SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team hosted Dominguez Hills in its third game in four days on Monday evening, when a fiery first-half performance from the Falcons was doused by the Toros, 88-77.
The Falcons jumped out to an early lead against the Toros with a 9-4 run to open the game. Trace Evans led the stretch with four points. Henry Sandberg had a 3-pointer, and Jaxon Nap got to the basket for a layup. From there, both teams continued to score often.
Mason Landdeck had a breakout first half for the Falcons on Monday night. The transfer from Le Moyne couldn't miss, scoring 14 points on four made 3-pointers in the first half. Grant Coleman complimented Landdeck's output with nine points in the first half on three made 3-pointers.
The Falcons went 10-for-18 from 3-point range in the first half. SPU had made 14 threes in the first two games of the season combined. The red-hot long-range shooting led the Falcons to a 52-45 lead at halftime.
That torrid first half shooting displayed slowed down drastically for the Falcons in the second half. They went 9-for-32 (28.1 percent) from the field in the final 20 minutes. CSUDH finished the game shooting 41 percent (25-for-61) from the field, led by 31 points from California Collegiate Athletic Association Preseason Player of the Year, Jeremy Dent-Smith.
Four Falcons finished the game with double-digit scoring performances. Landdeck led the Falcons with 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Coleman scored 13 points, while Evans had 11 points on a 5-for-5 shooting performance. Nap ended the game with 10 points and five rebounds.
"We're still trying to find consistency in our play," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "It was good to see guys like Mason and Grant get it going tonight. Hopefully, our guys see our potential and keep working toward reaching it."
The Falcons turn their attention to an exhibition game against the University of Washington on Wednesday at 7 p.m. It will be the first time the Falcons have played inside Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion since Nov. 1, 2018. The game will be on the Big10+. Tickets for the meeting between the Falcons and Huskies are available now.
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