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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 --
Seattle Pacific at (#11) Central Washington, 7:00 p.m. PST
Nicholson Pavilion • Ellensburg, Wash. (FSN Northwest TV)
• Webcast: http://cwu.nmtvsports.com
• LiveStats: www.wildcatsports.com/custompages/livestats/mbasketball.html

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12 --
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, 6:00 p.m. PST (7 pm MST)
Johnson Sports Center • Nampa, Idaho
• Webcast: http://nnu.nmtvsports.com
• LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/nnu/mbball

One team's lengthy winning streak will come to an end Wednesday. The Seattle Pacific men's basketball team (16-5, 10-3 GNAC) brings a season-best eight-game winning streak to Ellensburg for a showdown with 11th-ranked Central Washington (18-2, 11-1) on Feb. 9 at Nicholson Pavilion. The game between second-place SPU and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference leading Wildcats will be televised live at 7 p.m. on FSN Northwest. The Falcons last loss was a 72-68 home setback against CWU, which is in the midst of a nine-game winning streak. The Wildcats, who have a 1 1/2-game lead in the standings, won eight of the last 10 meetings with SPU. Wednesday's contest is the first of five straight road games that conclude the Falcons regular-season slate. They visit Northwest Nazarene (8-11, 4-8) on Saturday, Feb. 12. Tip-off is 6 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. Mountain) at the Johnson Sports Center. SPU won the last six encounters against the Crusaders.

On the Air
FSN Northwest will televise Wednesday's game live throughout the region at 7 p.m. Brad Adam calls the action with color commentary from Francis Williams.



TV Time
Wednesday marks the second television appearance for the SPU men, whose 69-61 home win over Western Washington aired Jan. 26. The Falcons hope for a third TV appearance as FSN will air the March 4 GNAC Tournament championship game at 5 p.m.

Block Party
Wednesday's game features the top-five shot blockers in the GNAC. CWU's Chris Sprinker (1.9 blocks per game), Coby Gibler (1.5) and Roby Clyde (1.4) rank one-two-three, while SPU's Modou Niang (1.2) and Andy Poling (1.1) rank fourth and fifth.

Recent Recap
The SPU men won their last eight games, outscoring opponents 78.1 to 65.5 on average during that span. The Falcons are shooting 51.5 percent (219 of 425) during the winning streak, while limiting foes to 42.4% (194 of 458). 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.

Player of the Week
Senior Jeff Downs, who helped SPU vault into second place in the league standings with three victories during a six-day span, received the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball Player of the Week award Monday. Downs compiled 57 points last week and hit nine 3-pointers to push his league-leading total to 69 treys. Downs had 21 points in Saturday's 87-74 home win over Alaska Fairbanks, 20 in a 78-73 win over Alaska Anchorage (Feb. 3) and 16 in a 77-68 win at Saint Martin's (Jan. 31).

Notable
Senior Jeff Downs has 939 career points and needs 61 more to become the 31st 1,000-point scorer in SPU history ... After having two returning starters (Chris Banchero & Jake Anderson) suffer season-ending knee injuries, the Falcons have settled into the same starting lineup for the last 10 games ... Freshman point guard David Downs is averaging 9.3 points and 6.7 assists during the last 10 games since replacing Banchero as a starter.

Scouting Central Washington (18-2, 11-1 GNAC)
> The 11th-ranked Wildcats won their last nine games and have not lost since a 98-93 double-overtime home setback against Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 30.

> Central is the second-highest scoring team in the GNAC with 80.8 points per game. Five players average double-figure points, led by the 15.9 ppg of Chaminade transfer Jamar Berry.

> The Wildcats lead the series 69-42 and won eight of the last 10 meetings, including a 72-68 decision on Jan. 13 in Seattle. The Falcons lost in their last four visits to Ellensburg, where they have not won since 2006 (99-91 on Jan. 19).

> In his second season at SPU, Ryan Looney has a 1-2 record against the Wildcats.

Scouting Northwest Nazarene (8-11, 4-8 GNAC)
> The Crusaders, from Nampa, Idaho, feature a balanced attack with six players averaging between 12.1 and 8.4 points, led by Drew Eisinger at 12.1 points.

> Expect a rugged board battle Saturday as SPU (+7.8) and NNU (+6.6) are the GNAC's top two teams in terms of rebounding margin.

> SPU leads the series 46-22, including wins in 10 of the last 11 meetings. The Falcons won this year's first clash 84-67 on Jan. 15 in Seattle.

> Second-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 3-0 record against NNU.

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 averages 16.4 points while leading the conference with 69 treys. Younger brother, David, is a freshman point guard. Jeff has started all 21 games this season and David assumed the starting point guard role for the last 10 outings. 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.

Sweet Senior
Ryan Sweet delivers an outstanding all-around performance every night for SPU. The 6-foot-6 senior leads the Falcons in rebounds (7.0 rpg) and field goal percentage (59.6%). Included in that stellar shooting is 41-percent accuracy (14 of 34) from 3-point range. He ranks second on the team in steals (16) and third in both assists (59) and blocked shots (8). A second-year Falcon who transferred from Whatcom (Wash.) Community College, Sweet has 10 career double-doubles.

1,000 & Counting
Seattle Pacific registered the 1,000th victory in its 68-year history with a 69-61 home win over Western Washington on Jan. 26 that was televised on FSN Northwest. SPU's all-time record is 1,004-674 (59.8%) since the program was founded in 1943-44.

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 2011 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.

Banchero Sidelined
All-American Chris Banchero's brilliant collegiate career was cut short by a knee injury suffered with 12:52 left in the first half of an 84-61 win at Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 6. The senior point guard sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. The 2010 GNAC and West Region Player of the Year, Banchero garnered All-America accolades after his 19.6 points per game led the Falcons to a 22-6 record. SPU won the GNAC title and made its sixth straight NCAA Division II playoff appearance. Entering the game in which he was injured, Banchero was scoring at a 24.0-point clip, including a career-high 42-point performance at Dominican (Dec. 18).

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).

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 133-66 (.668) career record, including a 38-11 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.