Monday, March 4, 2024
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. –  Fighting for its tournament life, the Seattle Pacific men’s basketball team didn’t miss a beat, sweeping its final games of the regular season in Alaska to not only secure a spot at the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships this week, but lock in the No. 5 seed.

The Falcons opened the week with a 65-64 thriller over Alaska Anchorage last Thursday before rounding out the conference slate with a 62-56 victory over Alaska on Saturday. The pair of wins ensured SPU (17-14, 10-8 GNAC) a place in this week’s tournaments while also moving UAA down to the No. 6 seed and earning the Falcons selection as the GNAC Team of the Week.

“I’m really proud of our team and their finish to the conference season,” interim head coach Keffrey Fazio said. “The Alaska road trip is always a challenge and our players really battled to get two key wins for us as we head into the conference tournament. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, which is something we rely upon to help us win, but our defense got it done for us this trip. That’s a great sign as we head into March.”

Thursday’s game was a tightly contested affair with both teams shooting roughly the same from the field. The Falcons held the slim advantage in that category at 45.3%, proving to be a key factor in deciding the final outcome. Seattle Pacific built the foundation for the win in the first half, outscoring the Seawolves 34-24 to earn a 10-point lead heading into halftime. The first-half effort was highlighted by a 15-4 run for the Falcons over the 5:13 of the frame led by seven points from sophomore guard Owen Moriarty who finished the night with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Senior forward Shaw Anderson led all players in the win with 23 points for his third consecutive 20-point performance and his 18th of the season. Anderson played all but one minute against the Seawolves, going 8-for-13 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range and pulling in seven rebounds. Freshman guard Theo McMillan also played a key role for the SPU offense, dishing out a team-leading five assists off the bench without committing a single turnover to go along with three rebounds.

On Saturday, Seattle Pacific cemented its place as the No. 5 seed by defeating the Nanooks on a historic night for the program. Along with securing the team’s GNAC-record 12th tournament berth, Saturday’s win in Fairbanks also saw Anderson become the all-time leading scorer in program history with 1,959 points and counting after coming through with 16 points in the victory. Anderson’s points total eclipsed the previous program record of 1,948 points set by Loren Anderson from 1955-58. The total also moves Anderson into fifth in GNAC history with a very real potential to become just the fifth player in conference history to reach the 2,000-point milestone.

Anderson wasn’t the only senior forward to have a big night for the Falcons in Alaska though, as Kyle Luttinen matched Anderson with 16 points to tie for the team lead. Luttinen went 5-for-15 from in the field in 27 minutes off the bench, including four three-pointers, while also pulling in three rebounds and snagging a pair of steals. Sophomore forward Trace Evans also came through with double-digit points, scoring 11 on 5-of-9 from the field to go along with seven rebounds, three blocks and an assist. As a team, the Falcons limited the Nanooks to just 33.9% from the field and 21.1% from long range.

Seattle Pacific will be in action next on Thursday against Central Washington in the quarterfinals of the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships in Ellensburg.