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      • VIDEO: Jeff  Dorman

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 --
Seattle Pacific at Chaminade, 9:30 p.m. PST (7:30 p.m. HST)
McCabe Gym; Honolulu, Hawaii 
• LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/chaminade/mbball/index.htm
• Webcast: www.meridix.com/everywhere.php?liveid=ChaminadeU

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10 --
Seattle Pacific at BYU-Hawaii, 9:30 p.m. PST (7:30 p.m. HST)
Cannon Activities Center; Laie, Hawaii 
• LiveStats: http://sports.byuh.edu/public/athletics_web/xlive.htm
• Webcast: www.meridix.com/schedule.php?liveid=byuhawaiibasketball

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13 --
Dominican at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion; Seattle, Wash.
• Webcast: www.PennAtlantic.com 
• LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball

A frenetic, three-games-in-five-days schedule, including a 5,360-mile roundtrip to Honolulu, Hawaii awaits the Seattle Pacific men's basketball team (6-2). The Falcons embark on a voyage to the Aloha State for two games, beginning on Friday, Dec. 9 at Chaminade (3-3). Tip-off is 9:30 p.m. Pacific Time (7:30 p.m. HT) at McCabe Gym in Honolulu. On Saturday, Dec. 10, SPU has a rematch with BYU-Hawaii (1-5) with a 9:30 PST game at the Cannon Activities Center in Laie. SPU beat the Seasiders 76-65 on Nov. 19 in Seattle. The Falcons fly home in time for a Tuesday, Dec. 13 game against Dominican of California (1-7) at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion. That game concludes the non-conference slate for SPU, which has a 5-1 record outside of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Tuesday is also the Falcons final game before Christmas. They resume action with a pair of league contests, on Dec. 29 at Western Oregon and Dec. 31 at Saint Martin's.

Recent Recap


SPU won its conference opener 68-57 over Simon Fraser (Dec. 1) in Seattle behind the 19 points of Jobi Wall and 14 from Scott Morse. The Falcons lost a 79-71 home decision to Western Washington (Dec. 3) despite the season-high 31 points of Andy Poling. They led 35-30 at halftime before surrendering 49 second-half points to the Vikings.

Notable
The Falcons are 5-0 when holding opponents under 60 points ... SPU has yet to play a close game, posting an average margin of 14.7 points in five victories and two losses by an average of 8.5 points ...  Junior Andy Poling is a Sporting News honorable mention preseason All-American ... Academy of Art lost 63-33 to the Falcons on Nov. 26, the lowest opponent point total allowed by SPU since 1951 when Saint Martin's was held to 31 ... In their second season at SPU, Division I transfers Andy Poling (6-11, Gonzaga) and Modou Niang (6-10, Utah State) are the tallest tandem in SPU history.

GNAC Race
The Falcons are seeking to win the GNAC championship for the fourth time in seven years. They captured the 2010 and 2006 league titles outright and shared the 2007 crown with Seattle University. SPU was projected to finish second in this year's GNAC standings by the annual coaches poll, receiving four of 10 first-place votes en route to a 94-point total. Alaska Anchorage also got four first-place votes and was picked first by one point over the Falcons. Western Washington was selected third, garnering the two remaining first-place votes, and defending champion Central Washington was fourth. SPU is aiming for its fifth GNAC title since the league was formed in 2001-02.

Scouting Chaminade (3-3)
> The Silverswords three losses came against NCAA Division I opponents UCLA, Georgetown and Tennessee.

> Eric Boivard is in his first season as head coach at Chaminade after serving seven seasons as an assistant at West Liberty. He helped the Hilltoppers lead all NCAA Division II teams in scoring six of the last seven years. West Liberty averaged 111 points per game last year.

> SPU owns a 13-5 series lead, including a 79-65 win on Dec. 3, 2010 in Seattle. Chaminade won the last meeting in Hawaii, a 103-96 decision on Jan. 6, 2001.

> Third-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 1-0 record against the Silverswords.

Scouting BYU-Hawaii (1-5)
> The Seasiders were national runners-up last season with a 22-9 record. They lost 71-68 to Bellarmine (Ky.) in the NCAA Division II championship game.

> Pac West Conference member BYU-Hawaii features guard Tsung-Hsien “Jet” Chang, The Sporting News preseason Player of the Year pick. He averaged 21.2 points last season and scored 35 in the national championship game.

> The Falcons won the last two meetings to take a 9-1 series advantage. They defeated then No. 3-ranked BYUH 76-65 on Nov. 19 in Seattle.

> In his third season at SPU, Coach Ryan Looney has a 2-1 record vs. the Seasiders.

Scouting Dominican (1-7)
> Located in San Rafael, Calif., Dominican is in its third season as an NCAA Division II member after previously competing in the NAIA. The Penguins are members of the Pacific West Conference.

> Dominican stopped a season-opening, seven-game losing skid with a 92-80 win over Holy Names on Dec. 3.

> Booker Harris is in his first season as head coach at Dominican after a two-year stint as an assistant at Metro State.

> The Falcons own a 2-0 series lead. They won 81-68 at Dominican on Dec. 18, 2010 behind 42 points from then-senior Chris Banchero.

> Second-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 2-0 record against Dominican.

Terrific Transfer
The Falcons frontline is bolstered by the addition of transfer Jobi Wall, a 6-foot-6 junior who led all scorers with 24 points in the win at Arizona (Oct. 27). He averaged 16.6 points and 7.7 rebounds and shot 44 percent on 3-pointers in 2010 at Colorado Christian. Wall used an injury red-shirt season last year at CCU. SPU got a first-hand look at Wall on Dec. 30, 2009 at Brougham Pavilion. He amassed 28 points and 13 rebounds, hitting 5 of 9 treys in a 73-69 Colorado Christian win over the Falcons. As a prep pitcher at Faith Christian High School, Wall tossed a perfect game and hit for the cycle in a five-inning contest during the 2008 Colorado state Class 3A playoffs.

Exhibition Recap
Jobi Wall scored 24 points, including the go-ahead basket on a layup with 2:20 left in SPU's 69-68 upset at No. 16 Arizona on Oct. 27 in Tucson. The Falcons led 37-29 at halftime. The Wildcats staged an 18-6 run and led by two before SPU scored six straight to take the lead for good. A potential game-winning trey by UA's Nick Johnson missed at the buzzer. On Nov. 4, C.J. Wilcox led four double-figure scorers for Washington with 19 points in a 77-60 win over SPU. Andy Poling's 12 points and seven rebounds paced the Falcons, who made just 10 of 23 free throws against the crosstown Huskies.

Tropical Tour
The Seattle Pacific men got an early jump on the basketball season with a six-day trip to Nassau, Bahamas from Sept. 10-16. The Falcons swept three professional teams from the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA). They won 96-63 over the two-time defending league champion Commonwealth Giants, defeated the league runner-up Real Deal Shockers 75-52 and beat the Mailboat Cybots 93-51. Andy Poling averaged a double-double on the trip, with 19.3 points and 11.3 rebounds.

2012 Preview
Third-year coach Ryan Looney returns three starters from last year's 20-10 squad that made its seventh straight playoff appearance. Heading the list of returnees is 6-foot-11 junior post Andy Poling, a Sporting News honorable mention All-American. The Gonzaga transfer averaged 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in his first year as a Falcon. Also returning is 2010 GNAC Freshman of the Year David Downs. He assumed the starting point guard duties midway through the season, after an injury sidelined All-American Chris Banchero, and averaged 6.9 points and 4.3 assists per game. The impressive list of newcomers features Jobi Wall, a 6-6 transfer who averaged 16.6 points and 7.7 rebounds in 2010 at Colorado Christian. Freshman Riley Stockton is the nephew of Hall of Famer John Stockton, the NBA's all-time assist leader. The SPU men were ranked No. 22 nationally among NCAA Division II teams in preseason coaches poll.

Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney begins his third season after directing Seattle Pacific to postseason berths in each of his first two campaigns. His SPU record is 48-18 (.727). The Falcons were 20-10 last year and upset fifth-ranked Central Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Looney led SPU to a 22-6 record in 2010 and became the first coach to direct the Falcons to a league title in his inaugural season. He was voted the 2010 GNAC Coach of the Year. Looney, who led 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, 36, has a 143-73 (.662) career record, including a 95-55 record in five seasons with Eastern Oregon. He directed EOU to back-to-back NAIA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.

Giant Killers
Seattle Pacific is an NCAA Division II competitor that won three of its last four games against Division I opponents, all of them road exhibitions. The Falcons, who were 69-68 victors at Arizona on Oct. 27, defeated Eastern Washington (87-82) and Nevada (84-81) on the road in last season's exhibition contests. SPU lost 77-60 at Washington on Nov. 4. This year's two encounters increase to 18 the number of Division I foes the Falcons have faced during the last eight seasons.

Seven-Year Surge
The Falcons posted a 146-59 record over the previous seven seasons, 12 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, 22-6 in 2010 and 20-10 last season. The 146 combined wins are the second-highest seven-year total in school history, topped only by a 154-win run from 1996 to 2002. The Falcons competed in seven straight NCAA Division II Tournaments (2005-10), advancing to the national semifinals in 2006.

2011 Review
Seattle Pacific compiled a 20-10 record in 2011 en route to its seventh straight NCAA Division II Tournament berth. The Falcons placed third in the GNAC (12-6) and were the league's last team standing in the 2011 playoffs after upsetting fifth-ranked Central Washington 76-63 during a first-round game in Ellensburg. The Falcons will look to replace two starters, leading 3-point shooter Jeff Downs (95 treys) and top rebounder Ryan Sweet (7.2 rpg). Also departed is Chris Banchero, the 2010 West Region Player of the Year who missed the final 19 games last season due to a knee injury. He amassed 22.4 points and 5.6 assists per game before being sidelined.