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Mac Martin Invitational
Acker Gym / Chico, Calif.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23 --
(#7) Seattle Pacific vs. San Francisco State, 5:30 p.m. PST
• LiveStats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/csuchico/mbball/xlive.htm
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 24 --
(#7) Seattle Pacific at (#16) Chico State, 7:30 p.m. PST
• LiveStats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/csuchico/mbball/xlive.htm
• Live Audio: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/chico.portal#
 
A clash of ranked foes highlights the Thanksgiving weekend road trip for the No. 7 Seattle Pacific men's basketball team (4-0), which visits Chico, Calif. for the 53rd-annual Mac Martin Invitational. The Falcons take on San Francisco State (0-2) on Friday, Nov. 23 at 5:30 p.m. in Acker Gym. They own a 7-3 lead in the series against the Gators. On Saturday, Nov. 24, SPU has a 7:30 p.m. encounter with No. 16 Chico State (1-0). The Falcons have an 11-1 advantage in the all-time series. Those games are the final tune-ups for SPU before the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule starts next week in Alaska. The Falcons, who are in the midst of a six-game road trip, don't return to Brougham Pavilion until a Dec. 8 non-conference game against Evergreen State.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
Sophomore guard Riley Stockton is the nephew of NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton who compiled a record 15,806 assists during his 19-year career with the Utah Jazz ...  Patrick Simon is a 6-foot-8 junior transfer from Washington State who is second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg). He leads SPU in 3-pointers (11) and 3-point percentage (48%)  ...  As a prep pitcher at Faith Christian High School, Jobi Wall tossed a perfect game and hit for the cycle in a five-inning contest during the 2008 Colorado state Class 3A playoffs ... SPU owns the longest current playoff streak among NCAA Division II men's basketball teams. The Falcons earned eight straight postseason berths since 2005.
 


Recent Recap
GNAC/PacWest Challenge MVP David Downs scored five of his 14 points in the first four minutes Saturday (Nov. 17) helping SPU tally the game's opening 12 points en route to a 71-54 win at BYU-Hawaii. After Andy Poling started the game with a jumper, Downs made a layup and then a 3-pointer. Corey Hutsen followed with a basket and Riley Stockton nailed a trey to put SPU up 12-0 with 14:19 left in the first half. The Seasiders didn't score until 6:49 into the game and missed their first 11 shots until a layup at 11:54 drew them within 17-3. That was SPU's second straight win at the BYU's Cannon Activities Center following Friday's (Nov. 16) 73-53 victory over Hawaii Pacific. Patrick Simon had a game-high 16 points in that game, including two 3-pointers that sparked a 16-point spree that brought SPU from a 20-13 deficit to lead for good at 29-20.
 
Exhibition Recap
The Falcons drew a split of their two exhibition games, losing 77-71 at NCAA Division I Idaho (Oct. 27) before beating Pacific Lutheran 72-48 at home (Nov. 2).
 
GNAC Race
The Falcons are seeking to win their fifth GNAC championship since the league was formed in 2001-02.  They captured the 2010 and 2006 conference titles outright. SPU shared the 2007 GNAC crown with Seattle University and in 2002 finished in a three-way tie with Humboldt State and Western Washington.
 
2012 Preview
Fourth-year coach Ryan Looney returns four starters from last season's 23-8 squad that made its eighth straight playoff appearance. Heading the list of returnees are 2012 All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference selections David Downs and Andy Poling. Downs (6-2, Jr., PG) is the top returning scorer in the GNAC who led SPU with 15.6 points per game. Poling (6-11, Sr., C) transferred from Gonzaga prior to the 2010-11 season. He is the league's leading returning rebounder with 7.4 rebounds per game in 2012 while scoring at a 15.4-point clip. Those two are joined on this year's preseason All-GNAC team by Jobi Wall and newcomer Patrick Simon. Wall (6-6, Sr., F) averaged 11.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season. Simon (6-8, Jr., F) is a transfer from Washington State who averaged 2.6 points in limited duty last year. Four other lettermen return, led by starter Riley Stockton (6-4, So., G) and backup center Cory Hutsen (6-8, Jr., C). Stockton is the nephew of Hall of Famer John Stockton, the NBA's all-time assist leader. An impressive cast of newcomers includes athletic Montana State transfer Shawn Reid (6-4, Jr., F) and freshman Brendan Carroll (6-4, Fr., G) from Brisbane, Australia.
 
2012 Review
The SPU men registered a 23-8 record last year and finished third in the GNAC with a 13-5 mark. They won two playoff games before losing 56-50 at eventual national champion Western Washington in the West Region championship game. Point guard David Downs and center Andy Poling were first-team All-GNAC performers.
 
Scouting San Francisco State (0-2)
> The Gators opened the season with a 115-110 triple-overtime loss to Dominican and then lost 86-78 to Minnesota State.
 
> Senior transfer Decensae White, who played at Texas Tech and Santa Clara, leads SFSU with 20.5-point and 5.0-rebound averages.
 
> Nefi Perdomo amassed 1,160 career points to rank No. 5 among all-time Gators.
 
> SPU owns a 7-3 series advantage despite losing the last meeting 70-65 on Nov. 29, 2008 in a neutral-site game at Seaside, Calif.
 
> In his fourth season at SPU, Ryan Looney has never coached against the SFSU.
 
Scouting Chico State (1-0)
> The Wildcats opened the season with a 70-35 triumph over Pacific University paced by the 16 points of Jordan Semple.
 
> Chico has four starters returning from the 2012 playoff squad that posted a 25-8 record and won the CCAA championship with a 16-6 league ledger.
 
> Heading the list of returnees is Damario Sims, a first-team All-CCAA selection who led the team with 11.2 points per game in 2012, including a team-high 54 treys.
 
> The Falcons won the most recent meeting 65-44 on Nov. 28, 2009 in Chico to take an 11-1 series advantage. Chico's lone win came at home (93-91) on Nov. 28, 2003.
 
> Fourth-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 1-0 record against the Wildcats.
 
Terrific Transfers
The Falcons roster is bolstered by the addition of NCAA Division I transfers Shawn Reid and Patrick Simon. A 6-foot-4 junior forward, Reid was the second-leading scorer at Montana State, averaging 10.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 2012. He started 10 games, including a Feb. 15 contest against Weber State during which he made five 3-pointers en route to a career-high 31-point performance. Simon is a 6-8 junior forward who played two seasons at Washington State. He averaged 2.6 points in limited duty for the Cougars, getting 15 of his 22 baskets from 3-point range.
 
Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney begins his fourth season after directing Seattle Pacific to postseason berths in each of his first three campaigns. He has a 69-24 record at SPU. The Falcons registered a 23-8 record last year and finished third in the GNAC with a 13-5 mark. They won two playoff games and advanced to the West Region final before losing 56-50 to eventual national champion Western Washington. In 2011, SPU was 20-10 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 conference championship in his inaugural season. He was voted the 2010 GNAC Coach of the Year. 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, 37, has a 164-79 career record, including a 95-55 ledger in five seasons with Eastern Oregon. He directed EOU to back-to-back NAIA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.
 
Eight Great Years
Seattle Pacific boasts the longest current playoff streak among NCAA Division II men's basketball programs, a stretch of eight years that dates to 2005. The Falcons posted a 169-67 record over those previous eight seasons, more victories than any GNAC 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, 20-10 in 2011 and 23-8 last season. The 169 combined wins are the second-highest eight-year total in school history, topped only by a 174-win run from 1995 to 2002. The Falcons advanced to the national semifinals in 2006.
 
GNAC Coaches Poll
Seattle Pacific, which returns four starters from a team that advanced to the 2012 West Region final, was selected as the favorite to capture the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball championship by the preseason coaches' poll. In addition, SPU placed a league-high four players on the 15-man preseason all-conference team. The Falcons collected eight of 10 first-place votes en route to a 97-point total. Defending national champion Western Washington was projected to place second by the GNAC coaches, receiving the remaining two first-place votes for 90 points. Central Washington was selected third with 79 points, followed by Alaska Anchorage (70), Montana State Billings (49), Western Oregon (41) and Northwest Nazarene (34). Alaska Fairbanks and Saint Martin's tied for ninth with 31 points and Simon Fraser had a 10th-place total of 28. Among the Falcons four individuals honored were unanimous preseason picks David Downs and Andy Poling, who were all-conference team members in 2012. They are joined on this year's early GNAC squad by Jobi Wall and newcomer Patrick Simon. SPU claimed four league championships in the past 11 seasons.