SEATTLE, Wash.—Failing to sustain a double-digit lead for the second straight outing, the No. 10-ranked Western Oregon men's basketball team survived a late scare for an 83-79 win at Seattle Pacific on Saturday night.

Western Oregon (15-1, 7-1 GNAC) held a 71-59 lead with 8:37 to play thanks to a JJ Chirnside jumper, but a furious rally by the Falcons erased the deficit in less than four minutes with Seattle Pacific (10-5, 5-3 GNAC) knotting the contest at 74-74 via Gabe Colosimo free throws.

With 1:01 on the clock, the Falcons captured their first lead on the game via another trip to the line, this time with Harry Cavell stepping up and converting the pair of chances for a 79-78 advantage.

Facing their first deficit, the WOU defense stepped up on back-to-back possessions to reclaim the lead. Following free throw makes by Ali Faruq-Bey, Chirnside came up with a steal and was immediately fouled. After sinking a free throw to go up 81-79, Chirnside came through with another defensive stop by rejecting Colosimo's layup attempt.

The ball was blocked out of bounce in favor of the Falcons to setup a scoring opportunity for Nikhil Lizotte, whose 3-pointer rattled off and into the hands of WOU'S Riley Hawken. Sent to the line, Hawken provided the final two points of the night to secure the four-point road win.  

Tanner Omlid and Hawken shared the team high with 20 points each for the Wolves. Omlid connected on 9-of-12 from the floor while Hawken was 7-of-9 overall with 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.

Faruq-By and Chirnside added 10 points each to give the Wolves four players in double figures. Colosimo led SPU with 14 points on the night.

WOU will return home to host Central Washington on Jan. 18. OPneing tip against the Wildcats is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the New P.E. Gymnasium.