By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

Photography By: Mason Hrcek

PORTLAND, Ore. – It had been just over eight months since a 68-54 defeat to Point Loma ended the Seattle Pacific men’s basketball team’s 2024-25 season in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs last March.
 
Things went differently in the rematch last Saturday, with the Falcons upsetting the fourth-ranked Sea Lions 80-73 to capture GNAC Team of the Week honors. The signature victory was SPU’s second of the week, as it also topped Vanguard 72-53 on Friday at home inside Royal Brougham Pavilion. SPU moved to 3-1 on the season, stretching its winning streak to three straight.
 
“When you’re playing west region teams, you know the magnitude in terms of teams who are in the national tournament most years,” said SPU head coach Keffrey Fazio. “We played (Point Loma) twice last year – they hosted a Thanksgiving event and they bumped us out of the national tournament. So there was some year over year knowledge about them from our guys.”
 
While early, the win solidified belief in the Falcons that they have the ability to contend with any team in Division II. “We are just trying to get better, and our guys were ready this last weekend to perform at a high level,” Fazio said of his crew, which was tabbed seventh in the GNAC preseason coaches poll. “We have a long ways to go; you don’t win any championships in November. We were happy for the guys, but there is lots of work to do.”
 
The win on Saturday was keyed in large part by junior Julian Mora, who scored 24 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. One of the heroes from last year’s GNAC Championships tournament victory, Mora connected on 7 of 9 field goals including 4 of 5 threes and made all eight of his free throws in an efficient 33 minutes. Through the first four games of the 2025-26 season, Mora leads the team with 16.0 points per game.
 
“He has had as tough a college career as anyone,” Fazio said on Mora, who redshirted as a freshman and then overcame a season-ending ACL injury as a sophomore. “We don’t win the GNAC Championship last year without him and what he did. He is finally healthy and has a full off-season under his belt. To score 24 points in the second half in one of the biggest games of his career was huge. I am very happy for him, but I’m not surprised. The kid is just wired to score, and he is a winner. The talent has always been there, but he has had to overcome a lot of adversity to get to where he’s at. I’m glad he’s a Falcon. He just won’t be told no, and he showed a bit of that in the Point Loma game.”
   
GNAC preseason player of the year Trace Evans has lived up to the early-season recognition, putting up 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 56.4% from the floor. Evans had a near double-double with 15 points and eight boards in the win over Point Loma, after scoring 14 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting line in the win over Vanguard. “He was recognized as preseason player of the year for a reason, with the emphasis on ‘preseason,’” Fazio said. “It’s an acknowledgement of what he has done in the past, and right now what he is understanding is that he’s got a bigger job for us this year. We need to rely on him even more than we have in the past. He’s the number one guy on the scout every night, and I’m really happy with how he’s handling that responsibility. He helps other guys find ways to score and be effective. He has really taken on that veteran leader role and he warrants the type of attention he has received.”
 
Henry Sandberg, the third-leading scorer on the team at 11.3 points per game, is also off to a breakout start to his second season at SPU. After seeing action in a mixed starting and reserve role as a freshman last winter, he is averaging 35.0 minutes per game and is tied with Evans at 6.8 boards per game to go along with his offensive productivity. Sandberg’s field-goal percentage of 62.1 ranks him third in the conference. “He knows what we are trying to do every single play,” Fazio said on Sandberg, who finished last year averaging 4.6 points per game. “Last year he hit a bit of a wall like most freshmen do, and at this level you have to always be evolving and growing. He certainly did throughout the year. We saw him come back in the spring and keep doing what he does – he’s going to out-work anybody. I was expecting what we are getting from him right now. He is consistent and provides a ton of leadership for our program. He understands what we are all trying to do and what his job is. A lot of our young guys see how he works every day, and that’s building our culture for success down the road.”
 
SPU’s other starters in all four games have been point guard Theo McMillan and forward Grant Coleman. McMillan has a team-best 5.0 assists per game while Coleman is in double figures at 10.0 points per game. “Theo just wants to win no matter what, and that’s the only thing that’s on his brain,” Fazio said of the junior, who played at Clark College last season after debuting at SPU in 2023-24. “That’s what I want in all my players, but especially in the point guard spot. We very much feel like he has been around the program a ton, and his play and leadership shows. Grant has had to take on more responsibility this year and has done a tremendous job providing veteran leadership.”
 
Each in their first season on the court, freshmen Aengus Sutherland and Brant Heppner have contributed meaningful minutes in all four games as well. Sutherland, who redshirted last year, has made 9 of 10 field goals in an average of 10.5 minutes on the floor. Heppner has contributed 6.5 points per game and has made 8 of 16 threes in 15.3 minutes per game. Junior Connor Drinkwine has also played in all four games, averaging 17.0 minutes and 5.0 points. “They are as tough as they come, and were really helpful this past weekend,” Fazio said on the group. “They were making huge winning plays and winning shots, and they are just getting started.”
 
Fazio delivered SPU’s record fifth conference tournament title in just his second season leading the team last year. He has put together a record of 38-31 overall (.551) including a mark of 21-15 (.583) in conference games since taking over in the fall of 2023. “As a staff we didn’t talk about anything from last year or what this game means right now in November,” Fazio said on his approach leading the team into the Point Loma game. “November has some importance in some regard, but last year we started the season 1-9 and still got to where we wanted to go. We just try to focus on ourselves. Everybody in our conference is in a different spot based on what happened in the off-season. There is a lot of room for improvement still, but I like where we are at.”
 
Another early test awaits the Falcons this weekend, as they get their conference schedule started against Montana State Billings (7-2). Tipoff time at Alterowitz Gym in the Magic City is set for 2 p.m. (Mountain) on Saturday. “These are the ones we care about most,” Fazio said referring to conference games. “We are going to be a lot better on February 1 than we are on December 1, but we are looking forward to the opportunity to go on the road against a really good team. It would be great to head into the break 1-0, and that’s what we try to do every game.”