SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball returned home for more Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball as they hosted Western Oregon. The tightly contested game featured eight ties and 13 lead changes before Shaw Anderson took over in the final five minutes, scoring 15 consecutive points while leading the Falcons to their fifth straight victory by a score of 87-79.
The Falcons and Wolves did battle throughout Thursday's game. The two teams were tied at 70 when Anderson took over. A layup to give the Falcons the lead was followed by a monster slam by Anderson. He soared through the lane and hammered home the dunk through contact. Game-shifting play continued from Anderson, as he buried a 3-pointer that was set up by Maui Sze on the next trip down the floor. Suddenly, the Falcons led 77-70 with 4:09 to play.
Anderson kept scoring. He hit two free throws, back-to-back jumpers and had a layup to ice the game. Anderson scored 15 consecutive points for the Falcons, leading the team to its fifth straight win.
Anderson led everyone with 30 points on 10-for-14 shooting while knocking down all three of his 3-point attempts. He grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists, and had two blocks.
"The efficiency that Shaw plays with is unbelievable," head coach Grant Leep said. "He scored 30 points on 14 shots. That level of efficiency is so rare to see. He doesn't take bad shots, he's unselfish with the ball. We challenged him to get to the free throw line more, and he's done that all season. He's been so consistent for us, and to be that consistent with that level of efficiency shows how good of a player he is."
Zack Paulsen and Trace Evans joined Anderson in double figures. Paulsen finished with 19 points and had five rebounds. Evans came close to another double-double for SPU. He supplied a crucial 15 points off the bench while pulling down a game-high eight rebounds.
The Falcons were relentless in attacking the basket throughout the game. They finished with 42 points in the paint and out-rebounded the Wolves 30-26. SPU shot 55.2 percent (32-for-58) from the field and went 15-for-19 (78.9 percent) from the free throw line.
The Wolves bothered the Falcons with a full-court press throughout most of the first half. SPU was forced into 10 turnovers and shot a mere 46.7 percent from the field in the first half. At the same time, the Wolves shot 64 percent from the field and made seven 3-pointers.
The Falcons made the proper adjustments, turning the ball over twice in the second half. Their offensive efficiency returned as they went 18-for-28 from the field in the final 20 minutes.
"Western Oregon played tremendously tonight," Leep said. "Their press bothered us in the first half. They sped us up, and we started taking shots that played into their pace and rhythm. In the second half, we were much more deliberate about how we attacked. Our guys did a great job in making that adjustment."
The Falcons are back at home on Saturday, hosting #23 Saint Martin's at 2 p.m.