ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team clinched its spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament with an 83-74 road win over Alaska Anchorage, as elite ball movement and a barrage of 3-point shots gave the Falcons the win.
SPU's spot in the GNAC tournament was clinched before its game against UAA had reached halftime. Central Washington beat Saint Martin's 87-70 in Ellensburg, Wash. Teams with 10 or more wins, like Montana State University Billings, Western Washington, Northwest Nazarene, and the Falcons were locked into the tournament with that result.
"Very proud of our team and the season we have had thus far," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "Starting slow like we did and then clinching a spot in the conference tournament is a great accomplishment. We still have more basketball in front of us and our focus will stay there."
The Falcons set a single-game season-best in 3-point shooting against the Seawolves. They made 16 3-pointers on Saturday night. The previous season-high happened in games against Douglas College on Dec. 21, 2024, and San Marcos on Nov. 16, 2024, when the Falcons made 12 3-pointers. Jonas La Tour led the Falcons with five 3-pointers against the Seawolves.
The Falcons shared the ball incredibly well against the Seawolves. They finished the game with 29 assists. It sets a new season-best for the Falcons.
Mason Landdeck made sure everyone scored on Saturday night. Landdeck finished the game with 13 assists. The program record belongs to Rob Diederichs, who dished out 19 assists against Central Washington on Feb. 25, 2010. The Falcons' single-game assist record is 38 from a game against Northwest Nazarene on Dec. 31, 2005.
"The ball movement tonight was special and as the coach of this group, very proud of what they did tonight," Fazio said. "Mason [Landdeck] can make these types of decisions and he was locked in tonight. Jaxon [Nap], Trace [Evans], and Henry [Sandberg] did a great job starting that great ball movement with simple decision-making."
Threes were falling for the Falcons throughout the first half against the Seawolves. SPU opened the game with a 12-6 run, powered by three 3-pointers. La Tour, Owen Moriarty, and Landdeck hit from deep in the first three minutes of the game.
The Seawolves grabbed their first and only lead with 10:34 left in the first half. UAA's 21-20 lead was short-lived, as Grant Coleman splashed home a 3-pointer 20 seconds later. It started a 24-10 run that closed out the first half. Coleman and La Tour hit threes. Henry Sandberg nailed three 3-pointers in the first half. The run gave the Falcons a 44-35 lead at halftime.
The Falcons buried nine 3-pointers in the first half. More impressive were the 17 assists the team racked up in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Landdeck ran the offense to perfection, picking up 10 assists in the first half. The Falcons entered the game averaging 10.8 assists per game. Landdeck nearly matched that in the first half.
The Falcons controlled the second half with a big run that lasted 10:12. SPU outscored UAA 29-16 during that stretch. They shot 10-for-14 with a 5-for-8 performance from 3-point range. La Tour led the run with eight points, while Coleman had seven points. SPU led 73-51 with 7:20 left to play and took the game by nine points.
Eight Falcons scored in Saturday's game. La Tour led the team with 23 points on an efficient 8-for-12 shooting. Landdeck, Coleman, and Sandberg scored 13 points each. Coleman was perfect from 3-point range, knocking down four attempts. Sandberg added four rebounds to his scoring outburst. Jaxon Nap led the squad with seven rebounds. Moriarty pulled down five rebounds. The Falcons bench outscored the Seawolves bench 28-8.
The Falcons have one game left on their regular-season schedule. It takes place on March 1, when the Falcons travel to Montana State University Billings. The game between the Falcons and Yellowjackets tips off at 1:00 p.m. PST.
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