• Complete Release (pdf)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29 –
(#13) Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks, 8:00 p.m. PST (7:00 AST)
Patty Center (2,000) / Fairbanks, Alaska
• Webcast: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/uaf.portal#
• LiveStats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/uaf/mbball/scoreboard.aspx
 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 –
(#13) Seattle Pacific at (#25) Alaska Anchorage, 8:30 p.m. PST (7:30 AST)
Wells Fargo Sports Complex (1,000) / Anchorage, Alaska
• Webcast & LiveStats: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/uaa.portal?DB_OEM_ID=13400#
 
The 13th-ranked Seattle Pacific men open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on what has historically been their most difficult basketball road trip, their annual trek north to Alaska. The Falcons (5-1) visit Alaska Fairbanks (4-3) on Thursday, Nov. 29 for an 8 p.m. Pacific Time contest (7 p.m. Alaska Time). The Nanooks lost nine of their last 10 games versus SPU. On Saturday, Dec. 1 the Falcons clash with No. 25 Alaska Anchorage (6-1) at 8:30 p.m. PST (7:30 AST). The Seawolves won the last six times they hosted SPU. The Falcons have not won both games on an Alaska road trip in 11 years, since 2002. The visit to Alaska concludes a six-game road trip for SPU, which returns to Brougham Pavilion for the first time in nearly a month with a Dec. 8 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. Riley leads the Falcons with 8.3 rebounds per game ...  Patrick Simon is a 6-foot-8 junior transfer from Washington State who is third on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg). He leads SPU in 3-point percentage (44%)  ...  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 ... David Downs was voted the MVP of two tournaments.
 
Recent Recap
A day after their first loss, the Falcons soared with their finest performance. David Downs tallied five of his 16 points during a game-opening 16-0 surge on Nov. 24 for 7th-ranked Seattle Pacific, which routed No. 16 Chico State 79-47 in the final game of the Mac Martin Invitational men's basketball tournament at Acker Gymnasium. SPU made seven of its first nine shots and got baskets from five different players to fuel the game-opening run. Chico came up empty on its first 10 possessions, missing seven straight shots and committing three turnovers. The Wildcats first points came 7:22 into the game. SPU dominated the boards (40-18) and points-in-the-paint category (46-14). The Falcons staged a complete turnaround from the night before when they shot just 38 percent versus San Francisco State and were outscored 32-16 inside the lane in a 60-55 loss on Nov. 23. Jobi Wall led SPU with 20 points in its lone loss.
 
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.
 
Scouting Alaska Fairbanks (4-3)
> The Nanooks have a 3-0 home record with all three losses coming at neutral sites.
 
> Mick Durham is in his second year as head coach at UAF. The former Montana State head coach spent the previous three years as an assistant at New Mexico State.
 
> The Falcons lead the series 51-15 and won nine of the last 10 meetings.
 
> Fourth-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 5-1 record against Alaska Fairbanks.
 
Scouting Alaska Anchorage (6-1)
> The 25th-ranked Seawolves' only loss came against Division I Belmont (70-64). They beat D-I opponents UC Riverside (66-65) and Loyola Marymount (83-77).
 
> Anchorage leads the all-time series 34-27. SPU won last year's first meeting 84-51 on Jan. 7, 2012 in Seattle, its second-largest winning margin ever over UAA.
 
> The SPU men lost in their last six visits to Anchorage, last winning in 2007. They were defeated 78-69 on Feb. 2, 2012 at Wells Fargo Arena.
 
> The GNAC rivals met in the NCAA West Region semifinals last season in Bellingham, Wash. with the Falcons winning 80-67.
 
> Fourth-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 4-4 record against the Seawolves.
 
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. Reid is out with an injured hand. 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 70-25 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 165-80 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.