SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team hosted Alaska Fairbanks in a crucial Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup on Thursday evening, when the Falcons stormed back to take a second half lead, but it was erased by a late run from the Nanooks, who went on to take the game 78-74.
 
FROM THE COACH
"This time of the year, urgency is most critical, and I thought Alaska Fairbanks made more winning plays than us, and that's what gets it done in late February conference games," head coach Keffrey Fazio said.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The early stages of the game between the Falcons and the Nanooks featured six ties and eight lead changes.
• Momentum swung in favor of the Nanooks over the final four minutes of the first half, when they closed it out on a 12-5 run.
  • UAF's Mike Miller led the charge with eight points during that span.
• Grant Coleman made a tough and-one layup with seven seconds left in the first half to trim the SPU deficit to six points at halftime.
• The Falcons trailed by 10 when a layup from Trace Evans started a 17-3 run.
  • SPU went 7-for-9 from the field during that 4:27 run.
  • Evans led the group with six points, while Theo McMillan had four.
  • The run gave the Falcons a 53-49 lead with 12:34 left in the second half.
• With 10:27 left to play, the Falcons went on an 11-2 run.
  • Henry Sandberg played well during this stretch, scoring six points for the Falcons.
  • The run lasted four minutes and gave the Falcons a 64-56 lead with 6:44 remaining in the game.
• The Nanooks mounted a furious comeback over the final 6:30 of the game, outscoring the Falcons 22-10 down the stretch.
  • UAF went 7-for-10 from the floor and made all six of their free throw attempts late in the game.
• The Nanooks took the game 78-74.

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• The Falcons shot 56.9 percent (29-for-51) from the floor against the Nanooks.
  • That includes a 61.5 percent (16-for-26) effort in the second half.
• Evans led the Falcons with 17 points on an efficient 7-for-11 shooting.
• McMillan was excellent, going 7-for-11 from the field on his way to 16 points, a team-high seven rebounds, and a game-high eight assists.
• Coleman scored 14 points, while Sandberg added 13 points of his own.
• The Falcons turned the ball over nine times, and the Nanooks scored 13 points off turnovers in the game.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Falcons entered the game as the sixth seed in the GNAC standings, with the Nanooks holding the seventh seed.
  • The top six teams in the standings at the end of the regular season qualify for the GNAC Championships, March 5-7 in Bellingham, Wash., at Western Washington University.
  • The Nanooks improved to 7-8 in conference play with three games remaining on their schedule, while the Falcons' record moved to 7-9 with two games left to play.
• The Falcons had their fifth-best field goal shooting game of the season against the Nanooks.
• McMillan had his sixth game with eight or more assists this season.

UP NEXT
The Falcons take on Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. inside Royal Brougham Pavilion.
 
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