SEATTLE – Jaxon Nap and
Owen Moriarty had career nights for the Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team during Saturday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener, but Montana State University Billings forced overtime and outlasted the Falcons 88-83.
Nap was heavily involved for the Falcons against the Yellowjackets. He was a rebounding machine, pulling down a career-high 17 rebounds for SPU. He had seven more rebounds than Kael Robinson, who led the Yellowjackets with 10. Nap boosted his season average from 7.1 rebounds per game to 8.2 rebounds on Saturday.
Nap had an efficient scoring night as well, scoring 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting. It was Nap's first double-double with the Falcons.
Nap's monster rebounding night was just shy of cracking the SPU record book. Six players are tied for seventh with 20 rebounds. Orville Anderson holds the program record with 25 rebounds against Portland State on Feb. 7, 1958.
Moriarty had a spectacular night for the Falcons on Saturday. He poured in a career-best 29 points on 10-for-23 shooting. He was perfect at the free throw line, making all nine of his attempts. Moriarty was a rebound away from a double-double, finishing the game with nine boards. Saturday was Moriarty's fifth game scoring 20 or more for the Falcons in his last six games.
"Jaxon and Owen had great games and played with tremendous effort," head coach
Keffrey Fazio said. Happy for them and especially how they did it. They battled all game."
Saturday's game between the Falcons and Yellowjackets came down to the final minutes of regulation. SPU trailed by one with 1:15 left to play when Moriarty gobbled up a rebound and sent a long outlet pass to
Trace Evans, who banked in a layup to put the Falcons up 68-67.
A bucket from the Yellowjackets had the Falcons trailing by one with 50 seconds left. SPU worked to find a good shot, and they did. The ball went into Evans, who kicked it into the corner for
Jonas La Tour. La Tour hit a massive 3-pointer to put the Falcons up 71-69 with 30 seconds left.
The Yellowjackets' star player and GNAC Preseason Player of the Year Jalen Tot drove to the basket to tie the game at 71. The Falcons held for the last shot but couldn't get it to fall.
SPU hung around in overtime, but MSUB outscored the Falcons 17-12 in the extra five minutes. Cooper Dewitt carried the Yellowjackets in overtime, scoring six points.
"I'm really pleased with the whole team and how we played together," Fazio added.
The Falcons are back inside Royal Brougham Pavilion on Saturday, Dec. 14 when they host Cal State East Bay at 5 p.m.
SPU SOCIAL
Seattle's only NCAA Division II Scholarship Program | #GoFalcons