SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team opened its 2024-25 season in front of a packed crowd at Royal Brougham Pavilion on Friday night but couldn't maintain their shooting pace in the second half against Chico State and fell 76-73 in the season opener.
The Falcons opened the 2024-25 season with lights-out shooting in the first half against Chico State. SPU hit 57.1 percent (16-for-28) of their attempts in the first half and held a 44-42 lead at halftime. Things turned in the second half when the Falcons went 11-for-33 (33 percent) from the field.
"I think where we went wrong offensively, is that we just had the rush to score on our own," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "We were trying to make the big play. I love that our guys have that kind of fight. They want that kind of responsibility, and they'll get to a point where they can handle it. When we had the ball moving, our offense was really good. With this group, we got to live more into that flow, the extra pass, the ball popping around. That's going to be where we operate the best from."
Even with shooting struggles in the second half, the Falcons fought back into the game. SPU trailed 72-63 with just under seven minutes left to play. From there, the Falcons went on a 10-3 run over 5:38. Grant Coleman hit a big 3-pointer followed by five points from Owen Moriarty. Julian Mora hit two clutch free throws with 1:11 left in the game to bring the Falcons to within one point.
Chico State had chances to extend their lead, but the Falcons came up with stop after stop. Jonas La Tour pulled down a huge defensive rebound with 20 seconds left to give the Falcons a chance to tie or take the lead. SPU couldn't find the basket they needed late to take Friday's game.
Trace Evans had a huge season-opener for the Falcons. He led everyone with 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting while pulling down 11 rebounds. It was Evans' third double-double of his career with the Falcons.
Moriarty, Mora, and Jaxon Nap scored in double-figures for the Falcons. Moriarty poured in 16 points and made two 3-pointers. Mora and Nap matched each other with 12 points each. Nap had the second-most rebounds on the team with six against the Wildcats.
"I think we played well enough to win," Fazio said. "We didn't turn the ball over too much. We had four guys double figures. I thought we got the ball inside to Trace consistently. That was nice to have that stability. He's been working hard and we're happy he had a good night tonight."
The Falcons return for day two of the CCAA Crossover for a game against Cal Poly Pomona at 7:30 p.m.
"This time of the year is challenging," Fazio added. "You learn a lot on the court. This time of the year, you find out who you are, and you must find out quickly because these games matter. The quicker you figure out what you want and don't want, and can separate those two things, the better the better off you will be."
SPU SOCIAL
Seattle's only NCAA Division II Scholarship Program | #GoFalcons