nice job of maintaining that rhythm and that flow all the way throughout the game for the most part, but especially the first half."
 
Cavell tallied 10 points during the final 3:33 of the opening period. His eight rebounds sparked SPU's 33-28 lead on the boards.
 
Mehdi El Mardi contributed 14 points for the Falcons, who got 10 from Syon Blackmon.
 
Samore came off the bench to post his second-highest point production as a Falcon, behind only a 25-point performance on Jan 20 at Saint Martin's. He made 6 of 10 shots on Saturday.
 
After reaching double figures in three of the first four games of the season, and earning GNAC Player of the Week honors on Jan. 25, the red-shirt freshman transfer from American University missed two late January games due to injury. Samore didn't score more than eight points in any games upon his return, until Saturday's 18-point outburst.
 
"We have to remember that Kelton only has eight college games under his belt. With that is going to be some ups-and-downs while he's learning just like everybody else is," said Leep. "One thing that has never been a problem is his ability level and his talent.
 
"As he is learning and getting more comfortable in our system, we're going to see more and more games like this from him. Kelton's getting a comfort level within what we are doing, and once that happens, he's going to take off."
 
David Thompson scored 20 points to pace Central. Xavier Smith added 19 points while Matt Poquette and Marqus Gilson had 10 apiece.
 
The Wildcats (0-2) shot 45 percent (27 of 60), but made only 4 of 18 trey attempts.
 
The 13-point halftime margin stretched to as many as 20 points in the second half and CWU never got closer than seven points after intermission.

HARRY CAVELL DUNK
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY
After the Falcons scored the game's first four points, Central rallied behind a 10-4 run to gain its only lead of the game. Smith's layup with 16:45 showing on the clock provided a 10-8 edge.
 
Zack Paulsen answered 10 seconds later with a 3-pointer and Samore followed with a layup to ignite a 15-2 run that put SPU in control. Sharif Khan capped the spree with a top-of-the-key trey to forge a 23-12 advantage with 12:24 left in the first half.
 
The Wildcats drew within five points, but SPU continued to turn them away. Cavell, who opened the scoring on a driving dunk 16 seconds into the contest, took over at the end of the half. He made five free throws, a 3-pointer and a two-point basket during the final 3:33.
 
NEXT WEEK
The SPU men remain in Seattle for two games next weekend. They host GNAC competitor Northwest Nazarene on consecutive days, Friday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.
 
The Nighthawks (10-1) bring an eight-game winning streak to Seattle.
 
"We're really looking forward to it. They are playing some great basketball right now," Leep said. "Coach (Paul) Rush and his staff do such a good job and that team plays so hard. It's going to be a great opportunity for us to show that it's part of our identity as well, how hard we play."

NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 20, 2021
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 92, at Central Washington 74
 
CENTRAL WASHINGTON (0-2)
Poquette 3-6 4-6 10, Gilson 4-5 2-3 10, Thompson 7-19 5-6 20, Pope 2-3 0-0 6, Smith 7-12 5-11 19, Hyder 2-4 0-0 5, Pollard 2-6 0-0 4, Gennett 0-0 0-0 0, Lindgren 0-2 0-0 0, Rose 0-2 0-0 0, Stafford 0-0 0-0 0, Ainslie 0-0 0-0 0, O'Keith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 16-26 74.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (7-3)
Paulsen 2-4 0-0 5, Khan 2-5 0-0 6, El Mardi 6-7 2-2 14, Cavell 4-7 8-10 18, Moffitt 3-5 3-6 9, Samore 6-10 6-7 18, Blackmon 2-4 5-5 10, Medjo 2-4 0-0 5, Whitman 2-3 0-0 4, Penner 1-3 0-0 3, Elsner 0-0 0-0 0, Richardson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-52 24-30 92.
 
                                1    2   -  Final
Central Washington..........   36   38   -   74
Seattle Pacific.............   49   43   -   92
 
3-point goals--CWU 4-18 (Pope 2-3, Hyder 1-3, Thompson 1-5, Poquette 0-1, Pollard 0-1, Lindgren 0-2, Rose 0-2, Smith 0-1), SPU 8-17 (Khan 2-4, Cavell 2-3, Blackmon 1-3, Medjo 1-2, Penner 1-3, Paulsen 1-2). Fouled out--CWU-Thompson, SPU-Moffitt. Rebounds--CWU 28 (Gilson 7), SPU 33 (Cavell 8). Assists--CWU 7 (Thompson 4), SPU 15 (Moffitt 8). Total fouls--CWU 20, SPU 22. Technical fouls--CWU-None, SPU-Moffitt.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific
Friday, Feb. 26, 6:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.