SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team hits the road for two more critical Great Northwest Athletic Conference games. The Falcons visit Western Washington on Thursday followed by an international trip to Simon Fraser on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
QUOTABLE
"Every game at this point of the season is big. We look to build on a nice home stand, as we travel north to face two quality opponents. We know every night in this conference, you must be ready to compete for 40 minutes. That's what our preparation will hopefully lead us to." interim head coach
Keffrey Fazio
BUILT FOR THE MOMENT
SPU hosted Central Washington last Thursday night when the Falcons needed and overcame two separate 10-point deficits that were punctuated emphatically by a last-second put-back layup from
Shaw Anderson that proved to be the game-winner of a 77-75 SPU victory.
The Falcons turned to their star in Thursday's victory over the Wildcats. Anderson was sensational throughout the game, scoring 33 points on 13-for-25 shooting, with six rebounds and five assists. His biggest bucket of the game proved to be his last.
SPU started its final possession with 9.3 seconds left in the game and the score tied at 75.
Maui Sze sent a long pass down court where
Owen Moriarty caught it and attacked the basket. Moriarty threw up a tough shot that bounced hard off the backboard. While most turned to see if the shot would fall, Anderson flew down the lane for the putback opportunity. He'd rebound and shoot the ball in one motion, laying it up and in to put the Falcons up by two.
SPU defended for 3.3 seconds, and despite a decent look for the Wildcats, walked away victorious on their home floor for the eighth time this season.
CLUTCH DEFENSIVE STOPS
SPU 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 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.
ANDERSON'S HISTORIC WEEKEND
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.
SHOOTING IT WELL
Through 11 conference games, the Falcons fare well in a handful of statistical categories. SPU leads the GNAC in field goal percentage, hitting 48.7 percent of their attempts. They also lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage with 38.9 percent of their shots falling. SPU leads in 3-point field goals made with 102 for an average of 9.3 makes per GNAC game.
EFFICIENCY DOWN LOW
Trace Evans ranks second in the GNAC in field goal percentage. The big man is hitting on 58.6 percent of his attempts while averaging 10 points per game.
KNOCKDOWN FALCONS
Jadin Penigar and
Kyle Luttinen are in range the moment they walk into the gym. Penigar is hitting 41 percent of his 3-point tries, while Luttinen is connecting on 40.9 percent. The duo ranks eighth and ninth in the GNAC respectively.
Luttinen is hitting 2.3 3-pointers per game and has made 54 threes this season. He's averaging the fifth most makes per game in the GNAC and has made the second-most 3-pointers in the conference.
HOW THE STANDINGS ARE SHAPING UP
After beating CWU and NNU last weekend, the Falcons are fighting for third in the conference standings. The Falcons and Wildcats are tied for fourth in the standings, while Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington follow closely.
- MSU Billings (9-2)
- Saint Martin's (8-3)
- Northwest Nazarene (7-4)
- Central Washington (6-5)
Seattle Pacific (6-5)
- Alaska Anchorage (5-5)
- Western Washington (5-6)
- Alaska Fairbanks (3-7)
- Simon Fraser (3-8)
- Western Oregon (2-8)
GNAC teams are competing to make the conference tournament hosted by Central Washington in Ellensburg, Wash. from March 7-9. The top six teams are invited, with the top two seeds earning a bye into the semifinals.
ABOUT WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Vikings are 13-9 this season, and 5-6 in GNAC play. WWU's calling card is its fast-paced offense that has averaged a GNAC-best 86.5 points per game against conference opponents. The team is allowing 84.2 points per game against GNAC teams. The high-powered offense flows through Kai Johnson, who leads the league with 22.2 points per game. Will Wilson sits in sixth with 15 points per game.
The Falcons hosted the Vikings on Jan. 13 and picked up an 89-74 victory at Royal Brougham Pavilion. WWU entered the game averaging 94.9 points per game. SPU locked in defensively, holding the visitors under 75 points. WWU went 23-for-55 (41.8 percent) from the field with just seven made 3-pointers.
SPU's offense was in sync with its defense against WWU. The Falcons went 32-for-55 (58.2 percent) from the field with 11 made 3-pointers. Those threes proved to be timely, as the Falcons knocked down nine in the second half and shot nearly 70 percent from 3-point range. SPU dished out 14 assists, led by five from Sze.
ABOUT SIMON FRASER
The Red Leafs are 5-17 in 2023-24 and own a 3-8 conference record. However, the team enters this week after immense success on the road their last time out. They took down Western Oregon 88-87 in overtime before pulling off a 74-72 upset victory over #13 Saint Martin's. Immanuel Oludele scored a career-high 16 points, with the final two being a buzzer-beating layup to give the Red Leafs the win. David Penney earned his first GNAC Player of the Week honor this season. He averaged 17.5 points and 4.5 assists per game last week while maintaining an assist-turnover ratio of 2.3 and shooting 57.1% from the field (12-for-21).
The Falcons played the Red Leafs on Jan. 11 and cruised to an 83-63 win. The Falcons enjoyed a balanced offensive attack against the Red Leafs. The team went 30-for-60 (50 percent) from the field and accrued 19 assists. SPU splashed home 14 3-pointers against SFU.
Moriarty led the way for the Falcons with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting with four made 3-pointers. Anderson followed closely with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The Kelso Native was a rebound away from a double-double, finishing with nine.
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