PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its Team of the Week award on Monday, with Seattle Pacific University men's basketball named Co-Team of the Week after winning the GNAC Championship last weekend.
"What a ride," head coach
Keffrey Fazio said. "The word that quickly comes to mind is proud. I am proud of what our team overcame this season and ultimately accomplished last weekend in Lacey. This is a real team; these guys all love each other."
The Falcons put together a convincing march through the GNAC Tournament. The Falcons flattened Alaska Fairbanks 81-47 in the opening round. The Falcons took down Northwest Nazarene 73-68 in the semifinals. Then, in the championship game, the Falcons beat Central Washington 72-61 to claim their conference-record fifth GNAC title.
Several Falcons put together strong weekends during their tournament run.
Mason Landdeck was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. He scored 57 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, and dished out 16 assists over the three games. He opened the tournament with a monstrous double-double. He scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Falcon's win over the Nanooks.
Jaxon Nap and
Owen Moriarty were named to the All-Tournament team as well. Nap had double-figure rebounds in each of the three games played. He pulled down 15 rebounds in the championship game against the Wildcats. Nap's grabbed double-digit rebounds 17 times this season.
Moriarty had impressive scoring outbursts for the Falcons throughout the weekend. He dropped 18 points in SPU's opening-round victory over UAF. Then in the championship game, Moriarty led the Falcons with 20 points while going 6-for-8 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
Julian Mora made a triumphant return to the court during the GNAC Tournament. Mora hadn't played since Jan. 23. He provided a huge spark for the Falcons, scoring 15 points in the semifinals before adding 11 points in the championship game. Mora was deadly from 3-point range, finishing the weekend 6-for-9 from deep.
The Falcons look ahead to the NCAA Tournament this weekend. They'll take part in the West Regional in San Diego. The Falcons face host Point Loma on Friday at 5:00 p.m.
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