Thursday, March 1, 2018

ANCHORAGE – A 21-4 run over the first nine minutes of the first half provided Seattle Pacific the spark it needed Thursday as the No. 3 seeded Falcons knocked off the No. 5 seed and tournament host, Alaska Anchorage, 64-51 in the quarterfinals of the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The SPU held the Seawolves to just 7 of 28 from the field and 1 of 10 from three-point in the first half and held a 25-14 advantage in rebounding. The Falcons closed the night shooting 41.5 percent from the field.

With the win, Seattle Pacific advances to the semifinals on Friday at 2:15 p.m., where the Falcons will face No. 1 seed Western Oregon.

Sophomore guard Gabe Colosimo led Seattle Pacific with 17 points as he shot 5 of 10 from the field and 3 of 6 from three-point range. Hunter Eisenhower and Harry Cavell each scored 11 points while Nathan Streufert finished short of a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds.

DJ Ursery scored a career-high 24 points to lead Alaska Anchorage as he shot 9 of 19 from the field. Malik Clements added 11 points.

Seattle Pacific improved to 17-11 with the win while Alaska Anchorage ends its season at 15-14.

The Falcons opened the contest by scoring the first seven points, going up 7-0 on Colosimo’s three-pointer and 13-2 on Eisenhower’s three-pointer five minutes in. Seattle Pacific built a 17-point advantage, 21-4, on Trey Miller’s lay-in at the 10:36 mark.

After a three-minute scoring drought for both teams, the Seawolves scrambled back to within 14 points on Clements’ three-pointer with 6:42 left. Ursery brought UAA within 25-13 on a lay-in with 3:14 left and hit another with 1:21 to go as the Falcons went into the locker with a 27-17 lead.

Seattle Pacific opened the second half with an 11-2 run, which culminated on Cavell’s lay-up at the 15:06 mark that made the lead 40-19. The advantage hovered around the 20-point mark until three free throws by Clements started a 10-2 run that brought the Seawolves within 10 points, 53-43, with 4:25 left. Ursery would cut the lead to nine points with a pair of free throws with just over a minute left, but would come no closer.