BILLINGS, Mont. – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team played its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference game of the 2025-26 season against Montana State University Billings on Saturday afternoon, where a second half push from the Yellowjackets stung the Falcons, 77-70.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The early stages of the first half featured four ties and two lead changes between the Falcons and Yellowjackets.
• Henry Sandberg banked in a layup that started a 17-5 run for the Falcons that lasted 9:16.
• • The Falcons were excellent defensively during that stretch, holding the Yellowjackets to a 2-for-12 performance from the field.
  • Julian Mora led the Falcons with six points, while Sandberg scored five, and Aengus Sutherland scored four points during the run.
  • The run gave the Falcons a 26-15 lead with 4:57 left in the first half.
• Mora closed out the first half in style, drilling a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Falcons a 33-26 lead at the break.
• The Falcons shot it well during the first 20 minutes of the game, going 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) from the field.
• The Falcons led by seven with 14:30 left in the game, when the Yellowjackets put together a 16-5 run to take a 55-54 lead.
• Mora splashed another 3-pointer that tied the game at 61 with 5:18 left to play.
• The Yellowjackets closed out the game on a 16-9 run and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to secure the game.

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• The Falcons shot it well throughout Saturday's game, finishing with a 49 percent (21-for-49) effort from the field, including 10 made 3-pointers.
• SPU turned the ball over 14 times, leading to 16 points off turnovers for MSUB.
• Mora led the Falcons with 20 points, while adding five rebounds and three assists to his totals.
• • He went 5-for-8 from 3-point range on Saturday.
• Sandberg scored 14 points on an efficient 4-for-7 effort from the field.
• Trace Evans scored 12 points for SPU, shooting 71.4 percent from the field for the game.
• Grant Coleman made three 3-pointers on his way to scoring 11 points for the Falcons.
• Theo McMillan led the group with seven rebounds.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Mora has scored 20 or more points in back-to-back games for the Falcons.
• Sandberg made five free throws on Saturday, the most of any single game in his career.

UP NEXT
The Falcons fly south for two games in California next weekend. Action starts against Cal State East Bay on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 4:00 p.m. Then, SPU plays a rare Sunday game against San Francisco State on Dec. 14, at 2:00 p.m.

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