The Falcons’ season was cut short in the middle of postseason play after their semifinal loss this past weekend.
Seattle Pacific University dove into the GNAC tournament in good standings after defeating the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves by a 13-point margin, 64-51.
After their quarterfinal win, the Falcons were lined up to take on the Western Oregon Wolves, who they lost to twice earlier in the regular season.
The trend stayed the same in the postseason with the Falcons losing by 27 points, 97-70.
“I am proud of our team for battling through the season and winning a conference tournament game,” head coach Grant Leep said. “We played hard and got better throughout the season.
This was a great group to coach. They build close relationships off the court and showed a great deal of grit, perseverance and toughness.”
The first game against the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves was a low scoring affair, three of SPU’s players scored double digits, Gabe Colosimo had 17 and both Harry Cavell and Hunter Eisenhower had 11.
However, the big statistic from the Falcons came in the rebound category with the team grabbing a total of 43 rebounds and Alaska Anchorage only snagging 25.
The Falcons led early against the Seawolves, with no lead changes SPU had control from the very start.
The next day is when the Falcons had to face the WOU Wolves.
The Falcons put up a fight but ended up losing in the end by a large margin.
The first half is where SPU lost control, by halftime the team was down by 20 points.
Despite the large margin, the Falcons kept the scoring close in the second half of play, scoring 43 to WOU’s 50.
The fourth-seeded Falcons (17-12) concluded the campaign with their most lopsided loss, a 27-point setback.
Throughout the season the Falcons only suffered two double-digit defeats and the largest was by 14 points, 95-81, at Western Oregon on Feb. 8.
Western Oregon’s Tanner Omlid and Vince Boumann combined for 40 points.
Omlid, WOU’s 6-foot-4-inch senior forward, was named the GNAC Player of the Year on Monday, Feb. 26.
Both Omild and Boumann played their final games with WOU as they are graduating this spring.
The Falcons have two senior departing as well, EJ Poulsen and Hunter Eisenhower.
“I’m proud of EJ and Hunter,” Leep said. “They bought in completely, pushed aside personal agendas for the betterment of our team. They are each a very valued member of what we have begun to build the last few years.”
Despite the seniors leaving, Leep said he is proud to be back to coach next year and that SPU is extremely strong and ready for the next season.
“I feel as though we’ve done a good job of developing our players,” Leep said.
“Our guys got better as the year went on which is a testament to the work of my assistant coaches, Kegan Bone, Matt Borton and George Parker.
Our team culture is developing and really starting to take shape in a positive way. We are always working to improve. I love the continuity our staff has had and we will continue to get better and better with this team.
We have very high goals from a competitive win/loss standpoint and we want to continue to make strides there as well.”
Even though the season has come to an end for the men’s basketball team, the question of when Tony Miller, the team’s top scorer, will return to the team lingers
Leep said he could not comment on the matter.
