SEATTLE – After a busy opening week of the 2024-25 season, the Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team hosts Linfield on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. inside Royal Brougham Pavilion. Then the team heads to San Diego to take part of the PLNU Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 29-30.
QUOTABLE
"We're looking forward to getting back on the court," head coach
Keffrey Fazio said. "It was nice to get in the practice gym and work on a few things. This team still has a lot of potential we are trying to access each day. Looking forward to being back on our home floor."
FINDING CONSISTENCY
The Falcons wrapped up a busy opening week with their most complete game of the early season. SPU took down San Marcos 76-71 last Saturday in Azusa, Calif.
The Falcons owned the first half of Saturday's game against the Cougars.
Trace Evans scored seven consecutive points that started a 36-18 run over the final 16:42 of the opening half.
Jonas La Tour was the leading scorer for the Falcons with eight points during that stretch.
As a team, the Falcons shot 57.1 percent (16-for-28) during the first half. They were even better from deep, hitting 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from 3-point range. Defensively, the Falcons held the Cougars to 34.5 first half shooting percentage.
Even with the stellar first half, the Falcons needed to push late to secure the win. A four-point play for the Cougars moved the score to 69-68 with 1:44 left.
Owen Moriarty answered with a three-point play of his own. The tough basket started a 7-3 run for SPU over the final 1:24 of the game.
A CAREER WEEKEND FOR OWEN
Owen Moriarty had a fabulous weekend for the Falcons at the PacWest/GNAC Challenge. Moriarty was unstoppable for the Falcons against Azusa Pacific last Friday night. He poured in a career-high 23 points on a 9-for-17 shooting performance. Moriarty pulled down a career-high seven rebounds as well. He finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, and two assists for the Falcons.
Moriarty was spectacular for the Falcons again on Saturday night. He matched a career-high 23 points on an ultra-efficient 8-for-10 shooting performance. He was perfect from 3-point range, making all four of his attempts. He also knocked down all three of his free throw ties.
Moriarty finished the weekend with 46 points on 17-for-27 shooting with six 3-pointers. He added nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals during his stellar weekend.
EARLY STANDOUTS
Moriarty has propelled the SPU offense thus far, averaging 15.4 points per game. He ranks eighth best in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference after five games played. Moriarty is hitting 47.1 percent of his 3-point attempts, the eighth-best in the conference. He's shooting 93.8 percent from the free throw line.
Evans is also averaging double-digit scoring with 11 points per game in five games. He owns the second-best field goal percentage in the GNAC, hitting on 68.4 percent of his attempts.
Jaxon Nap's size and athleticism have proven beneficial for the Falcons. He leads the team with 7.4 rebounds per game. That's the fourth best in the conference to this point. Nap is scoring 7.8 points per game. He's dishing out 3.2 assists per game and is inside the top 10 in the GNAC.
ABOUT LINFIELD
The Wildcats were picked to finish eighth in the Northwest Conference's Preseason Coches Poll. Head Coach Levi Sieg is entering his second season at the helm of the Wildcats. He'll lean on experience from Jack Greenwood, Josh Ryan, and Jake Downing. The Wildcats are 1-4 in the early parts of the 2024-25 season. Saturday's contest is an exhibition for Linfield.
ABOUT #17 POINT LOMA
The Sea Lions were a unanimous selection for the top spot in the PacWest Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Point Loma received all 14 first place votes for a perfect poll score of 196. Second-year coach Justin Downer returned five starters. PLNU's loaded roster has turned into positive results in the early stages of the season. They took down #22 Fort Lewis and #19 Florida Southern in the season's opening weekend. The Sea Lions are ranked 17th in the country by the National Association of Basketball Coaches national poll.
ABOUT VANGUARD
Vanguard is new to the NCAA, having joined Division II and the PacWest Conference at the beginning of the 2024-25 academic year. Vanguard has a new gym to play in for eight returnees and five transfers. Head coach Rhett Holiday (14th season, 222-184) has one Division I signee and three D-II in that mix.
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