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It has been a long journey.
Winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Seattle Pacific University men’s basketball team punched its ticket to the NCAA West Regionals in San Diego, California.
The Falcons lost to Point Loma Nazarene University 68-54 in the first round of the tournament on Friday, March 14.
Point Loma immediately took control of the game, leading 6-3 five minutes into the first half. There was hope when Seattle Pacific stole the lead twice within two minutes, ahead 12-11 with 10 minutes until halftime. Point Loma soon regained the lead by breaking a 12-12 tie.
Redshirt-junior guard Mason Landdeck brought another opportunity to the Falcons when his three-pointer tied the score 25-25 with 3:32 left in the half. Point Loma again thwarted SPU’s attempt at a comeback, ending the first half on a 10-2 run.
Seattle Pacific failed to retake the lead in the second half. Point Loma expanded its lead from seven to as much as 20. The Falcons heard their season end at the final buzzer.
Seattle Pacific was seeded at No. 8 in the tournament, and Point Loma was No. 1, also ranked seventh in the College Sports Communicators Media Poll and ninth in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Poll.
Top scorers:
Landdeck and junior guard Jaxon Nap led the Falcons with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
What got them there:
Seattle Pacific was picked to finish seventh in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Starting the season 2-8, the Falcons were on the path to meet that expectation; however, SPU bounced back after a win against Western Oregon University on Jan. 4.
Seattle Pacific completed the season 18-15 overall and 11-7 in conference, finishing the regular season third in the GNAC standings.
The Falcons needed to win the GNAC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament, and they did just that. Seattle Pacific defeated the sixth-seeded University of Alaska Fairbanks 81-47, the second-seeded Northwest Nazarene University 73-68 in the semifinals and then the first-seeded Central Washington University, the GNAC regular-season champion.
Final thoughts:
Reflecting on the season, head coach Keffrey Fazio expressed pride in his team for all they accomplished and looks forward to how much more they will succeed next year.
“Any time you get to play meaningful games in March, that experience is invaluable,” Fazio said. “What we did at the GNAC Tournament, along with this game, will serve us well next year. Right now, I want to celebrate the guys for all of their hard work. That’s where we’ll be at for the next few weeks before we look ahead to the future.”
