MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team picked up its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference win, as four Falcons scored in double-figures against Western Oregon on Saturday that lifted the Falcons over the Wolves, 81-68.
"Any road win in the conference is a good win," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "We stuck to our game plan. We did a nice job of sharing the basketball. As a team, we showed better resilience during some of their runs."
The Falcons lit it up in the first half against the Wolves. They went 20-for-33 from the field (60.6 percent), including five 3-pointers. The hot shooting helped the Falcons lead 96.3 percent of the first half.
SPU used an 18-6 run that lasted 5:35 in the middle of the first half. Jonas La Tour and Mason Landdeck scored five points each during that time. The burst gave the Falcons a 24-11 lead with 11:26 left in the opening half.
The Falcons led 47-34 entering the second half. The Wolves tried to chip away at the deficit, but SPU kept holding them off. The Falcons gained an advantage on the glass, pulling 35 rebounds to 24 from the Wolves. SPU forced WOU to turn the ball 11 times and turned those turnovers into 17 points.
Owen Moriarty put together a fantastic night for the Falcons. He turned in a game-high 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting, with a 7-for-9 performance from the free throw line. He added five rebounds, two blocks, and three steals to his state line in the SPU win.
La Tour had his season's best rebounding performance on Saturday. He pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Falcons. La Tour scored 12 points to secure his first double-double as a Falcon. La Tour led the Falcons in assists with four as well.
"I'm happy for Jonas," Fazio said. "He's been working hard. He continues to improve and grow his game. He had a nice night rebounding for us and helped us offensively like he's able to. We had several guys that played well tonight."
Jaxon Nap was a rebound away from his sixth consecutive game with double-figure rebounds. He pulled down nine while pouring in 19 points. He went 7-for-11 from the field in his efficient scoring performance.
Henry Sandberg was the final Falcon to score in double-figures against the Wolves. He scored 10 points while going 4-for-5 from the field.
The Falcons return to Royal Brougham Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 9 when they host Western Washington at 7:30 p.m.
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