SAN DIEGO – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team finished their weekend at the PLNU Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday, where Owen Moriarty reached a milestone, but the Falcons fell to Vanguard, 90-67.
Moriarty's milestone culminates in his second season with SPU. Moriarty has scored 1,000 collegiate points between Bellevue College and Seattle Pacific. He joined the Falcons after a season at nearby Bellevue College. Moriarty scored 596 points with the Bulldogs during the 2022-23 season.
Moriarty has started every game for the Falcons since arriving at SPU. His SPU total has moved to 456 points over the weekend. Moriarty's start to the 2024-25 season has been excellent. He's scoring 16.6 points per game, the most on the team. He's also averaging 3.8 rebounds per game and two assists per game for the Falcons.
"Owen has turned into a pretty special scorer," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "He really knows how to get downhill and put pressure on the rim. We'll need him to continue to be solid for us as we sort some other things out in our lineup. He's a tough, scrappy player, and we're happy he's a Falcon."
Moriarty led the Falcons in scoring once again against the Lions. He finished the game with 22 points. Moriarty has scored 20 more points in four of his last five games for the Falcons. Moriarty was efficient against the Lions, going 7-for-10 from the field, including two made 3-pointers. Moriarty added four rebounds and an assist to his totals from Saturday.
Saturday's game between the Falcons and the Lions was fast-paced. Moriarty, Trace Evans, and Mason Landdeck powered the SPU offense throughout the first half. Moriarty led the group with 11 points while going 4-for-5 from the field, including two 3-pointers.
Evans entered Saturday's game after a career night on Friday. He set a new personal best with 27 points against No. 13 Point Loma. Evans had eight points in the first half of Saturday's game. He added five rebounds to a solid first 20 minutes against the Lions.
Landdeck checked in with seven points in the first half against Vanguard. Even with the solid scoring output from a trio of Falcons, SPU trailed Vanguard 40-34 at halftime.
A cold stretch hurt the Falcons coming out of halftime. The Lions went on a 21-7 run over the first 6:37 of the second half. Their lead ballooned to 61-41 with a little more than 12 minutes left in the game. SPU couldn't work back into the game and fell to the Lions.
The Falcons open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Dec. 7. They'll host Montana State University Billings at 2 p.m. inside Royal Brougham Pavilion.
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