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SPU TOURNAMENT
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4 --
(#1) BYU Hawaii vs. Central Washington, 5:00 p.m. PST
Carroll College vs. (#18) Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 --
Carroll College vs. Central Washington, 5:00 p.m. PST
(#1) BYU Hawaii vs. (#18) Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST

An eventful weekend awaits the 18th-ranked Seattle Pacific men's basketball team (4-0), which hosts the four-team SPU Tournament at Brougham Pavilion. The field includes a Carroll College (6-2) team with former Falcons assistant coach Brock Veltri now assisting his twin brother Brandon, along with top-ranked BYU Hawaii (2-0) and Central Washington (2-1). Doubleheaders take place both days, Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5. SPU plays the 7 p.m. nightcap each day, playing Carroll College on Friday and No. 1 BYU Hawaii on Saturday. Central Washington plays the 5 p.m. opener both days against those same two opponents in reverse order of SPU. This is the third of four tournaments for the Falcons, three of them conducted in Seattle. The Seattle Pacific men won their inaugural four games under first-year coach Ryan Looney, who compiled a 95-55 record in five years at Eastern Oregon. He needs one more win to reach 100 for his career.

Live Game Coverage
LiveStats and a free webcast will be available for all SPU men's basketball home games. The webcast can be accessed at:  www.PennAtlantic.com  and the LiveStats are available at:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball

Notable
Ryan Looney is the only coach in SPU history to win his first four games. His predecessor, Jeff Hironaka, won his first three games in 2002-03. Hironaka is now an assistant at Washington State ... A sweep this week would give the Falcons a 6-0 record and their best start since the 1998-99 squad also opened with six wins ... SPU is shooting 50 percent as a team (99 of 198) while limiting opponents to 38-percent accuracy (89 of 235) ... Post Rafael Moreira has two double-doubles after registering six all last season.

Ranking Report
Seattle Pacific vaulted six spots to No. 18 in this week's (Dec. 1) National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll. The Falcons moved into the NCAA Division II rankings in the No. 24 position on Nov. 24 in the first regular-season poll. They are ranked for the first time in two years.

Ticket Talk
Season tickets for SPU men's basketball games are currently available. They are a tremendous value and assure a seat in the best location for every home game. Season tickets can be obtained by calling 206-281-2085. Individual game tickets for SPU men's basketball games can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 Third Ave. W., Seattle 98119) on game day. Ticket windows open one hour prior to the listed start time. Reserved seats for Falcon men's basketball are $8 for center court locations and $7 for other sideline areas. General admission tickets are priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance. SPU students and staff are admitted free with i.d.

Next Week
The Falcons visit Cal State East Bay in Hayward on Dec. 12 at 3 p.m.

Recent Recap
The SPU men won the Mac Martin Invitational title with a pair of convincing victories. Tournament MVP Brandon Larrieu poured in a career-high 32 points in Friday's 78-58 win over Sonoma State. Rafael Moreira had a 23-point, 13-rebound double-double in Saturday's 65-44 triumph over host Chico State. Larrieu, Moreira and Chris Banchero were named to the all-tournament team.

Scouting Carroll College (6-2)
> An NAIA school from Helena, Montana, Carroll College is coached by Brandon Veltri. His assistant is twin brother Brock, who served five seasons as the top assistant on Jeff Hironaka's SPU staff from 2004-2009.

> The Fighting Saints are in the midst of a 10-game, two-month road trip. Their last home game was Nov. 7 and their next is Jan. 7.

> The Falcons hold a 3-1 edge in the all-time series, including a 79-75 win over Carroll on Jan. 5, 1972 in Seattle during the most recent meeting.

> First-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has never coached against the Saints.

Scouting BYU Hawaii (2-0)
> The No. 1-ranked Seasiders were the top seed in the West for the 2009 playoffs.

> Two starters return from last season's 27-2 BYU Hawaii squad, 2008 national player of the year Lucas Alves and Cousy Award finalist J.R. Buensuceso.

> The Falcons won all six meetings in the series. SPU beat the Seasiders 75-73 on Dec. 22, 2007 in Laie, Hi. during the most recent encounter.

> First-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has never coached against the Seasiders.

Five-Year Run
The Falcons registered a 104-43 record over the previous five seasons, more victories than any Great Northwest Athletic Conference team during that span. SPU compiled a 20-9 record in 2005, 26-6 in 2006, 18-10 in 2007, 21-8 in 2008 and 19-10 last season. The 104 combined wins are the second-highest five-year total in school history, topped only by a 113-win run from 1998 to 2002. The Falcons have competed in five straight NCAA Tournaments (2005-09), advancing to the national semifinals in 2006.

2010 Preview
Four starters and 12 lettermen return for Seattle Pacific, which posted a 19-10 record last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Falcons were picked first in the GNAC coaches poll. Heading the list of returnees is a trio of conference all-stars. Junior point guard Chris Banchero was a second-team All-GNAC pick who led the team with 15.7 points per game. Senior post Rafael Moreira and senior wing Brandon Larrieu were honorable mention selections. Moreira averaged 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds while Larrieu scored at a 14.6-point clip last year. The biggest task will be replacing starting forward Casey Reed, a second-team All-GNAC selection. The roster is bolstered by the addition of 6-7 junior post Ryan Sweet (Port Orchard, Wash.) and 6-7 freshman wing Scott Morse (Central Point, Ore).

2009 Review
First-year Seattle Pacific coach Ryan Looney inherits a team that posted a 19-10 record in 2008-09 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament. The Falcons placed third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an 11-5 record. They were the league's last surviving team in the postseason after eliminating champion Western Washington in the first round. SPU advanced to the regional semifinal before losing 80-72 to eventual national runner-up Cal Poly Pomona. Just one letterman, senior forward Casey Reed, and coach Jeff Hironaka departed from last year's team.

Coaches Poll
Seattle Pacific was projected to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title by the annual coaches poll released Oct. 28. Despite having won three GNAC championships, this is the first time the Falcons have been selected atop the conference poll. They captured the 2006 league title and were co-champions in 2002 and 2007. SPU received four first-place votes en route to its 76-point total. Last year's GNAC champion Western Washington was picked second in the poll. The Vikings tallied 72 points and also had four votes for the top spot. Central Washington, last season's runner-up, picked up the other first-place vote to finish third with 59 points. Alaska Anchorage was slotted fourth in the balloting, followed by Montana State Billings, Northwest Nazarene, Alaska Fairbanks, Saint Martin's and Western Oregon.

Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney, who led Eastern Oregon University to the quarterfinals of the 2009 NAIA Division II Tournament, was hired May 26, 2009 as the men's basketball coach at Seattle Pacific. He won his first four games on the SPU sidelines. Looney, 34, compiled a 95-55 record in five seasons with Eastern Oregon. His Mountaineers won 63.3 percent of their games, the best winning percentage among all-time EOU coaches. Looney directed EOU to back-to-back NAIA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009, stopping the school's postseason drought that dated to the 1950s. His Mountaineers won the 2008 Cascade Collegiate Conference championship, their first title in 38 years, and shared the conference crown in 2009. The 2009 EOU squad registered a 25-8 record, including 14 consecutive victories, before suffering an 80-79 NAIA quarterfinal setback against No. 1-ranked and eventual national champion Oklahoma Wesleyan. Looney is the 11th head coach for the SPU program that began sponsoring intercollegiate men's basketball in 1946. He replaced Jeff Hironaka, who left after 18 years on the Falcons staff, the last seven as the head coach, to become an assistant coach at Washington State. Looney was hired as Eastern Oregon's head coach in May of 2004. He served the previous two seasons as the top assistant at NCAA Division II Minnesota State University Moorhead, helping the team to a 33-24 record and a berth in the finals of the 2002 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament. He played collegiately at Eastern Oregon from 1996-98, averaging 7.2 points in 53 career games. An NAIA All-America scholar athlete, Looney still holds the school's career free throw accuracy record at 89.5 percent. After graduating in 1998 from EOU, Looney got his first head coaching job in 1998-99 at Cove High School. After working two seasons as an assistant at Wisconsin-LaCrosse, where he received his Master of Science in sports administration in 2001, Looney joined the staff at North Idaho College for the 2001-02 season.

The Schedule
Local basketball fans will have plenty of opportunities to watch the Seattle Pacific men's basketball team as the Falcons play at home for 17 of the 29 games on their 2009-10 schedule. The Falcons play five games against teams that participated in the postseason last year, including a non-conference contest on Dec. 5 in Seattle against BYU-Hawaii. The Seasiders were the top seed from the West Region in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The SPU men have two four-team tournaments remaining at home, Dec. 4-5 and Dec. 29-30.