BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Shaw Anderson, Harry Cavell and Sharif Khan combined for 57 points Thursday and the Falcons defense shut down usually high-scoring Western Washington en route to a 78-59 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball victory at Carver Gymnasium.
 
Spectators were not allowed to attend the game out of an abundance of caution for health and safety due to the virus outbreak. This marked the first meeting between the Northwest rivals since February 20, 2020 as the Vikings did not compete last season.
 
"That was a lot of fun," exclaimed SPU coach Grant Leep, whose Falcons played without fans for home games last year. "It was so weird to get up here with no fans. We went through this last year so we knew what to do. We talked to our guys about bringing atmosphere, bringing our own energy.
 
"Our bench was loaded with energy, loaded with intensity. That helps. It's another way to stay engaged in the game. It's so odd to play in this environment, but they handled it the right way."
 
Anderson and Cavell each pitched in 21 points Thursday and Khan added 15. Those were season-high marks for Anderson and Khan.
 
That trio contributed in other areas as well as Anderson grabbed nine rebounds and Cavell had eight while Khan compiled six rebounds and four steals. Those thefts, as part of a team total of nine steals, helped force 17 Western turnovers.
 
The Falcons (10-7) evened their league ledger at 3-3 with their first GNAC road win. They competed for the third time in the last six days while WWU was playing just its third game in the month of January.
 
Western (8-6) dropped to 1-3 in conference play.

DYNAMIC DEFENSE
The Vikings were held under 60 points for the first time all season and were limited to their lowest field goal mark, at 37.9 percent (22 of 58). They entered the game as the GNAC leaders in scoring average (83.2 points per game) and shooting accuracy (51.5%).
 
"Collectively as a team our guys did a great job of executing the defensive game plan," Leep said. "In our preparation, we had a pretty good idea of how they were going to go about attacking us and our guys did a great job of applying it. They played with intensity and we finished possessions for the most part, keeping them off the glass. We held them to a lot of jump shots."
 
Jalen Green was the lone WWU player in double figures with 17 points. He also collected nine rebounds as the teams battled to a 39-39 draw on the boards.
 
SPU shot 41.5 percent (27 of 65) from the floor and made 8 of 24 treys.

MISSING MOFFITT
The Falcons played for most of the second half without leading scorer Divant'e Moffitt, who was limited to less than four minutes after halftime and just 13 for the game. The senior point guard, who entered the game scoring at an 18.0-point clip, was saddled with foul trouble.
 
Moffitt picked up his fourth foul with 16:25 left in the contest. He left the game, never to return, after scoring four points.
 
Khan played 35 minutes for the second straight game. Usually a shooting guard, he assumed the point-guard role for the majority of the second half.
 
"You can't put a price on the experience that Sharif has earned over the last six years," said Leep. "Everybody was ready to play and you need guys to step up in big moments, to bring some production and energy. We had that from multiple guys tonight.
 
"Syon (Blackmon) also came in and played a great game. At this point in the season, it's just about doing whatever it takes to get a win and our guys did that on the road tonight."
 
SHARIF KAHN STEAL, DRIVE & PASS FOR SYON BLACKMON TREY

FALCONS FINE FIRST HALF
After missing its first three shots to fall behind 4-0, SPU was successful on five of its next six shots. Cavell completed the surge on a 3-pointer with 14:37 left in the half to put the visitors up 11-4.
 
The Vikings missed eight straight shots and had two turnovers during their 4 1/2-minute drought.
 
Western finally scored again at 13:44 on a dunk by Luke Lovelady. After eight more points, the Vikings found themselves within 19-14 after Green made a layup with 8:10 showing on the clock.
 
SPU scored the next seven points, sandwiching 3-pointers by Syon Blackmon and Anderson around a Kelton Samore free throw. That produced a 26-14 advantage six minutes before halftime.
 
Later, back-to-back treys by Lucas Holden drew WWU within 32-26 and the teams traded points the rest of the way. D'Angelo Minnis had an opportunity to make the margin smaller, but his fastbreak layup at the buzzer curled off the rim. That preserved the Falcons 38-29 halftime edge.
 
Western made only 34.5 percent (10 of 29) of its first-half shots while SPU countered with 42.4-percent accuracy (14 of 33).
 
Two Falcons had already achieved double figures by intermission, Cavell with 14 points and Anderson with 12.
 
WWU'S SECOND-HALF SLUMP
Trailing 49-37 after an Anderson 3-pointer, Western went on an 11-4 spree. Lovelady capped the run with a layup to bring the hosts within 53-48 with 12:08 remaining.
 
But, that would be the last Vikings basket until the 3:32 mark, when Green finished a driving layup. They managed just three points on free throws during that 8-minute, 36-second stretch.
 
SPU capitalized with a 17-3 run, fueled by seven points from Anderson, to claim a commanding 70-51 advantage.
 
Consecutive baskets by Green and Kai Johnson narrowed the gap to 70-55, but the Falcons netted six straight points to repel any hope of a rally.
 
UPCOMING ACTION
The Falcons finish their frenetic 4-games-in-8-days stretch on Saturday at Simon Fraser. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m. at West Gym in Burnaby, B.C.
 
"We need to kind of dig down deep and play with the kind of effort we've had the last two games," Leep said. "We took a really big step forward with how hard we played against Saint Martin's on Monday, and we did that again tonight. If we continue that, good things are going to happen."
 
The next home game for the Falcons is January 27 versus Alaska Fairbanks. Tip-off is 5:15 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion.
 
NOTABLE
• Divant'e Moffitt increased his career total to 1,231 points. That is just one shy of the 1,232 points compiled from 1955-59 by Orville Anderson, who is the Falcons No. 15 all-time scorer.
 
• Harry Cavell grabbed his 621st career rebound to creep closer to the No. 12 spot occupied by Larry Quesnell, who collected 623 caroms from 1967-70. Cavell ranks No. 8 among all-time SPU scorers with 1,379 career points.
 
RECORDS
Seattle Pacific 10-7, 3-3 GNAC
Western Washington 8-6, 1-3 GNAC
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser
Saturday, January 22; 7:00 p.m. PST
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.