SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team hosted Sonoma State in its third game in five days on Tuesday evening, as Shaw Anderson's 29 points led the Falcons to a tightly contested 82-78 win over the Seawolves.
Anderson was Tremendous for the Falcons against the Seawolves on Tuesday night. He poured in 29 points on an efficient 11-for-18 shooting. Anderson didn't attempt a 3-pointer in the game but went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. He pulled down seven boards and dished out a pair of assists.
Anderson is steadily climbing the all-time scoring leader ladder at SPU. His 154 points move his career total to 1,461. With 29 points against the Seawolves, Anderson passed Divant'e Moffitt (2017-2022) for eighth all-time in program history. He's 49 points away from Harry Cavell (2018-2022) for seventh all-time at 1,510 points.
"I'm so glad he's a Falcon," Interim Head Coach Keffrey Fazio said. "We ask a ton out of him because he's such a special player. His teammates would be the first to tell you how great of a person he is on top of what he can do on the court. We're just lucky we get to be here, during this time, while he passes through SPU."
The Falcons earned the victory in the final 3:03 of the game. They trailed 73-68 before going on a 14-5 run to close the game. SPU went 4-for-5 during that stretch while holding SSU to a 2-for-5 performance in crunch time.
"We struggled to find a rhythm throughout this game," Fazio said. "We encouraged our guys to keep fighting throughout the game, and that's what they did. I'm proud that the team found a way to make it happen. We've had to learn a lot about our team during games this year. I'm happy this team learned that it doesn't have to be perfect, and you have to find a way to win."
Trace Evans was crucial for the Falcons in Tuesday's game. He had the tough task of slowing down Dillon Iyawe and still contributed offensively. The big man from the land down under scored 18 points and had five rebounds and two assists.
Newcomers Owen Moriarty and Jadin Penigar are fitting in well with the Falcons. Moriarty had 12 points and hit both of his 3-point attempts. Penigar was a rebound away from a double-double with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Jonas La Tour was big on the glass as well, with eight rebounds.
The Falcons take a Thanksgiving trip to Colorado for two games over the holiday weekend. It starts on Friday at 4 p.m. PST in Denver, Colo when they play MSU Denver.