Seattle Pacific Hangs On for 82-79 Victory Saturday Afternoon

Box Score

SEATTLE – A game-high 34 points from junior forward Derrick Wright and a furious late second half rally came up short Saturday afternoon as host Seattle Pacific posted an 82-79 victory over visiting Montana State Billings. With the loss, MSUB falls to 5-8 on the year and 0-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, while SPU improves to 9-4 and 2-0 in conference play.

Both teams were on fire for the game from the field as MSUB was 28 of 49 from the field for 57 percent, while the Falcons were 28 of 50 for 56 percent.  The ‘Jackets had four scorers led by Wright who was a MSUB personal best 10 of 12 from the field and 14 of 16 from the charity stripe with five rebounds.  Senior Michael Hall chipped in 16 points on 6 of 13 from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point land.  Fellow senior Travis Bunker had 15 points and five rebounds and also was 4 of 7 from downtown.  Junior Mario Burns added 10 points with six assists and four steals.

The Falcons were led by 23 points from Jeff Downs who was 5 of 10 from the field and 4 of 8 from beyond the arc and knocked down 9 of 10 free throws.  Brandon Larrieu had 16 points, while Casey Reed had 14 to lead the scoring for SPU. 

The game opened as SPU built a six point lead with 12:45 left, but the upset-minded Yellowjackets fought hard and used a 15-3 run capped by a 3-pointer from Hall for a 26-20 lead with just under seven minutes left in the first half.  SPU erased the deficit and the teams went back-and-forth for the rest of the half as SPU held a 40-38 lead at intermission.

The second half was more of the same as SPU would jump out to a six point lead and the Yellowjackets would battle back.  The Falcons used a 17-4 run of their own to build a 71-61 lead capped by a layup by Downs with 4:44 left.

That’s when MSUB went on a 16-5 run to cut the deficit to 80-79 with 18 seconds left as Bunker was fouled on a layup and converted the old fashion 3-point play.  Two free throws by Reed pushed the lead to 82-79 giving the Jackets one last shot as a 3-pointer by Burns missed with six seconds left.

The game saw 16 lead changes and seven ties as both teams played a pretty even game.  Both teams connected on eight 3-pointers and the Yellowjackets were 15 of 20 from the line, while SPU was 18 of 20.  The Falcons won the battle of the boards, 27-19 and held a 30-2 lead in bench points.  MSUB held a lead of 11-0 in second chance points.

The Yellowjackets return home to begin a five game home stand Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. versus Western Oregon in the conference home opener.