BURNABY, B.C. -- Julian Roche compiled 14 of his 24 points during the second half Saturday night, helping Simon Fraser stage a decisive rally that started shortly after halftime of a 75-72 win over Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball clash at West Gym.
 
Trailing 37-32 just 30 seconds after intermission, the hosts went on a 22-6 spree to gain their first double-digit lead. Josiah Mastandrea concluded the run with a steal and fastbreak layup with 12:35 remaining to forge a 54-43 Simon Fraser advantage.
 
The Falcons kept fighting and, facing a 13-point deficit, went on a 13-3 run to rally within 71-68 after Shaw Anderson nailed a 3-pointer with 1:52 left to play.
 
Mastandrea converted two free throws with 23.4 seconds left before SPU's Divant'e Moffitt narrowed the gap to 73-72 with 10.5 displayed on the clock after getting fouled and making a free throw following a successful 3-pointer.
 
David Penney set the final score, 75-72, on two free throws for Simon Fraser with 6.8 seconds remaining and Moffitt's potential game-tying trey from the top-left bounded off the back rim as the buzzer sounded.
 
The Falcons (10-8), dropped to 3-4 in GNAC play, halting a two-game league winning streak. They broke even during a frenetic, four-games-in-eight-days stretch with a pair of wins and two losses.
 
Simon Fraser (8-4) moves to the top of the conference standings with a 3-1 record.
 
HARRY CAVELL REBOUND & PUTBACK DUNK

SCORING SUMMARY
Moffitt collected 19 second-half points to top the team with 24 for the game. He made 6 of 12 shots from the field, 1 of 2 treys and 11 of 12 free throws in 34 minutes.
 
That performance came two days after the senior point guard was limited to four points in just 13 minutes due to foul trouble in Thursday's 78-59 victory at Western Washington.
 
Anderson contributed 19 points for SPU and accounted for 5 of the team's 8 made 3-pointers. The sophomore forward sparked the late comeback with three treys during the final seven minutes.
 
Harry Cavell had 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Falcons, who were out-boarded by a 33-29 margin.
 
The Falcons struggled early in the second half, missing 11 of its first 14 shots while committing four turnovers to enable the opposing surge. They shot 38 percent for the game (23 of 60) and made 8 of 28 treys. The free throw shooting was stellar, as usual, at 18-for-20.
 
Nine of SPU's 10 turnovers came after halftime.
 
Simon Fraser made more shots than it missed in each half to finish at 52 percent for the game (27 of 52). That figure included 6-for-20 accuracy from 3-point range.
 
The Canadian side sank 15 of 17 free throws and was perfect in four tries inside the last 24 seconds to secure the win.
 
Roche shot 9-for-12 from the floor and drained all six of his free throw attempts. He completed the double-double with 11 rebounds.
 
Mastandrea added 16 points, nine of them on 3-pointers, while Penney and Wilfried Balata each tallied 13 points for Simon Fraser.
 
DIVANT'E MOFFITT DRIVE & FINISH AT THE HOOP

TIGHT FIRST HALF
The Falcons forced five turnovers in the game's first four minutes, but only managed to capitalize to the extent of a 6-2 lead after Cavell followed an offensive rebound with a put-back dunk at 15:58.
 
A rapid succession of lead changes followed and there were 10 of them in the first half.
 
The hosts never led by more than one point in the opening 20 minutes, the fifth and last time coming after Roche converted two free throws with 4:40 left in the period for a 23-22 edge.
 
Anderson answered 20 seconds later with a 3-pointer for SPU and Simon Fraser leveled the score, 25-25, on a jumper in the lane from Penney at 3:47.
 
The Falcons staged a 10-4 spree, capped by an Anderson jumper and Moffitt free throws, for a 35-29 margin. Mastandrea's trey from the right corner drew Simon Fraser within 35-32 at halftime.
 
A smothering, on-the-ball defense sparked SPU to an 8-1 advantage in the turnover category. Simon Fraser countered with magnificent marksmanship.
 
The hoops saw the home squad shoot 54 percent (13 of 24) in the half, including 4-for-9 accuracy from 3-point range.
 
SPU shot 40 percent (12 of 30) and made 4 of 15 first-half treys.
 
NOTABLE
• Shaw Anderson made multiple 3-pointers in each of his last seven outings, amassing 22 treys during that span.
 
• Divant'e Moffitt increased his career total to 1,255 points to move into the No. 15 spot among all-time Seattle Pacific scorers. He surpassed the 1,232-point figure compiled by Orville Anderson from 1955-59.
 
• Harry Cavell collected his 628th career carom to vault into the No. 12 spot among all-time Falcons rebounders. He jumped over Larry Quesnell, who grabbed 623 rebounds from 1967-70. Cavell ranks No. 8 among all-time SPU scorers with 1,390 career points, just four shy of Brannon Stone (1998-2002), who ranks seventh with 1,394 points.
 
UPCOMING ACTION
The SPU men return home to host two games next week. They entertain Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday (Jan. 27) at 5:15 p.m. before a clash on Saturday (Jan. 29) at 4:15 p.m. versus Alaska Anchorage.
 
Both games are part of basketball doubleheaders with the Falcons women on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.
 
RECORDS
Seattle Pacific 10-8, 3-4 GNAC
Simon Fraser 8-4, 3-1 GNAC
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, January 27; 5:15 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.