NAMPA, ID - The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team saw a standout performance from Shaw Anderson who led all scorers with 18 points and had eight rebounds, but it wasn't enough against Northwest Nazarene as the Falcons fell 78-62 on Saturday night.

Anderson was a standout in Saturday's contest. He poured in 18 points while going 8-for-19 from the field. Anderson pulled down eight rebounds and had two steals. He led the Falcons in both points and rebounds against the Nighthawks.

"This weekend shows the quality and depth of our conference," head coach Grant Leep said. "We've talked a lot as a group about how the best version of this team will come later in the year. We will become better because of tonight. NNU played a great game. They played hard, they were tough and physical. We now need to be able to level up our game and find that consistent approach that matches our identity."

The Falcons fell behind early when the Nighthawks went up 10-4 about four minutes into the game. SPU chipped away at the deficit, as a layup from Anderson assisted by Maui Sze gave them a 16-15 lead with 10:05 left in the half.

Quickly, the home team went on a run. The Nighthawks led 30-20, powered by a 15-4 run that lasted 5:33. NNU rode the momentum for a 37-25 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Ben Baker-McCann banked home a layup through contact with 12:19 to play in the game. After a converted free throw, the Falcons were within nine points of the Nighthawks. It was as close as they'd get, as NNU pulled away from SPU down the stretch.

The Falcons struggled to shoot from the field on Saturday night. They went 22-for-55 (40 percent) while making just six 3-pointers for the game. The team pulled down 30 rebounds, 13 of which came on the offensive glass. They scored just 11 second-chance points against the nighthawks.

Paulsen and Baker-McCann matched each other with 10 points each. Baker-McCann pulled down seven rebounds, second most on the team. He led the bench with 10 of their 19 total points.

The Falcons return home on Thursday, Feb. 2, for a game against rival Western Washington that tips off at 7:30 p.m. That night is Ballard Food Bank Night, where three cans of food are the price of admission for the game between the Falcons and the Vikings.