Box Score SEATTLE – Seattle Pacific had a hard time missing from the field and converted nearly 62 percent of the time, including a 69-percent shooting night from three, to down Alaska 66-46 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball Thursday night at Brougham Pavilion.
Preseason Player of the Year
David Downs led the Falcons (12-4, 3-2 GNAC) attack, turning in a game-high 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting, which was spotlighted by his four three pointers with only one miss in the win.
Two other Seattle Pacific players notched double figures as
Cory Hutsen scored 13 points and
Patrick Simon returned from injury with 10 points.
The Nanooks (7-5, 2-2 GNAC) were paced by junior center
Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration), who tallied 14 points and five rebounds, while senior guard
Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) had 11 points.
Alaska never found a rhythm in its shooting Thursday, as it was limited to 37.5 percent for the game. It made just three treys which accumulated to under 18 percent from the perimeter and the free throw line was a struggle at just 47 percent.
The Nanooks opened with a 2-0 lead in the opening minute but that would be the only time they would hold the advantage as a 9-0 surge by SPU put the locals up seven with 16:23 to go in the first. Up 17-10, five straight, capped off by a Simon triple upped the Falcons lead to 22-10 with 8:51 to go. Alaska cut it back to five but SPU would take a 31-23 lead into the break.
The Falcons took over in the second half, shooting an incredible 65 percent from the floor and hit all four three-point attempts to put the game away. Leading 43-32, a three by Downs sparked a 14-0 run in just over five minutes to put the hosts ahead 57-32 with 8:43 to go. SPU led by as many as 28 down the stretch.
Alaska will look to get back in the win column Saturday when it flies over to Billings, Mont., to battle Montana State Billings at 7 p.m. MST. The Yellowjackets (7-6, 3-2 GNAC) beat Alaska Anchorage 75-67 earlier Thursday.
This will be a rematch of last year's GNAC Championship quarterfinal in which fourth-seeded Alaska shot the second-highest field-goal percentage in a tournament game en route to an 87-73 victory over No. 5 MSUB.
