SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team had big performances from Theo McMillan, Trace Evans, and Connor Drinkwine, with critical stops late in their game against Central Washington on Thursday night to earn a 66-63 victory over the Wildcats in front of a packed crowd at Royal Brougham Pavilion.
 
FROM THE COACH
"Connor [Drinkwine] stepped up big time," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "We needed it. That's what he can do for us. He's a smart and veteran player. Trace [Evans] and Theo [McMillan] have been solid for us all season. Need them to keep going. Proud of our team and their fight."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons opened the game with a 14-3 run over the Wildcats that lasted just under four minutes.
  • SPU went 5-for-7 from the field during that span.
  • Connor Drinkwine scored seven of those 14 points for the Falcons.
• The Wildcats took a 19-18 lead with 9:47 left in the first half.
• A deep 3-pointer from Grant Coleman sparked a 23-12 run for the Falcons that lasted 8:31.
  • SPU made 10 field goals during that stretch, led by eight points from Theo McMillan.
    • McMillan scored back-to-back-to-back buckets for the Falcons during the run.
• The Wildcats scored five points in the final minute of the first half, as the Falcons carried a 41-36 lead into halftime.
• With 16:28 left in the game, the Falcons went on an 11-2 run lasting five minutes, giving the Falcons a 56-42 lead with 11:47 left to play.
  • Evans and Julian Mora led the charge with four points each during that time.
• CWU chipped away at the SPU lead throughout the second half, trimming the Falcons' lead to one point with 2:29 remaining in the game.
• Evans hit a jump shot with 1:56 left to put the Falcons up 64-61.
• The Wildcats trimmed the Falcons' lead to one point again after Jordan Clark made two free throws with 17 seconds left.
• Clark took a jumper that was blocked by Evans with eight seconds left, and Logan Kinloch was there to grab the rebound.
• Kinloch was fouled and sent to the free throw line, where he hit one free throw to put SPU up 66-63.
• The Falcons put together one more defense stop to win the game on their home floor.

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• The Falcons went 28-for-64 (43.8 percent) from the field and made five 3-pointers on Thursday night.
• Evans led the Falcons with 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds while adding three assists and three blocks, including the one that secured the game.
• McMillan scored 16 points with a game-high nine rebounds while leading the Falcons with six assists.
• Drinkwine finished with 16 points on an efficient 7-for-9 shooting from the field.
• Kinloch provided six rebounds for the Falcons, the third most on the team.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• McMillan finished with an SPU career-high 16 points on 8-for-16 shooting on Thursday night.
• Drinkwine finished with an SPU career-high 16 points while going 7-for-9 from the field on Thursday night.
• Kinloch grabbed a season-high six rebounds for the Falcons on Thursday night.
• Evans took a career-high 23 shots on Thursday night. 

UP NEXT
The Falcons return to Royal Brougham Pavilion on Saturday when they host Northwest Nazarene at 2:00 p.m.

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