SEATTLE -- Zack Paulsen and Divant'e Moffitt combined for 33 points Tuesday, leading the Seattle Pacific men to a 76-65 home win over Western Oregon in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball clash.
 
The third time was a charm for the two teams that were scheduled to play twice earlier this season, but positive Covid tests prevented those plans. Monday's matchup was rescheduled from a Jan. 8 postponement. They were supposed to meet last Thursday (Feb. 3) in Monmouth, Ore., but that game was canceled.
 
The timing proved fortuitous for the Falcons, who had both of last week's road games called off one day before the trip to Western Oregon. Their preparations for that game versus the Wolves were implemented one week later, at a different venue.
 
"We haven't played since a week ago Saturday," SPU coach Grant Leep said of his team's first outing since the 91-59 home win over Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 29.
 
"But we got shut down after practice last Wednesday after we had already installed our game plan for Western Oregon. So, our guys were very familiar with how we were going to guard their actions and they were familiar with their personnel because we have been sitting on it for a week. When we got the guys back into the groove, they kind of picked up right where they left off."
 
Paulsen poured in 17 points, on proficient 6-for-9 shooting. Moffitt, a 6-foor-2 point guard, added 16 points and topped the team with nine rebounds to equal his career high board total.

DIVANT'E MOFFITT DRIVING LAYUP

 SPU utilized a game-opening 23-2 run to gain control early and were never seriously challenged after that. The Wolves netted the final five points of the game to cap a 22-8 game-closing surge that drew them within the final 11-point margin.
 
The Falcons (13-8) improved their league ledger to 6-4 with their fifth win in the last six outings. They have performed well at home this season with an 8-1 record on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.
 
Western Oregon (3-15) lost its ninth straight game, falling to 2-8 in GNAC play.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
Paulsen registered his ninth double-digit scoring game and was his team's top scorer for the fifth time.
 
"He's always ready, always aggressive," Leep described. "He's a big, strong guard who can finish in the paint through contact and he's a very good shooter as well. Zack takes the right shots, when he has open looks. He plays within himself and knows what he's good at and plays to that all the time."
 
Joining Paulsen and Moffitt in double figures for SPU were Harry Cavell with 10 points and Shaw Anderson with 10. Anderson distributed a career-high six assists.
 
Sophomore guard Syon Blackmon was efficient on the offensive end, hitting 3 of 4 shots en route to eight points. He made 2 of 3 treys. Blackmon brought energy on the defensive end, displaying persistence on a steal and basket midway through the team's early scoring streak.

SYON BLACKMON STEAL & LAYUP

The Falcons finished at 50-percent shooting for the game (28 of 56), including 6-for-16 accuracy on 3-pointers. The nation's leading NCAA Division II free throw shooting team sank 14 of 16 attempts, improving to 80.4 percent on the season.
 
Collin Warmouth compiled all of his 12 points during the second half for the Wolves and he made 2 of 3 treys. He shared team-high scoring honors with Cameron Cranston, who produced 10 of his 12 points after halftime.
 
WOU shot 53 percent in the second half (17 of 32) to improve to 42 percent (25 of 59) for the game.
 
SUPER START
SPU raced out to 23-2 lead off the tip, hitting 10 of its first 13 shots. Five different Falcons contributed points during the surge.
 
Anderson started the scoring 17 seconds into the contest and WOU's Antonio Salinas answered 23 seconds later with a drive and flip off the backboard to even the score, 2-2.
 
The Falcons tallied the next 21 points, their longest unanswered scoring streak of the season. Their previous high outburst was a 16-point spree versus Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 29 in the last outing.
 
Paulsen completed the run with six consecutive points, on a tip-in, two free throws and a driving layup that provided the 21-point advantage with 12:57 left in the first half.
 
On the other end of the court, the hosts were inhospitable. Their defense limited the Wolves to just two points during the opening 12 minutes. The visitors made just 1 of 9 shots and committed six turnovers in the opening 14 possessions.
 
WOU's drought ended at 11:58 when Salinas nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner to ignite a seven-point surge. But the Falcons answered with four straight points and the teams traded baskets over the final six minutes of the half that ended with SPU leading 40-21.
 
Stellar 54-percent shooting (15 of 28) fueled the Falcons, who made 4 of 9 treys. They limited WOU to 30-percent accuracy from the field and 3 of 11 on 3-pointers.
 
The Falcons forced nine first-half turnovers and parlayed them directly into 14 points while giving up just two points-off-turnovers themselves.

SYON BLACKMON INTERVIEW

FALCONS FAST FACT
• Harry Cavell collected his 645th career carom to vault into the No. 11 spot among all-time Seattle Pacific rebounders. He supplanted Jeff Case, who grabbed 744 rebounds from 1974-78.
 
UPCOMING ACTION
The Falcons remain at home for their next three games. They host Montana State Billings on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. That is the opener of a basketball doubleheader with the SPU women on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.
 
"They are a very good, well-coached team," Leep said. Billings can really score it with their guards and we got to be ready to go because they are going to come in hungry and ready to try to get the season sweep on us. We just need to do what we can to continue to play well at home and get another win on our home court."
 
RECORDS
Western Oregon 3-15, 2-8 GNAC
Seattle Pacific 13-8, 6-4 GNAC
 
NEXT SPU GAME
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
Saturday, February 12; 2:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.