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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25 --
Central Washington at (#9) Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion (2,650) • Seattle, Wash.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27 --
(#9) Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, 7:00 p.m. PST
Marcus Pavilion (4,300) • Lacey, Wash.

The ninth-ranked Seattle Pacific men (20-3, 11-1 GNAC) seek to clinch the Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball championship on Thursday, Feb. 25 when they host second-place Central Washington (15-7, 9-3). The 7 p.m. tipoff at Brougham Pavilion will be preceded by a ceremony to honor the five Falcons seniors before their final regular-season home game. A win would guarantee SPU at least a tie for the league crown and deliver an automatic NCAA Division II Tournament berth as the Falcons would own all tiebreaking scenarios. It won't be easy as Central dealt the Falcons their lone conference setback, an 85-72 decision on Feb. 4 in Ellensburg. The Wildcats won the last eight regular-season encounters versus SPU and can draw within one game of first place with a win Thursday. The SPU men then play their final three regular-season games on the road, beginning Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. against Saint Martin's (14-10, 4-9). SPU won 20 of the last 22 meeting with the Saints, but lost in its last two visits to Marcus Pavilion in Lacey. Ryan Looney is seeking to extend the Falcons' streak of five consecutive playoff berths and become the only coach to direct them into the postseason in his first season.

Live Coverage
Thursday's Seattle Pacific men's basketball webcast can be accessed at: www.PennAtlantic.com and LiveStats are available at: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball Saturday's webcast can be accessed at: www.PennAtlantic.com

GNAC Race
SPU, which is seeking to win the GNAC championship for the third time in five years, leads the league by two games. The Falcons captured the 2006 title outright and shared the 2007 crown with Seattle University. They placed third last year, behind WWU and CWU. SPU was projected to win this year's league title by the annual coaches poll released Oct. 28. Despite having won three GNAC championships, that is the first time the Falcons were selected atop the conference poll.

So Long Seniors
Thursday's game marks the final regular-season home game for five seniors, who helped SPU compile a 78-31 record in their four seasons with NCAA Tournament appearances every year. Rob Diederichs, Brandon Larrieu, Rafael Moreira, Colby Vranes and Adam Wardell will be honored in an on-court ceremony before the game.











1,000-Point Club
On Feb. 20, Brandon Larrieu became the 29th 1,000-point scorer in SPU history. He had 18 points at Montana State Billings on Saturday to push his career total to 1,002. Junior Chris Banchero has 971 career points, needing 29 to join that elite club.

Player of the Week
Junior Ryan Sweet, who helped SPU to a pair of narrow victories, received the GNAC Athlete of the Week award Monday. The 6-foot-7 post player combined for 23 points, 27 rebounds, six assists and five steals. Twice, Sweet set career highs in rebounds, pulling down 13 in Thursday's 67-65 home win over No. 21 Western Washington and 14 in Saturday's 78-75 road victory at Montana State Billings. Sweet hit three free throws in the final 44 seconds against WWU, giving the Falcons the lead for good. At Billings, Sweet scored 18 points to record his fifth double-double of the season. The career-high 14 boards on Saturday marked his sixth-straight double-figure rebound performance. Sweet led all Falcon rebounders during 14 games this season, including eight double-digit outings.

Scouting Central Washington (15-7, 9-3 GNAC)
> The Wildcats are the highest scoring team in the GNAC and rank 16th nationally with 84.7 points per game. Five players average double-figure points: JC Cook (15.1 ppg), Chris Sprinker (12.5), John Clift (11.0), Toussaint Tyler (10.9) and Humberto Perez (10.5). Sprinker leads the league with 49 blocked shots (2.2 bpg).

> The Wildcats lead the series 68-41 and won seven of the last eight meetings with SPU, including the last three. CWU was an 85-72 victor on Feb. 4 in Ellensburg.

> Ignore the Falcons' 2006 and 2008 NCAA Tournament wins and Central has won the last eight regular-season encounters.

> In his first season at SPU, Ryan Looney has an 0-1 record against the Wildcats.

Scouting Saint Martin's (14-10, 4-9)
> The Saints won three of their last four games and have a 9-3 record at home.

> Forward Blake Poole leads all GNAC players in scoring (20.7 ppg), rebounds (12.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (62.4%). He is the lone returning starter from last year's 22-8 SMU squad that finished fourth in the GNAC with a 10-6 record.

> The Falcons boast an 86-33 lead in the all-time series, including an 81-63 win on Jan. 9 in Seattle. SPU was victorious in 20 of the last 22 meetings, but the losses came in each of the last two visits to Saint Martin's, in 2008 and 2009.

> Sixth-year Saints coach Keith Cooper served as an assistant on the SPU staff in 2002-03. He has a 2-12 record against the Falcons. Cooper is married to the former Linda Johnson, a basketball standout who is an SPU Hall of Fame inductee.

> First-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 1-0 record against the Saints.

Marvelous Marksmen
Five players are shooting better than 50 percent for the Falcons, who combine to hit shots at a conference-leading 51.6-percent clip. SPU currently ranks No. 2 nationally (behind only BYU Hawaii) after finishing the 2009 campaign as the nation's second-best shooting squad at 51.8 percent. The Falcons shot at or above 50 percent 14 times this year, topped by a 66-percent effort against Carroll College on Dec. 4. They won all 12 games when they surpassed the 50-percent plateau. The SPU men are undefeated in 18 games when their field goal percentage is superior to opponents. Rafael Moreira leads the Falcons, shooting at a 60.2-percent clip. Also above 50 percent for SPU are Ryan Sweet (56.4%), Jake Anderson (55.2%), Chris Banchero (53.3%) and Adam Wardell (53.2%). Jeff Downs leads SPU with 42 treys on 44.2% shooting.

Home Sweet Brougham
The Falcons are 13-1 this season at home in Brougham Pavilion where they were victorious in 30 of their last 34 games. SPU was 9-2 last year at home. Brougham Pavilion seats 2,650 spectators. It was built in 1953 and renovated in 1992. SPU's single-season men's basketball record for home victories is 16, accomplished in 1997, 1993 and 1992.

Ticket Talk
Tickets for SPU basketball home games can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 Third Ave. W., Seattle 98119) on game day. Reserved seats are $8 for center court locations and $7 for other sideline areas. General admission tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior.

Ranking Report
Seattle Pacific climbed two spots, to No. 9 in this week's (Feb. 23) NCAA Division II men's basketball rankings compiled by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). The Falcons were included for the first time in two years with a No. 24 listing in the initial regular-season rankings on Nov. 24 after being overlooked in the preseason poll. SPU has been ranked ever since, rising as high as No. 6 on Dec. 15.

Notable
The Falcons have posted the 16th 20-win season in the 67-year history of the program ... Only SPU's 2002 team had better 23-game record (21-2) than this year's 20-3 mark ... Senior Rob Diederichs has 129 assists (5.5 apg), 55 more assists than any of his teammates ... The Falcons boast a 17-0 record in games when they score more than 70 points ... SPU's 6-foot-9 senior post Rafael Moreira missed the last eight games and is out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery.

Brilliant Banchero
Junior point guard Chris Banchero posted double-figure points in all but two games this season. He led all SPU scorers 14 times and reached the 20-point plateau on 13 occasions. Banchero poured in a career-high 33 points against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 28. A two-time GNAC Player of the Week, Banchero is averaging 19.0 points per game, a figure that ranks No. 2 in the conference. He twice hit game-winning shots, Jan. 14 at Western Oregon and Feb. 20 at Montana State Billings.

Downs Heats Up
Junior Jeff Downs heated up from long range after spending extra time shooting in the gym the last few weeks. He had a 20-point outburst against Alaska Fairbanks (Jan. 30), tying his game best for treys by hitting 6 of 10 behind the arc. Downs shot 25 of 44 from 3-point range (57%) during the last eight games he played. He made 5 of 20 treys (25%) during the previous five outings. Downs leads SPU with 42 treys this season.

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.

2009 Review
First-year SPU coach Ryan Looney inherited 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. Four starters return, including second-team All-GNAC pick Chris Banchero along with honorable mention selections Brandon Larrieu and Rafael Moreira.

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 coach at Seattle Pacific. He won his opening nine games on the SPU sidelines, the first coach to win more than his first three for the Falcons. Looney, 34, has a 115-58 (.665) career record and won his 100th game on Dec. 4 against Carroll College. He is vying to become the first coach to direct SPU into the playoffs in his inaugural season. Looney compiled a 95-55 record in five seasons with Eastern Oregon and directed EOU to back-to-back NAIA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.