SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team honored Maui Sze, DJ Clark, Kobe Elsner, and Shaw Anderson before Saturday's game against Montana State University Billings where the Falcons lit it up from distance, sinking 16 3-point shots on their way to a 91-80 victory over the Yellowjackets.
"Maui, DJ, Kobe, and Shaw have meant so much to our program during their time with us," interim head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "It was great to show them the appreciation we could before the game. Then, for us to come out and play how we did was awesome. We're happy to send the seniors off like this and pick up a huge win in regards to our postseason hopes."
The Falcons did a nice job of keeping pace with the Yellowjackets in the first half. MSUB led 45-41 at the break. Coming out of halftime, the Falcons blew past the Yellowjackets to take control of the game.
SPU went on a 39-17 run that took place over the first 11:49 of the second half. The Falcons were an incredible 13-for-17 during that stretch including eight made 3-pointers. Anderson led the squad with 11 points, while Owen Moriarty followed close behind with eight points. The run gave the Falcons an 80-62 lead with 7:04 left in a game they would secure.
"We understand where we are in the season and what this game and the rest of our schedule mean," Fazio said. "We've been talking about urgency all week because we needed it. Our goal is to play postseason basketball. The way we shot the ball, the way we assisted and let the ball move led to a win that hopefully can get us closer to that goal."
Anderson led the Falcons with 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting while making all five of his free throw attempts. Anderson grabbed four rebounds and led the team with five assists, all coming in the first half. Moriarty put on a shot with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
Kyle Luttinen and Jonas La Tour led the 3-point barrage for the Falcons. Both players made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points each. Luttinen added five rebounds and two blocks while La Tour had four assists.
SPU shot 62.3 percent (33-for-53) from the field and 55.2 percent (16-for-29) from 3-point range. The Falcons dished out 19 assists and received 30 points off the bench from the reserves.
The Falcons finish out their regular season with a critical trip to Alaska. They'll start the weekend with a game against Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 8:30 p.m. PST.
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