LACEY, Wash – The paint was plugged up. But the Seattle Pacific Falcons found plenty of daylight from downtown.
Now, they find themselves one step from a championship.
Mason Landdeck pumped in 24 points, including a pair of clinching free throws with 6.1 seconds left, and SPU buried 13 shots from behind the arc to beat Northwest Nazarene in the semifinals of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament on Friday, 73-68.
"This one feels good," Landdeck said. "Coach Fazio said we came here for three games, and we have one more. This was a very physical game. We had to match it. Jaxon Nap had a great game shutting down their leading scorer."
"NNU is the most physical team in our conference, and it showed in the first half," head coach Keffrey Fazio added. "During halftime, we told our guys that they couldn't give into that. Our guys did a really good job of settling that. We ended up out-rebounding them, and we needed every one of them. If you're going to beat a quality team in March, you have to shoot the ball well. I'm grateful that I have such talented players that rise to these moments that they're in."
Julian Mora came off the bench to add 15 points for the No. 3-seeded Falcons (17-14). They will be back on the Marcus Pavilion court at Saint Martin's on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. to play Central Washington for the title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 1-seeded Wildcats (21-8) came out on top of a 101-100 double-overtime thriller against No. 5 seed Montana State Billings in Friday's second semifinal.
"I was trying to be patient and take advantage of moments where I was open," Mora said. "It's one of the things I can do for this team. Mason and my teammates did a good job of finding me. In these moments, you have to stay ready and trust the work you've put in."
Seattle Pacific shot a blistering 50 percent from 3-point range, draining 13 of 26 for 39 of its 73 points. The Falcons tallied just 22 points from closer range – but a crucial six of those came during the final two minutes of the game to fend off No. 2-seeded NNU (20-7). Landdeck was 5 of 10 from deep (8 of 15 overall) and Mora was 3 of 4 (6 of 7 overall).
"We spent a lot of the season figuring out what shots we wanted to take, and what we could leave behind us," Fazio said. "Every team goes on a journey to figure out what we want to be on and off the court. The shots that they were making tonight weren't because of my marker. Our guys found each other, had to poise to connect the dots with their teammates, and trust each other."
The Falcons led for most of the first half until going scoreless for the last 4 minutes, and 27 seconds while Northwest Nazarene went on an 8-0 run. That gave the Nighthawks a 32-30 lead at the break.
NNU then put up the first five points of the second half, stretching it to 37-30. Seattle Pacific answered with an 8-0 run that started with an Owen Moriarty five-point play: a pair of free throws after the Nighthawks were whistled for a technical foul, and then a trey from the top of the key on the ensuing possession to make it 37-35.
Landdeck followed with a 3-pointer from the left of the lane, and the Falcons were back in front, 38-37.
From there, the lead changed hands six more times. Down 53-52 with 9:16 left, SPU went on a 10-2 run to go in front for good. Mora had the first five points on a trey and a driving lay-in, then Landdeck hit a 3. Owen Moriarty, who played the final 9:39 saddled with four fouls, capped it with a pair of free throws to make it 62-55 at the 5:10 mark.
Five times after that, Northwest Nazarene cut it to five. Each time, the Falcons had an answer as they started finding just enough of an opening in the paint.
Landdek hit a turnaround 2-footer from straight in front for 64-57. A driving lay-in by Jaxon Nap made it 66-59. Landdeck, after dribbling the ball all around the right side of the court, then streaked down the lane for an uncontested lay-in to make it 68-61 with 51 seconds to go.
"It's what these guys do," Fazio said. "They get an opportunity to compete on the court. We had a game plan and they had to go out and execute it. The moments, especially in a tournament like this, are what they dream about. Being able to play well is a tribute to their hard work and everything they've done over the season. We had so many guys provide what the team needed to win."
At 68-63 with 38.2 seconds left. Grant Coleman restored the three-possession lead with a pair of free throws – the first of which bounced high off the back of the rim then fell through, and the second of which rattled all the way around and went in.
An NBA-length 3-pointer by Sullivan Menard with 7.8 seconds left brought NNU within three at 71.68. Another two free throws by Landdeck at 6.1 seconds essentially sealed it.
BY THE NUMBERS
-- While they were 13 of 26 from deep, the Falcons were 12 of 27 from closer range, finishing the day at 47.2 percent overall (25 of 53).
-- It was just the opposite for Northwest Nazarene: 50 percent from inside (23 of 46), but just 21.1 percent from outside (4 of 19) for a final mark of 41.5 percent (27 of 65).
-- Yaru Harvey led the Nighthawks with 19 points.
-- Jaxon Nap had just nine points for the Falcons, but grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out six assists. Landdeck also dished six helpers.
-- Both teams took exceptional care of the ball – just eight turnovers for SPU and two for Northwest Nazarene.
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