February 17, 2009

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19 –
Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m. PST (6:30 AST)
Brougham Pavilion (2,650) • Seattle, Wash.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21 –
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m. PST (6:30 AST)
Brougham Pavilion (2,650) • Seattle, Wash

Second-place Seattle Pacific (15-7, 8-3 GNAC) has five games left to prove its postseason worth. The Falcons start that stretch with two home games this week, beginning Thursday, Feb. 19 against Alaska Anchorage (12-11, 6-4). That conference contest tips off at 7:30 p.m. as the nightcap of a Brougham Pavilion doubleheader with the 14th-ranked SPU women, who host top-ranked Anchorage at 5:15 p.m. The Falcons men seek to avenge a 66-62 loss at Anchorage on Feb. 19. On Saturday, Feb. 21, SPU entertains Alaska Fairbanks (6-13, 3-7) at 7:30 p.m. following a 5:15 p.m. women's game. The Falcons seek to sweep the two-game set from the Nanooks for the second straight season.

Upcoming Encounters
Next week, the SPU men play their final road games, Feb. 25 at Montana State Billings and Feb. 28 at Saint Martin's. The Falcons conclude the regular season on Mar. 5 against Western Washington at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.

GNAC Title Race
With matching 8-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference records, Seattle Pacific and Central Washington are tied for second place with three weeks left in the regular season. They trail conference-leading Western Washington (8-2) by one-half game. Alaska Anchorage (6-4) sits in fourth place and Saint Martin's (6-5) is fifth. The Falcons are vying for their third GNAC championship in four years as they won in 2006 and 2007.

Ticket Talk
Tickets for Seattle Pacific men's basketball games can be purchased at the door or in advance. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates by calling (206) 281-2085 at least 72 hours before the game. Reserved seats for Falcon men's basketball are $7 for center court locations and $6 for other sideline areas. General admission tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens.

Follow The Action Live
A live webcast of all SPU home games can be purchased on the internet at: www.greatnorthwest.tv     Live stats are available at:  www.spufalcons.com

Player of the Week
Sophomore Chris Banchero, who propelled SPU to a pair of victories last week, was announced Feb. 16 as the GNAC co-Player of the Week with Western Oregon's Travis Kuhns. A product of Seattle's O'Dea High School, Banchero averaged 23.5 points and shot 71 percent from the field (17-of-24) last week.  He also compiled six assists, five rebounds and five steals. Banchero equaled his career high with 26 points in the Falcons 83-77 home victory over Western Oregon (Feb. 12). At Northwest Nazarene (Feb. 14), Banchero tallied a team-high 21 points. He capped the scoring with a pair of free throws that secured SPU's 87-82 triumph. Banchero converted 8-of-11 shots for the Falcons, who rallied from a 14-point deficit. Last week Banchero registered his seventh and eighth 20-point scoring performances of the season.

Scouting Alaska Anchorage (12-11, 6-4 GNAC)
> The Seawolves are led by the 18.8-point average of Kenny Barker, the GNAC's No. 3 scorer. Barker poured in 38 points on Jan. 31 in a win over Fairbanks.

> UAA boasts the league's stingiest defense, yielding just 66.3 points per game.

> The Seawolves lead the series 30-22 and won four of the last five meetings with SPU. Anchorage won this season's first encounter 66-62 at home on Feb. 7.

> In his seventh season at SPU, Jeff Hironaka has an 8-6 record against UAA.

Scouting Alaska Fairbanks (6-13, 3-7 GNAC)
> The Nanooks feature the GNAC's top scoring duo. Emmanuel Jenkins (19.7) ranks No. 2 and Jon Moe (18.5) No. 4 in scoring among conference players.

> UAF beat MSU Billings 80-79 in its last outing, stopping a three-game losing skid.

> The Falcons lead the all-time series 45-14 and won the last three meetings. They rallied from a 16-point, first-half deficit to win 96-87 on Feb. 5 in Fairbanks.

> In his seventh season at SPU, Jeff Hironaka has a 7-6 record against the Nanooks.

Marvelous Marksmen
Five players are shooting higher than 50 percent for the Falcons, who combine to hit shots at a conference-leading 52.4-percent clip. That figure ranks No. 2 nationally, behind only Southern Indiana (52.6%). SPU shot better than 50 percent in 17 of 22 games this season, topped by a 60-percent effort at Southern Utah (Nov. 25). Rafael Moreira ranks No. 1 in the GNAC at 66.0 percent. Also above 50 percent for SPU are Chris Banchero (56.9%), Casey Reed (55.2%), Brandon Larrieu (53.0%) and Adam Wardell (52.8%). Jeff Downs is the Falcons leading 3-point threat with 44 treys and Larrieu is tops in 3-point accuracy at 46.7 percent.

Recent Recap
The Falcons moved within one-half game of first place with a pair of wins last week. Rafael Moreira poured in a career-high 28 points and Chris Banchero matched his best with 26, leading SPU to an 83-77 home win over Western Oregon (Feb. 12). Banchero, who won GNAC Player of the Week honors, tallied 21 points in an 87-82 road win at Northwest Nazarene (Feb. 14). Adam Wardell hit the go-ahead 3-pointer and followed with two free throws to spark the Falcons rally from a 14-point deficit.

Dynamic Diederichs
Junior forward Rob Diederichs (Shoreline, Wash./Shorewood) boasts a fine all-around game, ranking first on the team in assists (3.8 apg), second in rebounds (5.5 rpg) and blocked shots (13), fourth in steals (20) and fifth in scoring (9.6). He led or tied all SPU players in rebounds on 11 occasions and assists 13 times. Diederichs erupted for 36 points in a Nov. 5, 2007 exhibition game loss at Washington.

Notable
The Falcons had a nine-game home court win streak stopped Jan. 31 against Central Washington. That was their only loss in eight games this season at Brougham Pavilion, where they won 15 of the last 17 outings ... SPU implemented the same starting lineup in all 22 games this season (Reed, Diederichs, Moreira, Banchero, Larrieu).

Four-Year Run
The Falcons registered an 85-33 record over the previous four seasons (2005-08), more victories than any GNAC team during that span. SPU compiled a 20-9 record in 2005, 26-6 in 2006, 18-10 in 2007 and 21-8 last season. The 85 combined wins are the second-highest four-year total in school history, topped only by a 96-win run from 1999 to 2002. The Falcons competed in four straight NCAA Tournaments (2005-08), advancing to the 2006 national semifinals.

Head Coach Hironaka
Jeff Hironaka has been instrumental in establishing Seattle Pacific as a regional and national force since taking over the program prior to the 2002-03 season. In his seventh season in the head coaching post, Hironaka has compiled a 130-64 record and directed the Falcons into the last four NCAA Tournaments. His team capped a 21-8 season by advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year. In 2005-06, Hironaka's Falcons won 26 games and matched the school's best NCAA tournament result, reaching the national semifinals. His teams captured back-to-back Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships, in 2006 and 2007. Hironaka was twice voted the GNAC coach of the year and was the 2006 NABC West Region coach of the year. Hironaka is believed to be the nation's only active Japanese-American head coach of a four-year program.

Regular Season Reprieve
The regular season seems like a reprieve from a rigorous exhibition schedule for Seattle Pacific, which lost three non-counting games in the Bay Area against NCAA Division I opponents California (91-70), Stanford (97-56) and Saint Mary's (86-55). The Falcons played two Division I foes in the regular season. They won 75-65 at Southern Utah (Nov. 25) and lost 71-67 at Oregon State (Dec. 16).

Strenuous Schedule
Perhaps Coach Jeff Hironaka's sanity should be checked as he's the one responsible for putting together the treacherous 2008-09 Seattle Pacific schedule. Five road games against NCAA Division I opponents are on the slate, including three against Pac-10 members. Along with exhibition games at California and Stanford, the Falcons visited Corvallis to play Oregon State where they lost a narrow 71-67 decision. Another regular-season foe from the Division I ranks was Southern Utah, which SPU beat 75-65 on Nov. 25 in Cedar City. The Falcons Nov. 14 visit to Moraga, Calif. was a regular-season game for Saint Mary's and an exhibition for SPU. The Division I foes were just a part of the challenging slate that forced the Falcons to play on back-to-back days on four occasions. SPU participated in four regular-season tournaments.

Special Upset
Seattle Pacific registered its first regular-season victory in 22 years over an NCAA Division I opponent with a 75-65 upset of Southern Utah on Nov. 25 in Cedar City. The Falcons last regular-season win over a Division I foe was an 80-66 decision against Eastern Washington on Jan. 28, 1987. A 76-68 win over Murray State on Nov. 11, 2006 was a counting game for the Racers, but was classified as an exhibition for SPU.

Season Preview
The Seattle Pacific men's basketball team is in its seventh season under Coach Jeff Hironaka, who directed them to berths in the last four NCAA Tournaments. SPU posted a 21-8 record last season, placing third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 12-6 mark. Four senior starters have departed from that team, leaving a 15-man roster in which nine of the student-athletes have never played a game in an SPU uniform. The lone returning starter is 6-foot-8 forward Rob Diederichs (Shoreline, Wash.), who averaged 9.5 points last year. The youthful team has just one senior, 6-5 forward Casey Reed (Canby, Ore.), who scored at an 8.9-point clip in 2008. The roster is bolstered by the addition of two junior transfers from Eastern Utah, 6-9 center Rafael Moreira (Brasilia, Brazil) and 6-0 guard Colby Vranes (Taylorsville, Utah).

Departures
Fours starters and one other letterman have departed, led by first-team All-GNAC center Rob Will. He averaged a team-high 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. Also gone are last year's senior starters Marques Echols, JoJay Jackson and Jared Moultrie.