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THURSDAY, JANUARY 5 --
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7 --
(#18) Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash.

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

Seattle Pacific hosts its first men's basketball games of the 2012 calendar year this week. The Falcons (10-3, 2-2 GNAC) entertain Alaska Fairbanks (4-9, 1-2) at Brougham Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. Pacific Time. The Nanooks lost seven of their last eight games against SPU. On Saturday, Jan. 7, the Falcons clash with 18th-ranked Alaska Anchorage (9-2, 3-0) at 7 p.m. The Seawolves lost in their last seven visits to Seattle.

Dynamic Defense
Seattle Pacific's defense ranks No. 6 nationally by surrendering just 56.2 points per game, over five 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 8-0 record when keeping opponents under 60 points. SPU is holding opponents to 38.6-percent shooting (No. 15 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 four foes under 50 points. Along with scoring defense, SPU also leads the league in 3-point field goal defense by limiting foes to 29.3 percent.



Recent Recap
SPU drew a split of two GNAC road games last week. The Falcons were within one with one minute to play, but ended up losing 64-58 at Western Oregon (Dec. 29). Andy Poling paced SPU with 17 points and nine rebounds. He was even better on Dec. 31, registering 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 56-41 win at Saint Martin's. That was Poling's fourth double-double. SPU finished with an 8-1 record in non-conference games, including a 76-65 home win over then third-ranked BYU-Hawaii on Nov. 19.

Falcons Fast Facts
The Falcons won all 10 games when they led with five minutes left to play ... Sophomore David Downs leads the GNAC in free throw accuracy at 87.5 percent (56 of 65) ... SPU boasts a 9-1 record when posting a better field goal percentage than opponents.

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.

Next Week
The SPU men begin a three-game road trip next week with visits to Central Washington (Jan. 12) and Northwest Nazarene (Jan. 14).

Scouting Alaska Fairbanks (4-9, 1-2 GNAC)
> The Nanooks feature Stefan Tica, whose 16.1-point average ranks fifth among GNAC players. Nico Matthews leads the league with 3.0 steals per game and is No. 2 with 4.8 assists per game.

> Mick Durham is in his first year as head coach at UAF. The former Montana State head coach spent the last three years as an assistant at New Mexico State.

> The Falcons lead the series 49-15 and won seven of the last eight meetings.

> Second-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 3-1 record against Alaska Fairbanks.

Scouting Alaska Anchorage (9-2, 3-0 GNAC)
> You might expect a defensive battle as SPU boasts the GNAC's stingiest defense, yielding just 56.2 points per game while the Seawolves limit foes to 59.2 points to rank No. 2. On the other side of the ledger, UAA is third in the league in scoring (82.5 ppg) and the Falcons are 10th (66.4 ppg.)

> The Seawolves lead the all-time series 33-25. The teams split the 2011 regular-season series with each winning at home. UAA was a 78-61 victor on Jan. 8 and the Falcons won the rematch 78-73 on Feb. 3. The Seawolves won the rubber match at home, a 72-67 decision on March 2 in the 2011 GNAC Tournament semifinals.

> The SPU men won the last seven games against the Seawolves played in Seattle.

> In his second season at SPU, Ryan Looney has a 2-3 record against the Seawolves.

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.

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.

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 52-19 (.732). 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 147-74 (.665) 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.