After taking a six-point lead with 4:22 remaining in regulation, Seattle University allowed a Seattle Pacific comeback, capped by a jumper by Jojay Jackson with 21 seconds left, as the Falcons earned a 56-52 victory Thursday night before a capacity crowd at the Connolly Center.
Jackson hit a three-pointer with five minutes left to cut SeattleU’s advantage to two at 45-43, but back-to-back layups by Austen Powers (Glendale, Ariz.) and Leigh Swanson (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) allowed the home team to extend the lead back to six. With 2:06 remaining, Jared Moultrie banked in a three-pointer to tie the game 50-50. Mike Boxley (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) hit two free throws to allow SeattleU to regain the lead, but Seattle Pacific knotted the contest at 52-52 on a Casey Reed jumper.
After hit his shot, did not call timeout, choosing to run its offense without allowing Seattle Pacific to set up its defense. Shaun Burl (Berkeley, Calif.) missed a three-pointer with seven seconds left, and was fouled corralling the rebound. made both free throws to ice the game for the Falcons.
In the low-scoring game, no one from reached double figures in points, as Burl, Ricky Berry (Phoenix, Ariz.), and Chris Gweth (Beaverton, Ore.) each scored eight points to lead the Redhawks. Swanson earned seven points and a game-high ten rebounds, while Boxley also scored seven points and Powers chipped in six points off the bench. shot only 35.8 percent from the field, including 4-of-15 from the three-point line, and 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the free throw line.
led all players with 13 points, plus he pulled down five rebounds and dished out three assists. Marques Echols scored 11 points, and Moultrie, Reed, and Rob Will each scored eight points for Seattle Pacific (10-2, 2-1 GNAC). Will, Moultrie, and Rob Diederichs each pulled down six rebounds for the Falcons, but they were outrebounded by SeattleU, 37-34. Both teams did a good job holding onto the ball, as Seattle Pacific committed only ten turnovers while Seattle University turned it over only ten times.
It was a loud crowd until the final moments of the game, as over 500 students attended the contest, most of them in black shirts as it was “Blackout Night” at the . These two teams attracted over a thousand fans for the second consecutive year, and back-to-back dunks by and Ryan Coldren (Fall Creek, Ore.) fired the crowd up, part of a 17-3 run for SeattleU early in the second half.
(8-3, 1-1 GNAC) will need to rebound off this tough loss quickly, as it hosts Northwest Nazarene in a matinee Saturday, Jan. 12, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Connolly Center. The Crusaders improved to 2-1 in the conference with an easy 94-69 victory over Montana State Billings Thursday night.