SAN DIEGO – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team took on one of the top teams in the country in No. 13 Point Loma on Friday afternoon. Trace Evans scored a career-high 27 points for the Falcons, but it wasn't enough to take down the Sea Lions.
Evans was fantastic for the Falcons against the Sea Lions. He scored a career-high 27 points on an efficient 13-for-18 shooting performance. The big man from down under gobbled up nine rebounds. His passing was also on point, dishing out four assists in the game. Evans led the Falcons in all three categories on Friday.
"I thought he did well getting early positioning," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "Guys were finding him. He had a big night for us."
SPU played a strong first half against PLNU. The Falcons jumped to an early 12-7 lead after Own Moriarty banked home a layup. The Sea Lions found a way to get in front of the Falcons with 12 minutes left in the first half.
SPU needed a run to close out the first half against the PLNU, as their lead had grown to 10 points. Jaxon Nap hit four consecutive free throws, followed by two more from Moriarty. SPU chipped away at the lead until a tip-in from Evans brought the Falcons to within three points of the Sea Lions at the end of the first half.
The Falcons shot it well in the first half. They went 15-for-28 (53.57 percent) from the field over the first 10 minutes. SPU's shooting pace slowed down in the second half. They made 10 field goals and shot 35.71 percent in the final 20 minutes of the game. Those struggles allowed the Sea Lions to pull away and take the game.
Moriarty entered Friday's game by scoring 20 points in each of the last three games. That streak came to an end, but Moriarty was still productive. He scored 14 points and went 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Nap came close to another double-double for the Falcons. He scored 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds.
Evans' big night led the Falcons to 40 points in the paint on Friday. The Falcons also gained an advantage on the glass, pulling down 36 rebounds. It was four more than Point Loma. Jonas La Tour supplied the only points off the bench with six.
"Our guys played hard for most of the game just a few stretches here and there where we lost our focus," Fazio said. "Anytime you play against the top teams in the country and don't stay connected. They usually make you pay for that."
The Falcons take on Vanguard at 2 p.m. tomorrow during day two of the PLNU Thanksgiving Classic.
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