What’s new?
After six years away, the Falcons return for the crown.
Seattle Pacific University’s men’s basketball team has not reached the conference championship since 2019, when it defeated Western Oregon University 78-66 for the title. The Falcons were previously three-peat champions, from 2013-15.
The third-seeded Seattle Pacific men’s basketball team defeated the second-seeded Northwest Nazarene University 73-68 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, March 7, advancing to the championship.
Seattle Pacific led for most of the first half, but it was not without multiple close calls. Northwest Nazarene was never behind more than 6 points and forced four ties. Seattle Pacific finally lost the lead 32-30 just 1:02 before halftime.
Five minutes into the second half, the Falcons regained the lead twice at 38-37 and 41-39, courtesy of three-pointers from redshirt-junior guard Mason Landdeck and junior forward Grant Coleman.
Seattle Pacific held the lead the rest of the way, but NNU trailed dangerously close. The Falcons nearly lost the lead a fourth time when NNU tied the score 50-50 with 10 minutes remaining. Seven combined points from redshirt-sophomore Julian Mora and junior guard Jaxon Nap brought the lead back to SPU.
It was a nail-biter in the final seven seconds when NNU pulled within three points of SPU at 71-68. Two free throws from the Landdeck and a final defensive rebound from Nap secured the win for the Falcons.
Seattle Pacific was narrowly boxed out of the paint but more than made up for it at the outer arch. The Falcons nearly tied the record for made three-pointers in a GNAC game, shooting 13 made three-pointers out of 26 shots, the record being 14 made.
Top scorers:
Landdeck led the charge with 24 points, followed by Mora with a career-high 15.
Upcoming:
Seattle Pacific will face the No. 1 seed, Central Washington University, in the GNAC championship game on Saturday, March 8, at 5 p.m.
The Falcons are 17-14 overall and 11-7 in the GNAC. Central Washington is 14-4 in the GNAC and 21-8 overall. Central Washington has swept SPU in the season series 0-2.
Seattle Pacific’s field goal shooting is its closest statistic match to CWU, shooting a slight 1.4% less than Central Washington’s 49.3%.
On the offensive side, Central Washington’s redshirt-senior forward Mitch Britzee and SPU’s junior forward Trace Evans have the two best field goal percentages in the GNAC — 67.7% and 62.1%, respectively. At the three-point arch, CWU sophomore guard Calvin Holden averages the second-most per game at 2.8 with a percentage of 45.4.
Seattle Pacific has a slight defensive advantage over CWU. The Falcons average 35.4 rebounds per game compared to Central Washington’s 34.9. Additionally, Nap remains the GNAC’s top rebounder, averaging 9.8 per game. Despite identical team stats, CWU’s best rebounder, sophomore forward Maverick Sanders, averages 6.0 per game.
