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THURSDAY, JANUARY 6 --
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks, 8:30 p.m. PST (7:30 p.m. AST)
Patty Center (2,000) • Fairbanks, Alaska
• Webcast: www.pennatlantic.com
• LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/uaf/mbball/index.htm

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8 --
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage, 8:30 p.m. PST (7:30 p.m. AST)
Wells Fargo Sports Complex (1,000) • Anchorage, Alaska
( For Webcast and LiveStats go to www.goseawolves.com and click on the “calendar” tab )

Their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball road trip might be the most difficult. The Seattle Pacific men (7-3, 1-1 GNAC) embark on their annual trek to the state of Alaska where they were swept last season in the final regular-season games. This year's trip begins at Alaska Fairbanks (3-6, 0-2) on Thursday, Jan. 6 at 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time (7:30 p.m. Alaska Time). The Nanooks won a 113-105 home overtime decision in the last meeting to stop a five-game losing skid against SPU. On Saturday, Jan. 8, the fourth-place Falcons visit conference-leading Alaska Anchorage (10-3, 2-0) for an 8:30 p.m. PST clash. The Seawolves won the last three games vs. SPU played in Anchorage. The Falcons have not won both games on an Alaska trip in nine years, since the 2002 season.

Recent Recap
The SPU men opened the GNAC schedule at home and drew a split. They lost 88-85 against Western Oregon (Dec. 30) despite the 26 points of Chris Banchero. Against Saint Martin's (Jan. 1) the Falcons got a career-high 17 points from Jake Anderson, all in the first half, and Jeff Downs scored 19 points. SPU completed the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 6-2 record that included a 79-65 home victory over 23rd-ranked Chaminade (Dec. 3), which had beaten NCAA Division I Oklahoma the week before.

GNAC Race
SPU is seeking to win the GNAC championship for the fourth time in six years. The Falcons captured the 2010 and 2006 league titles outright and shared the 2007 crown with Seattle University. SPU was predicted to win the conference title by the annual coaches poll, receiving eight of 10 first-place votes en route to a 98-point total. Projected to place second, Central Washington collected one first-place vote and 88 points. Montana State Billings was selected third (72 points) followed by Alaska Anchorage (71), which picked up the remaining first-place vote. SPU, which is the poll favorite for the second year in a row, will be bidding for its fifth GNAC title.



Brilliant Banchero
Senior point guard Chris Banchero has twice been named the GNAC Player of the Week (Nov. 29 & Dec. 20). He is scoring at a 24.0-point clip, including a career-high 42-point performance at Dominican (Dec. 18). Banchero topped the 30-point plateau three times in the regular season. He was brilliant during the exhibition season, averaging 33.7 points in three outings. Banchero tallied 38 points in a win at Eastern Washington (Nov. 2) and keyed an SPU win at Nevada with 33 points (Nov. 6). He was named the 2010 GNAC and West Region Player of the Year. Banchero posted double-figure points in all but three games last season and averaged 19.6 points to rank No. 2 in the conference.

Falcons Fast Fact
• SPU leads all GNAC teams in three statistical categories: 3-point percentage (41.8%), rebounding margin (+8.1) and assist-turnover ratio (1.4, 165 assists, 117 turnovers).

Next Week
The Falcons return home to host Central Washington on Thursday, Jan. 13 and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Jan. 15. Both games are 7 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion.

Scouting Alaska Fairbanks (3-6, 0-2 GNAC):
> The Nanooks feature high-scoring senior Parrish West, whose 26.6-point average leads the GNAC. West has five 30-point games to his credit.

> UAF lost its last three games, including GNAC setbacks at Northwest Nazarene (68-83) and Central Washington (92-109) in their last two outings.

> The Falcons lead the all-time series 47-15 and won five of the last six meetings.

> Second-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 1-1 record against Alaska Fairbanks.

Scouting Alaska Anchorage (10-3, 2-0 GNAC)
> League-leading UAA boasts the GNAC's stingiest defense, yielding just 64.3 points per game while the Falcons produce 79.6 points per game to rank No. 5 offensively.

> The Seawolves lead the all-time series 31-24, including a 75-64 home win in last year's regular-season finalé that snapped a two-game SPU series win streak. The Falcons won 68-66 on Feb. 19, 2009 in Seattle on a last-second, 35-foot banker by Casey Reed, who is now a graduate assistant on the UAA staff.

> The SPU men lost in their last three visits to Anchorage, last winning in 2007.

> In his second season at SPU, Ryan Looney has a 1-1 record against the Seawolves.

Exhibition Recap
Senior Chris Banchero reached the 30-point plateau in all three games, leading SPU to a 3-0 exhibition record. The Falcons registered a pair of victories over NCAA Division I opponents. They won 87-82 at Eastern Washington (Nov. 2) led by Banchero's 38 points and nine assists. He led SPU to an 84-81 win with 33 points at Nevada (Nov. 6). Banchero scored 30 and Andy Poling added 20 points and 16 rebounds in an 88-76 home win over Northwest University (Nov. 9).

Home Sweet Home
The Falcons have a 4-2 record this season in Brougham Pavilion where they were victorious in 35 of their last 41 games. SPU was 14-1 last year at home. Brougham Pavilion seats 2,650 spectators. It was built in 1953 and renovated in 1992.

My Three Sons
The Downs family has a legacy with the SPU men's basketball program that began with father Mike who was a four-year Falcons letterman from 1974-77. He is the head boy's basketball coach at Bellevue (Wash.) Christian High School. His three sons are part of the current SPU squad. Jeff is a senior starter in the backcourt who averaged 8.9 points last season while leading the team with 50 treys. Younger brother, David, is a freshman point guard. Oldest brother, Dan, joined the staff this season as an assistant coach. All three Downs brothers hail from Kirkland, Wash. and played for their father at Bellevue Christian.

Chart Climber
Chris Banchero has 1,321 career points to rank No. 8 among all-time SPU scorers. He needs eight points to surpass No. 7 Dave Wortman (1,328 points, 1958-62) and 74 to take over the No. 6 spot from Brannon Stone (1,394 points, 1998-2002).

Notable
Chris Banchero's 42 points at Dominican (Dec. 18) were the fourth most in school history. The SPU single-game record of 54 points was established in 1958 by Loren Anderson ... The Falcons have a lopsided 2011 schedule with seven of their first nine games at home during their first swing through the GNAC slate and then seven of their final nine games are on the road ... Transfers Andy Poling (6-11, Gonzaga) and Modou Niang (6-10, Utah State) are the tallest tandem in Falcons history.

TV Time
The SPU men will appear on live television at least twice this season on FSN Northwest. Their Wednesday, Jan. 26 home game against Western Washington airs at 7 p.m. Pacific Time. The Falcons' Feb. 9 contest at Central Washington will be broadcast at 7 p.m. The March 4 GNAC Tournament championship game airs at 5 p.m. on FSN.

2010 Preview
The Seattle Pacific men return three starters from last year's team that posted a 22-6 record and made its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Heading the list of returnees is senior point guard Chris Banchero (Seattle, Wash.), the reigning GNAC and West Region Player of the Year. Banchero averaged 19.6 points and 2.9 assists while converting 52 percent of his shots from the field. A pair of front-line starters are back; senior Ryan Sweet (Port Orchard, Wash.) and junior Jake Anderson (Burlington, Wash.). Sweet tallied 10.3 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game in 2010. Anderson averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds. The Falcons front line will be bolstered by the addition of two towering transfers from Division I schools. SPU added 6-foot-11 sophomore Andy Poling (Portland, Ore.) from Gonzaga and 6-10 junior Modou Niang (Richard Toll, Senegal) from Utah State.

Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney led Seattle Pacific to a 22-6 record in 2010 and became the first coach to direct the Falcons to a conference championship in his inaugural season. Looney, who led his alma mater Eastern Oregon University to the quarterfinals of the 2009 NAIA Division II Tournament, was hired May 26, 2009 as the coach at SPU. He won his opening nine games on the SPU sidelines, the first coach to win more than his first three for the Falcons. Looney, 35, has a 124-64 (.660) career record, including a 29-9 mark at SPU. He was voted the 2010 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. 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.

Six-Year Run
The Falcons posted a 126-49 record over the previous six 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, 19-10 in 2009 and 22-6 last season. The 126 combined wins are the second-highest six-year total in school history, topped only by a 131-win run from 1997 to 2002. The Falcons competed in six straight NCAA Division II Tournaments (2005-10), advancing to the national semifinals in 2006.

2010 Review
Coach Ryan Looney directed SPU to a 22-6 record, its sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a No. 18 final ranking during his first season. He was named the 2010 GNAC Coach of the Year and Chris Banchero was the conference and West Region Player of the Year. The Falcons posted a first-place mark of 13-3 in league play. They lost 76-72 to BYU-Hawaii in the first round of the playoffs in Bellingham, Wash. One of SPU's signature victories was a 78-72 home win on Dec. 5 over that same BYU-Hawaii squad that was ranked No. 1 at the time. The Falcons will look to replace two starters, All-GNAC honorable mention guard Brandon Larrieu and forward Rob Diederichs, who set a new conference single-game record with 19 assists on Feb. 25.

Ticket Talk
SPU basketball tickets can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion on game day. Reserved center court seats are $8 and other sideline seats are $7. General admission tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students & senior citizens. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special GA rates by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.