What’s new?
They were predicted to be No.7, became No. 3 and have now dethroned No. 1.
Seattle Pacific University’s men’s basketball team not only reached the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament championship game for the first time in six years — they won the tournament altogether.
The Falcons defeated the first-seeded Central Washington Wildcats 72-61, becoming five-time GNAC champions.
Seattle Pacific was down 4-3 at the start of the first half. After six minutes, SPU found a groove and scored 11 straight points — starting with back-to-back lay-ups from junior guard Jaxon Nap and ending with another lay-up from redshirt-sophomore forward Jonas LaTour — all while keeping Central off the board for five full minutes.
The Falcons took a 33-20 lead into the locker room at halftime but had a cold start to the second half. Except for a free throw from junior guard Owen Moriarty just over three minutes in, SPU kept missing shots for almost six whole minutes. The drought allowed Central to cut the deficit down to single digits at 34-26.
Seattle Pacific quickly recovered, going off on a 7-2 run followed by nine straight points, giving the Falcons a 19-point advantage at 71-52 with just 1:05 remaining. The Wildcats dropped the final baskets of their season before the buzzer gave SPU the win.
Top scorers:
Moriarty scored 20 points. Redshirt-junior guard Mason Landdeck and LaTour contributed 14 each.
All eyes on:
Landdeck was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by Moriarty and Nap.
Upcoming:
As GNAC champions, the Falcons have an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament on Friday, March 14, at 5 p.m. in San Diego, California. This will be SPU’s first time advancing to the West Regionals since 2019, when it last wore the GNAC crown.
The Falcons’ first-round opponent was announced to be Point Loma Nazarene University during the NCAA Selection Showcase on Sunday, March 9. Point Loma is the West Regionals’ No. 1 seed, having won the PacWest Tournament, and SPU is the No. 8 seed.
Seattle Pacific’s previous run-in with Point Loma was on Nov. 29 during the PLNU Thanksgiving Classic, which ended in an 82-68 loss for SPU.
Point Loma has an overall offensive advantage, averaging 75.4 points per game compared to SPU’s 73.4. Broken down, the Falcons shoot better in the paint with a 47.9 field goal percentage, but PLNU’s 35.9 three-point shooting percentage means it has the advantage from the outer arch.
Seattle Pacific holds the advantage on defense, averaging 35.4 rebounds and 12.0 turnovers per game versus PLNU’s 33.8 and 11.9. The Falcons’ security on the rim and off the backboard will be essential to win.
The Falcons are at their best when they take control early and leave little to no room for table-turning. Point Loma is certain to be a tough challenge, but the Seattle Pacific Falcons are no strangers to adversity.
