SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team returned home to host Western Washington inside of a packed Royal Brougham Pavilion on Thursday night where the sharp-shooting Falcons finished the game with 23-12 run to beat the Vikings 97-86.
Thursday featured the 150th time the Falcons and Vikings have played one another. The game was high-scoring and came down to the final minutes. SPU led for the entire second half until the Vikings tied the game at 74 with 4:34 left to play. The Falcons answered with a 23-12 run down the stretch. They went 4-for-4 from the field, including three clutch 3-pointers. The Falcons went 12-for-14 from the free throw line to secure the victory.
"I feel like it's like the team is starting to really trust each other," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. I think that wasn't always there with us at the beginning of the year, and over the last month, we're starting to form who we are and what we want it to look like. It's fun because I think this team has a lot more room to improve on. Every conference game is always going to be a challenge. We were able to get enough stops down the stretch. I'm really proud."
Mason Landdeck came through in a big way in the final three minutes of the game. After a 3-pointer from Owen Moriarty, Landdeck splashed home two 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put the Falcons up 85-76 with 2:09 left. Landdeck finished with a season-high 21 points. He went 6-for-9 from the field, grabbed three rebounds, and had two assists in his best game as a Falcon.
"Mason has been doing a lot for us," Fazio said. "The ball found him late and that's what he can do. He made the right plays at the right time. He didn't turn it over tonight. He's a guy that has the ball in his hand a lot. I'm happy for him. Happy for all the guys."
The Falcons finished the game with four players with 18 or more points. Moriarty scored 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting. He added five rebounds and two assists to his stat line. Jaxon Nap scored 19 points on 6-for-7 shooting. He grabbed eight rebounds and tied Henry Sandberg for a team-high three assists. Jonas La Tour filled it up with 18 points and made all three of his 3-point attempts.
Nine Falcons played in Thursday's game, and eight players scored. SPU got a huge boost from its bench. The SPU reserves outscored the WWU reserves 36-11. Julian Mora led the bench with nine points on three made 3-pointers. The Falcons gained an advantage on the glass as well, out-rebounding the Vikings 29-25.
The Falcons shot the ball incredibly well against the Vikings. SPU shot 70.5 percent (31-for-44) for the game. That includes an 11-for-16 effort from 3-point range. Both came just shy of setting shooting percentage program records. The Falcons shot 71.2 percent (37-for-52) against BYU Hawaii on January 29, 2000. On Nov. 29, 2013, the Falcons shot 79.2 percent (19-for-24) from 3-point range against San Francisco State.
The Falcons return on Saturday when they host Simon Fraser at 2 p.m. inside Royal Brougham Pavilion.
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