Men's Basketball | 2/28/2011 9:03:26 PM

Box Score [Box score]

SEATTLE - Kolton Nelson had 19 points and Tarance Glynn added 18 but in the end it was Seattle Pacific which hit a critical game-clinching 3-pointer to defeat the No. 6 seeded Western Oregon Wolves, 69-65.

Western Oregon trailed by seven at the half but fought back to cut the game to one point on a 3-pointer by Nelson with 39 seconds left. However, the Wolves chose not to foul and SPU's Jeff Downs was able to sink a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to seal the win for the Falcons.

The Wolves trailed by as many as 11 points, with six minutes left in the second half, before making a valiant effort to bring the game down to the wire. WOU scored on four straight possession, three of which were 3-point plays, to put together an 11-4 run and cut the lead to four (64-60).

After the teams exchanged defensive stops, Jordan Freelander stripped the ball from the Falcons' Ryan Sweet at half court and raced down court, finishing with a powerful one-handed slam that brought even the SPU fans to their feet and closed the Wolves to within two (64-62).

Seattle Pacific's David Downs then answered with a driving layup to extend it back to a two possession game. Blair Wheadon took the inbounds pass for WOU and sprinted up the court to draw the defense before kicking the ball out to the top of the 3-point line, where Nelson's long range shot rattled all around the rim before dropping in to bring the Wolves within one with 39 seconds remaining.

After a SPU timeout, Western Oregon came out and chose to play defense rather than foul. The Wolves' defenders pushed the Falcons out to the midcourt line but David Downs was able to find just enough room to slip past his defender and pass cross court, to Jeff Downs who caught the ball in his shooting motion and drilled the trey to seal the win.

Nelson scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, including 10 in the final 5:41, to help aid the Wolves comeback. WOU also received 13 points and four assists from Blair Wheadon.

Western Oregon hit seven of its 14 shots from behind the arc and shot 57 percent for the game. The Falcons took very good care of the ball, turning it over just five times in the game, including just once in the first half. SPU also dominated in second chance points 20-3.

The loss ends the Western Oregon men's basketball season. The Wolves finished the year with a 13-16 record and sixth place in the GNAC (8-10).