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THURSDAY, JANUARY 26 --
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28 --
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 4:00 p.m. PST (Homecoming)
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash.

• Webcast for both games: www.PennAtlantic.com  
• LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball

The second swing through the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule begins at home for the Seattle Pacific men's basketball team, which plays five of its next seven games at Brougham Pavilion. The fourth-place Falcons (14-4, 6-3 GNAC) are two games out of first place as they begin the second half of league play against Saint Martin's (8-10, 4-5) on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. SPU won its last five games against the Saints. On Saturday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m., the Falcons host second-place Western Oregon (14-4, 7-2) in their annual Homecoming game. They seek to avenge a 64-58 road loss to the Wolves.

Ticket Talk
Tickets to SPU basketball 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 priced at $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. Tickets for Saturday's Homecoming Game can be purchased online by clicking here:

Dynamic Defense
Seattle Pacific's defense ranks No. 5 nationally by surrendering just 57.6 points per game, over four points fewer than the school-record figure of 61.8 points opponents were limited to in 1962-63. Academy of Art lost 63-33 to SPU on Nov. 26, the lowest opponent point total allowed since 1951 when Saint Martin's was held to 31. The Falcons have an 11-0 record when keeping opponents under 60 points. SPU is holding opponents to 38.2-percent shooting (No. 10 nationally). BYU-Hawaii is the only team to shoot 50 percent against the Falcons, converting 51 percent (29 of 57) of its shots on Dec. 10. The Falcons held five foes under 50 points. Along with scoring and field goal defense, SPU also leads the league in 3-point field goal defense at 31.1 percent (39th NCAA).



Recent Recap
Jobi Wall (14) and Cory Hutsen (13) scored all of their points in the second half, but SPU's late rally fell short in an 86-77 loss at Montana State Billings (Jan. 21). The setback stopped the Falcons five-game winning streak. They faced their largest deficit of the season, trailing by 15 points before drawing as close as 80-77 with 44 seconds remaining. A season-high 24 turnovers did in SPU, which had the edge in shooting (47%-46%) and won the rebounding battle by a 36-29 margin. SPU finished with an 8-1 record in non-conference games, including a 76-65 home win over then third-ranked BYU-Hawaii (Nov. 19).

Notable
David Downs ranks No. 10 nationally in 3-point accuracy at 49.0 percent. He shoots 45.2 percent inside the arc ... The Falcons outrebounded their last six opponents by a combined 273-145, including a 61-24 advantage over Alaska Fairbanks (Jan. 5) and 54-19 at Central Washington (Jan. 12) ... SPU has a 13-2 record when outshooting it foes.

Next Week
Seattle Pacific makes its annual trek to Alaska to play at Anchorage on Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. PST and at Fairbanks on Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. on PST.

Scouting Saint Martin's (8-10, 4-5 GNAC)
> The Saints had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 64-54 home loss to Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 21.

> Saints senior forward Jeremy Green ranks third among GNAC scorers (17.7 ppg) and ninth in rebounding (7.2 rpg).

> The Falcons boast a 90-33 lead in all-time matchups, including five straight wins. SPU was victorious in 24 of the last 26 meetings, capped by a 56-41 decision on Dec. 31 in Lacey.

> Eighth-year Saints coach Keith Cooper served as an assistant on the SPU staff in 2002-03. He has a 2-16 record against the Falcons. Cooper is married to the former Linda Johnson, a basketball standout who is an SPU Hall of Fame inductee.

> Third-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 5-0 record against the Saints.

Scouting Western Oregon (14-4, 7-2 GNAC)
> The second-place Wolves feature a balanced attack with four double-figure scorers.

> Blair Wheadon leads WOU with a 15.7-point average (No. 5 in GNAC). His 1,489 career points rank No. 16 among all-time GNAC career scorers.

> Seattle Pacific leads the all-time series 34-14, winning 13 of the last 15 meetings.

> The Wolves won this season's first meeting, a 64-58 victory on Dec. 29 in Monmouth. The Falcons were victorious in a pair of meetings last season in Seattle, including a 69-65 decision on Feb. 28 during the first round of the GNAC Tournament.

> Brady Bergeson is in his first year as head coach of the Wolves after serving the previous three seasons as an assistant at Sacramento State. He is 1-0 against SPU

> Third-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 4-2 record against WOU. He competed against the Wolves during his playing career at Eastern Oregon.

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. Alaska Anchorage also got four first-place votes and was picked first. Western Washington was selected third, garnering the two remaining first-place votes. SPU is aiming for its fifth GNAC title since the league was formed in 2001-02.

Famous Uncle
Seattle Pacific freshman Riley Stockton is the nephew of NBA Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton, who distributed a record 15,806 assists during his 19-season career with the Utah Jazz (1984-2003). Riley Stockton prepped at Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash.

Big Men on Campus
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. Poling is a Sporting News honorable mention preseason All-American.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney is in his third season after directing Seattle Pacific to postseason berths in each of his first two campaigns. His SPU record is 56-20 (.737). 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 151-75 (.668) 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.