BILLINGS, Mont. -- An extended, 17-day layoff eventually caught up with Seattle Pacific.
 
SPU led for the majority of the first half Saturday before succumbing to Montana State, which rode a 28-point performance from Carrington Wiggins to a 67-54 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball decision at Alterowitz Gymnasium.
 
The Falcons (8-7) fell to 1-3 in league play. They played excellent basketball for the opening 14 minutes, forging a nine-point lead before faltering from that juncture.
 
Two lengthy scoring droughts sealed their fate. The visitors didn't muster a point over the final 6-minutes, 15-seconds of the first half and opening 1:17 of the second, a combined span of 7:32.
 
SPU stayed within two points midway through the second half before another slump, this one stretching for 9:46, saw the Yellowjackets surge to a 17-point margin.
 
MSUB (7-8) improved its GNAC record to 3-2 after defeating the Falcons for just the second time in the last 13 encounters.
 
LONG LAYOFF
The last outing for SPU was an 88-83 setback at Alaska Anchorage on December 30. Their next three scheduled games were all postponed due to Covid protocols.
 
A variety of injuries prevented SPU from scrimmaging five-on-five in practice since that Dec. 30 outing. Just nine players suited up Saturday and all of them played in Billings.
 
Coach Grant Leep was not going to use the scheduling uncertainties as an excuse.
 
"I was really encouraged about how our group worked through the challenges. This was a weird situation and circumstances over the last couple weeks. Sure, we would have liked to not have such a long break from games and to be able to go five-on-five in practice. But it's 2022, and that's not the world we live in right now."

SHARIF KHAN STEAL, DRIVE & DISH

SCORING SUMMARY
Senior point guard Divant'e Moffitt played a part in well over half (32) of the Falcons 54 points. He tallied a team-high 16 while distributing six assists that led to another 16 points for teammates.
 
Moffitt hit 7 of 15 shots from the field to top all SPU scorers for the 10th time this season.
 
"He just does such a good job of getting into the paint," Leep said. "We ask a lot of Divant'e and he can handle it. For the most part he makes the right decisions and he gets us into some stuff that's really good for us. He has a very good command of our offense."
 
Three other Falcons reached double figures. Zack Paulsen scored 13 points, Harry Cavell 12 and Shaw Anderson 11. Anderson made 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range.
 
Starters accumulated 52 points for SPU, whose limited corps of reserve players were outscored 24-2 by their Billing counterparts.
 
After a 44-percent first half (11 of 25), the Falcons shot just 38 percent (8 of 29) in the second to finish the game at 35 percent (19 of 54). The made 6 of 23 treys.
 
Billings countered with 41 percent accuracy for the game (23 of 56), a figure that included 7-for-19 shooting from 3-point range.
 
Wiggins shot 10-of-19 from the floor, including 5-for-8 accuracy on treys. Brent Finn added 11 points for the Yellowjackets, registering six of those from the free throw line inside the final minute.
 
Malik Brikat was perfect in five tries from the field for 10 points. He grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to spark MSUB's 47-29 control of the boards.
 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
After missing its first two shots, both trey tries, the Falcons nailed three consecutive 3-pointers to claim an early lead they would sustain into halftime.
 
A seven-point surge, fueled by three points from Moffitt, provided a 20-12 advantage with 12:39 left in the period.
 
Later, SPU staged an eight-point spree to claim its largest lead. A four-point play by Paulsen, who was fouled on a successful trey, capped the run after which the Falcons led 31-22 with 6:15 left in the first half.
 
Those would be the final points of the period for SPU, which came up empty on its final nine possessions with five missed shots and four turnovers. The damage wasn't as lethal as it might have been as Billings was held scoreless for more than five minutes over some of the same stretch.
 
The Yellowjackets heated up late, closing the half with six straight points. They were unable to gain the upper-hand, but trailed just 31-28 at halftime.
 
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
SPU's six-plus minute scoring drought from the opening period mercifully came to an end with 18:43 showing on the second half clock. Cavell missed the first, but sank his second free throw to put the visitors up 32-28.
 
Two minutes later, Moffitt netted six consecutive points to give SPU a 38-34 edge with 15:48 left to play.
 
The hosts responded with a 23-2 run to take control.
 
After eight straight Billings points, a pair of free throws by Cavell drew the Falcons within 42-40 with 14:12 remaining.
 
They would not score again for nearly 10 minutes, enabling MSUB to reel off 15 unanswered points. Wiggins compiled nine points, on a trio of treys, during the run that produced a 57-40 advantage.
 
SPU finally found the range at 4:26 on a drive down the lane and finish at the rim by Cavell for a 57-42 deficit. That ended the nearly 10-minute span without a point.
 
HARRY CAVELL DRIVE & FINISH AT THE RIM

The Falcons soon managed points on five consecutive possessions. making four straight shots and two free throws. They closed within 61-54 on two Cavell free throws with 1:03 remaining, but that is as close as they could come.
 
Finn shot 6-for-6 from the line to secure the outcome.
 
UPCOMING ACTION
The Falcons continue their frenetic 4-games-in-8-days stretch with three games next week, beginning on Monday afternoon at home. They host Saint Martin's Jan. 17 at 3:00 p.m. on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion in a matchup that was rescheduled from a Jan. 6 postponement.
 
"We didn't play very well tonight, but this isn't who this team is," Leep exclaimed. "We need to leave it in Montana and bounce back. Thank goodness we have another opportunity on Monday and we need to rely on some of our experience."
 
SPU then hits the road for two games, visiting Western Washington on Thursday (Jan. 20) and Simon Fraser on Saturday (Jan. 22). Both games are slated for 7:00 p.m. tip-offs.
 
NOTABLE
• Guard Sharif Khan was credited with five steals in a game for the second time in his career. The rest of the Falcons combined for just three steals Saturday. The first time Khan made five steals was on Feb. 21, 2019, also versus Montana State Billings.

• Divant'e Moffitt leapfrogged three former Falcons on the all-time school scoring charts to move into the No. 18 position. His career point total increased to 1,212, a figure that is one better than Scott Rolfness (1985-89). Moffitt needs two points to replace Coleman Wooten (2016-19) in the No. 17 spot.
 
• Harry Cavell didn't surpass anybody, but solidified his position as SPU's No. 8 all-time scorer. He now has 1,350 career points.
 
RECORDS
Seattle Pacific 8-7, 1-3 GNAC
Montana State Billings 7-8, 3-2 GNAC
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific
Monday, January 17; 3:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.