SEATTLE -- A 34-point victory to cap a five-game winning streak is a fine way to finish the season. But, it's not the ending the Falcons envisioned.
 
Harry Cavell and Divant'e Moffitt each pitched in 23 points Saturday afternoon for Seattle Pacific, which concluded the men's basketball campaign with a convincing 95-61 home triumph over Saint Martin's.
 
The Falcons (10-3) were victorious for the 10th time in the last 11 outings. Their lone loss during that span was an 80-66 setback on Feb. 12 against this same Saint Martin's squad, also on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.
 
Due to the cancellation of the GNAC season and the number of teams opting out of competition this season, Seattle Pacific was unable to reach the NCAA-mandated minimum of 11 Division II games required for eligibility for selection to the playoffs. Despite their impressive record they will not receive an NCAA Tournament invitation.
 
"It's hard to be done. I love this team and the way that they've been playing and coming together. This was a special year for us," exclaimed fifth-year coach Grant Leep. "It's really frustrating. We pour so much time and effort and energy into this.
 
"There are just things that are out of our control this year. I love the maturity our guys showed in handling that. The life lessons learned from handling this the right way are something that will hit these guys someday, and they will realize that what we accomplished this year is special."
 
This will be the second season in a row the Falcons won't participate in the playoffs despite being deserving. Last year SPU traveled to La Jolla, California as the No. 5 seed in the West, but the regional was cancelled due to the pandemic on March 12, 2020, one day before the first round was scheduled to start.
 
Seattle Pacific takes consolation in a fantastic finish, capping the campaign with five consecutive wins over Great Northwest Athletic Conference foes while avenging their lone Division II loss.

CLAYTON WHITMAN INTERVIEW

Moffitt made 7 of 11 shots from the field, including 3-for-5 accuracy on 3-pointers. Cavell hit 7 of 9 field goals and 2 of 4 treys.
 
"They've done it all year. The way Divant'e commands our offense, he's grown so much as a player," Leep said. "For Harry, the milestones that he hit this year are great, especially with the fact that he did it almost exclusively playing out of position this year. I can't express enough how proud I am of these guys."
 
Cavell became the 11th player in Seattle Pacific history to collect both 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds. He currently ranks 22nd among the program's all-time scoring leaders with 1,151 points and is No. 16 in rebounds with 523.
 
Sharif Khan made four 3-pointers accounting for all 12 of his points, a scoring total matched by SPU teammate Zack Paulsen. Freshman Payton Richardson compiled six points and six rebounds in just 11 minutes while Clayton Whitman contributed five points and a game-high five assists.
 
"It was a weird dynamic this season where the veteran guys that started had experience, but everybody else didn't. We were so young," Leep described. "Clayton, Syon (Blackmon), Chris (Penner), Payton and Jake (Medjo), those guys just kept growing, waiting their time, staying diligent and continuing to work hard.
 
"So, it's really rewarding when you see guys like Payton come in and have six points and six rebounds today. You see Clayton come in and affect the game with five assists. That's so special because you know that you have guys that are so bought in and believing in what you are trying to do."
 
Joining Richardson for team-high rebounding honors were Moffitt and Mehdi El Mardi, who also grabbed six. That helped SPU dominate the boards by a 42-26 margin.
 
SYON BLACKMON ALLEY-OOP FROM CLAYTON WHITMAN

The Falcons shot 57 percent in the second half (16 of 28) to improve their overall number to 54 percent (30 of 56). They nailed 12 of 30 shots from 3-point range.
 
Saint Martin's (2-10), which lost for the third time in four encounters versus SPU this season, was held to 35-percent accuracy from the field (22 of 63) and made only 5 of 24 treys.
 
Goy Wang topped the Saints with 14 points while Tyke Thompson and Seth Coddington had 10 apiece.
 
FREE THROW CLINIC
Both teams were stellar from the free throw stripe. They combined to make the game's first 28 free throws, 19 for SPU and 9 for the Saints, before the Falcons' Whitman missed the front end of a one-and-one with 10:47 showing on the second-half clock.
 
SMU went a perfect 12-for-12 from the line and the Falcons finished at 23-for-27.
 
After leading all Division II men's basketball teams in free throw accuracy in 2020 with a school-record 80.5 percent, the team was even better this season. The Falcons combined to convert 84.2 percent of their free throws in 2021, a figure that currently leads the nation.
 
FALCONS FABULOUS FIRST HALF
Seattle Pacific took control midway through the first half Saturday. The Saints missed their first eight shots of the game, finally scoring on a driving layup by Ty Velasquez with exactly five minutes expired.
 
The Falcons were unable to capitalize on that lengthy game-opening drought, managing just four points themselves. They made just two of their first seven shots, a reverse layup by Paulsen at 16:49 and jumper in the lane by Cavell with 15:40 left in the first half.
 
"We had quality looks and were pleased with how we were executing our offense early. It was just the fact that we weren't making shots," said Leep. "We had such a better pace today, which then allowed us to have a better rhythm.
 
"We missed some open looks in the first half to start. But our defense gave us good energy and when you are getting stops you can find some transition and get a couple to go in. We carried it over into the second half and I was super pleased with how well we executed and we saw the shots start to fall."
 
SPU heated up and hit its next two shots to ignite a 14-7 run that produced an 18-9 lead with 9:11 left in the period. After consecutive baskets by the visitors, the Falcons closed with a 21-7 surge to claim a 39-24 halftime advantage.
 
Despite the sluggish start, SPU hit half of its first-half shots (14 of 28) while limiting the Saints to 32 percent (10 of 31).

JACOB MEDJO DUNK FROM CLAYTON WHITMAN ASSIST

SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
The Falcons' lead never narrowed closer than 12 points after intermission.
 
They stretched it midway through the period on the strength of a 15-point run. Paulsen nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner with 11 minutes remaining to start the spree that Richardson completed with a free throw at 7:23 with the hosts up, 79-48. Moffitt netted eight straight points to fuel the surge.
 
Sophomore forward Jacob Medjo ended the game, and SPU's season, on a dunk with 1:26 remaining off a fine feed from Whitman.
 
All 12 available Falcons played, including freshman forward Adil Lalji who saw his first collegiate action. Ten of those SPU players got into the scorebook.
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, March 6, 2021
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
at Seattle Pacific 95, Saint Martin's 61
 
SAINT MARTIN'S (2-10)
Wang 5-7 2-2 14, Schumacher 3-11 0-0 6, Thompson 3-8 2-2 10, Velasquez 2-7 0-0 5, Moore 2-4 0-0 4, Coddington 2-6 6-6 10, Lenker 1-2 2-2 4, Malloy 2-11 0-0 4, Camper 2-7 0-0 4. Totals 22-63 12-12 61.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-3)
El Mardi 0-3 2-2 2, Paulsen 4-8 2-2 12, Khan 4-9 0-0 12, Cavell 7-9 7-8 23, Moffitt 7-11 6-6 23, Medjo 2-3 3-3 7, Richardson 2-3 2-3 6, Whitman 2-3 0-1 5, Blackmon 2-5 0-0 4, Elsner 0-0 1-2 1, Penner 0-1 0-0 0, Lalji 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-56 23-27 95.
 
                            1    2   -  Final
Saint Martin's..........   25   36   -   61
Seattle Pacific.........   39   56   -   95
 
3-point goals--SMU 5-24 (Thompson 2-7, Wang 2-4, Velasquez 1-3, Lenker 0-1, Malloy 0-4, Camper 0-3, Schumacher 0-2), SPU 12-30 (Khan 4-9, Moffitt 3-5, Paulsen 2-6, Cavell 2-4, Whitman 1-2, Penner 0-1, Lalji 0-1, Blackmon 0-1, Medjo 0-1). Fouled out--SMU-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--SMU 26 (Thompson 9), SPU 42 (El Mardi, Moffitt, Richardson 6). Assists--SMU 8 (Coddington 3), SPU 15 (Whitman 5). Total fouls--SMU 21, SPU 15. Technical fouls--SMU-None, SPU-None.