SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team showed the will to win against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday afternoon as two late defensive stops gave the Falcons a narrow 66-64 victory over the Nighthawks on their home court.
The Falcons put it on the Nighthawks during the middle of the first half. SPU trailed 9-8 when
Shaw Anderson sparked a 19-7 run that lasted 7:57. The Falcons shot 7-for-11 during the run while holding the Nighthawks to just two made baskets. SPU's scoring was balanced, as six different Falcons filled it up during the run.
Jadin Penigar (6) and
Owen Moriarty (5) led the offense during the span.
SPU never lost its lead at any point in the second half. However, the Falcons led by five or fewer points for the majority of the final 20 minutes. The game was ultimately decided by two crucial defensive possessions from the Falcons.
The Falcons led the Nighthawks 64-62 when the Nighthawks pulled down a rebound and called a timeout.
Theo McMillan checked into the game for SPU for defense. NNU's entry pass was tipped out of bounds by McMillan. The Nighthawks had another chance to tie the game. The Falcons stood firm, forcing a five-second call and a turnover from NNU. Moriarty's two free throws put the game out of reach and gave the Falcons the win.
"It was a real fight out there for everything," interim head coach
Keffrey Fazio said. "They are a very physical team, and our guys were ready for that. Once we settled in, we were better and guarding and staying in position. When games are as tight as this one was, it comes down to trusting the guy next to you and doing whatever you can do to get that stop. It came down to our will to get it done. I'm glad we had that fight and perseverance to get it done."
Shaw Anderson entered Saturday's game 13 points from moving into second all-time in scoring in program history. He'd finish the game with 17 points and move his career total to 1,802 points. Anderson passed David Downs's (2011-14) 1,786 points for third before passing Dustin Bremerman's (2003-07) 1,797 points for second. He trails program leader Loren Anderson (1955-58) whose 1,948 points are the most in program history.
"He's just special," Fazio said. "I've said it 100 times, and I'll keep saying that we're lucky to be here while Shaw's at SPU. Guys like this come around every so often. There's nobody that I've coached that deserves the accolades he'll have earned more than Shaw. He's the hardest worker, he's never complained, whined, or had a bad attitude at any point during his time here. As members of the SPU community, we couldn't ask for a better person to be doing this, because he's about everything right."
The Falcons head north next weekend to face Western Washington and Simon Fraser. The weekend starts when SPU plays WWU on Thursday at 7 p.m.
SPU SOCIAL
Seattle's only NCAA Division II Scholarship Program | #GoFalcons