ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team wrapped up its return to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday with a trip to Central Washington where a game-high 25-point performance from Shaw Anderson wasn't enough for the Falcons as the Wildcats won, 73-66.

"I thought our guys played really hard had some moments where we could've made some better decisions and made things harder than they needed to be," interim head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "We still had opportunities at the end. We just came up short. We gotta find a way to get over the hump."
 
The Falcons enjoyed an excellent effort from Anderson against the Wildcats. He led everyone with 25 points, highlighted by going 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Anderson grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots on Saturday.   
 
The Falcons closed out the first half with a critical run. They trailed 31-22 with 3:26 to play before ripping off a 10-4 run. Trace Evans started the momentum swing with a layup, followed by a 3-pointer from Kyle Luttinen. Jadin Penigar stepped up to knock down two free throws before the half was closed out by a big 3-pointer from Shaw Anderson. The run was critical, putting the Falcons down three points entering halftime.
 
The Falcons trailed 47-40 with 13:42 left in the second half and found a way to erase the deficit. Anderson hit a 3-pointer that sparked a 13-6 run that lasted 3:27. Owen Moriarty closed out the half with five consecutive points. He banked in a layup through contact and converted the and-one opportunity. Moriarty hit a pair of free throws the next time down the court to tie the game 53-53 with 10:15 left.
 
The Wildcats rattled off an 8-0 run that put the Falcons down 61-53 with seven minutes to play. Maui Sze scored, followed by a 3-point play from Penigar. Anderson scored six consecutive points to pull the Falcons to three with 1:23 to go in the game. The Wildcats hit free throws down the stretch and took the game.  
 
The Wildcats received a massive boost from their bench. The group scored 31 points to just 10 points from the Falcons. SPU shot better (41.7 percent), made more 3-pointers (seven), and had a better free throw percentage (81.8) than the Wildcats, but it wasn't enough.
 
The Falcons return to Royal Brougham Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 11 for a conference game against Simon Fraser at 5:15 p.m.
 
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