SEATTLE -- Divant'e Moffit compiled 20 points and six assists for Seattle Pacific, which completed a two-game sweep of 13th-ranked Northwest Nazarene on Saturday with an 83-68 home men's basketball triumph.
 
The Falcons (9-3) were victorious for the ninth time in the last 10 outings, extending their winning streak to four games. On Friday, also on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion, they led by as many as 32 points en route to an 89-79 victory over NNU.
 
"I'm really proud of our group. That's a good team that we just played and just beat on back-to-back nights," SPU coach Grant Leep exclaimed. "Especially with how they played last night, we knew they were going to come ready to go and be fired up.
 
"For our team to step up and rise to that challenge against a determined group, I was extremely proud of how our guys handled that. Even getting down 8-2 early, we responded well from that point."
 
SPU was paced Saturday by a trio of high scorers, topped by Moffitt who hit 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range. Sharif Khan nailed 4 of 7 treys en route to an 18-point performance and Harry Cavell chipped in 16 points.
 
All eight Falcons that played scored at least three points. Jacob Medjo hit 2 of 3 treys to contribute eight points off the bench.

JACOB MEDJO INTERVIEW

The Falcons shot 49 percent (28 of 57), while holding the visitors at 42 percent (24 of 57). The hosts made 9 of 23 shots from 3-point range while the Nighthawks managed to make just 3 of 14 from long distance.
 
WINNING THE BOARD BATTLE
Twenty hours after being outrebounded by a 38-26 margin, the Falcons turned the tables to forge a 33-30 lead on the boards. Senior center Mehdi El Mardi collected a season-high 10 caroms to spearhead the team's rebounding effort.
 
"We emphasized rebounding," said Leep. "Last night they scored 79 points and today it was 68. We did a good job of keeping the ball out of the paint and that forced them to take more jumpers instead of making too many layups like they got Friday. Our guys did a better job blocking out and just being more physical."
 
A tough, two-game trip to Seattle tripled the number of losses Northwest Nazarene (10-3) had been dealt entering the series. Gone is the eight-game winning streak that was stopped Friday night, and with it likely the lofty national ranking.
 
Ezekiel Alley paced the Nighthawks with 21 points in the rematch after the leading the team in the first meeting with 19. George Reidy collected 10 of his 16 points during the second half.
 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
NNU jumped ahead early, opening an 8-2 lead 83 seconds into the contest. Alley and Reidy each had four points to fuel the run.
 
The Falcons tallied the next six points to level the score. The Nighthawks briefly reclaimed the lead, and held a 12-11 edge before SPU snatched control of the contest.
 
Seattle Pacific netted seven unanswered points to begin a 16-6 surge. Moffitt poured in seven points to spark the spree that produced a 27-18 advantage with 7:11 left in the first half.
 
After exchanging baskets for the next three minutes, the Falcons scored the final eight points of the half to gain a 44-30 lead. The last basket came on an impressive individual effort from Cavell.
 
With 7.7 seconds showing on the clock, SPU inbounded the ball at the far end of the floor, under the NNU basket. Cavell received the ball and rapidly dribbled the length of the floor through defenders, finishing with a dunk over a Nighthawk just as the first-half horn sounded.
 
Leep described the build-up to that play.
 
"Rewind one play back and there were 47 seconds when we got possession and we wanted to get a two-for-one there. We ran a quick action and executed it well, leading to three free throws from Zack (Paulsen). There were 37 seconds left by the time they got the ball back, so we knew that we were going to get another shot. We got a stop and then had to take it out on the baseline.
 
"NNU came out in a press and we were prepared for that press. With less than eight seconds left, there's obviously a big urgency to get the ball up the floor. So Divant'e passed the ball to Harry who, being an experienced veteran leader, knew the time and score. He was able to get to the basket and finished it."
 
HARRY CAVELL DUNK BEATS FIRST-HALF BUZZER

The Falcons shot 48 percent before halftime (15 of 31), including 6-for-15 accuracy on 3-pointers while NNU was limited to 34 percent (12 of 35) from the field.
 
The Nighthawks never seriously threatened after intermission as the deficit hovered in double-digits the entire time. The closest they came was midway through the second half when a seven-point run cut the margin to 72-62. But SPU posted the next five points to repel the rally.
 
PLAYING LIKE CHAMPS
The Falcons prepared for this weekend's series like a league title was on the line, despite the fact the Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced in mid-December that it would not conduct an official league schedule due to a number of teams opting out of competition. SPU won last year's GNAC regular-season championship.
 
"I'm really proud of this group because if there was a GNAC season this year, then we essentially clinched that GNAC championship with a win today," said Leep. "We showed who we are as a basketball team in our conference.
 
"One more on Saturday and we're going to do everything we can to continue to play at this level."
 
NEXT GAME
The SPU men close out their regular-season slate on Saturday, March 6, with a 1 p.m. home game versus Saint Martin's. That is a makeup of a scheduled Feb. 13 game that was postponed due to snowy conditions in the Puget Sound area.
 
The Saints dealt SPU its only loss since the season-opening series. They won 80-66 on Feb. 12 in Seattle.
 
"They came in and beat us last time, so we'll be pretty fired up for that one to try and close out our regular season the right way," Leep said.
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 27, 2021
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 83, (#13) Northwest Nazarene 68
 
NORTHWEST NAZARENE (10-3)
Murphy 0-2 0-0 0, Terashima 1-2 1-2 3, Alley 7-16 7-8 21, Roth 3-7 2-4 8, Reidy 6-12 4-5 16, Nelson 3-6 0-0 8, Rose 1-2 2-2 4, Fox 1-3 0-0 3, Allen 1-4 1-2 3, Recek 1-3 0-0 2, Ferrin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 17-23 68.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (9-3)
El Mardi 3-4 0-0 6, Paulsen 1-2 5-5 8, Khan 5-9 4-6 18, Cavell 6-10 4-4 16, Moffitt 8-19 3-4 20, Medjo 3-5 0-0 8, Whitman 1-1 2-2 4, Blackmon 1-7 0-0 3. Totals 28-57 18-21 83.
 
                                1    2   -  Final
Northwest Nazarene..........   30   38   -   68
Seattle Pacific.............   44   39   -   83
 
3-point goals--NNU 3-14 (Nelson 2-5, Fox 1-3, Roth 0-1, Recek 0-1, Reidy 0-2, Alley 0-2), SPU 9-23 (Khan 4-7, Medjo 2-3, Moffitt 1-4, Blackmon 1-4, Paulsen 1-2, Cavell 0-3). Fouled out--NNU-Nelson, SPU-None. Rebounds--NNU 30 (Reidy, Murphy 6), SPU 33 (El Mardi 10). Assists--NNU 11 (Alley 4), SPU 10 (Moffitt 6). Total fouls--NNU 20, SPU 19. Technical fouls--NNU-None, SPU-None.
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, March 6, 1:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.