Seattle, WA – The Seattle Pacific Falcons hosted the Central Washington Wildcats in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) battle between two teams fighting to improve their middle of the pack position in the conference standings. This game was going to be not only a fight to move up in the standings, but also a contrast in styles with the Falcons favoring half-court offense and the Wildcats looking to run.
The Falcons built an early nine-point lead on strong post play, three-point shooting, and even some surprising buckets in transition but the Wildcats clawed their way back into the game with help from their bench and the free throw line. At halftime, the Seattle Pacific was up 41-36. The Falcons extended their lead to seven points at the fifteen-minute mark before an offensive burst pushed the game seemingly out of reach to 56-42. But once again, the Central Washington chipped away until the Falcon lead was only one point with 2:28 remaining. Two big plays from Trace Evans, including a jump hook off the glass to extend the lead to three and a block shot on a put back in the closing seconds sealed the victory—much to the relief of the raucous Royal Brougham Pavilion crowd. The Falcons won 66-63 to improve to 8-5 on the year. Central Washington falls to 8-9.
The 6’9” Aussie, Trace Evans had 17 points (7-23 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-4 FT) plus 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 block shots, and 4 steals. The mustachioed graduate student does his best work in the post—from both blocks and scoring off either shoulder. On the season, he makes 60% of his post up attempts. Evans had a lot of inside looks in this game but got some tough bounces and couldn’t always convert.
Seattle Pacific’sleading scorer on the season, Julian Mora, had an uncharacteristically tough night shooting before fouling out. The 5’11 redshirt junior finished with 7 points (3-9 FG, 1-4 3PT, 0-0 FT) along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Although undersized, Mora’s an excellent athlete, having been a First-Team All-Conference baseball and First Team All-State basketball high school player in Oregon. He leads on the court and makes the hustle plays that help a team win. Coming into tonight, Mora was averaging 14 points per game on 1.09 points per possession. Mora’s most efficient scoring off the spot up, handoffs and basket cuts. He grabs 3.3 rebounds and dishes 2.4 assists per game.
Picking up the scoring slack for Mora, was 6’2” guard, Theo McMillan, and 6’5” guard, Connor Drinkwine. McMillan finished with 16 points (8-16 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT), 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in what was easily his best game. Drinkwine, also having his best game so far this season, added 16 points (7-9 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-3 FT), 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. On a typical night, these players score 7 and 5 points, respectively.
Fresh off having earned his second GNAC Player of the Week honors last week in an incredible two game performance against the Alaska schools, Anchorage and Fairbanks, Central Washington’s 6’2” junior Jordan Clark impressed at guard. Against the Falcons, Clark scored 22 points (4-12 FG, 1-2 3PT, 13-15 FT), secured 4 rebounds and made 3 assists–a nice homecoming for Clark who prepped at Seattle Christian, only a short drive away.
For the year, Clark’s averaging 18 points per game on 58% true shooting percentage. Add to that 3.5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal and Clark fills out a stat sheet. The Wildcats love fast break basketball and Clark is excellent in transition as the ball handler taking it to the rim or pulling up for a jumper. Clark also capably runs the high pick and roll game, albeit not without turnovers, and knocks down the catch and shoot. He makes 41% from three with his preferred spots being the top of the key and the left and right wings. He’s still developing his dribble drive and dribble pull up game, although he showed an ability tonight to get downhill and draw fouls. He contributes 1.05 points per possession and maintains a 2.0 assist to turnover ratio. With another year of eligibility, Clark seems poised to play overseas at the conclusion of his college career.
Bradley Swillie usually balances out the Wildcat attack. The 6’3” junior finished with 10 points (4-11 FG, 0-3 3PT, 2-2 FT). He grabbed 2 rebounds to go with 3 assists. For the year, he’s averaging 15.6 points per game and plays similarly to Clark although a bit more productive as a pick and roll ball handler. That said, tonight may have been the exception as he had 5 turnovers.
The 6’9” Chae Haynes typically cleans up the glass. The sophomore matched his season average with 6 rebounds tonight. His 6’9” companion, Garrett Marrs, also came up big on the boards with 9 total. Just a freshman, his performance so far this season has been uneven. He’s scored as many as 18 points but also has had several games in the low-single digits. He’s been averaging 4.5 rebounds so perhaps his work tonight on the boards bodes well for the Wildcats if they can get greater consistency from this 34% three-point shooter.
Next up, the Seattle Pacific Falcons play at home Saturday against Northwest Nazarene. The Nighthawks are a perennial GNAC power and sitting in second place just behind Saint Martin’s. Central Washington takes on Montana State—Billings on the road.
This article was written by Justin Pallari, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Instagram, or on twitter.
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