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MONDAY, DECEMBER 17 --
(#14) Warner Pacific at (#9) Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash.
• Webcast: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal#
• LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball
 
A non-conference clash of nationally ranked opponents is featured in the Falcons final game men's basketball game before the Christmas break. Seattle Pacific (8-1), ranked ninth among NCAA Division II competitors, hosts its final non-league game when Warner Pacific invades Brougham Pavilion on Monday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. The Knights, listed No. 14 nationally in the NAIA coaches poll, have an 8-3 record. They play at home Saturday against Concordia (Ore.) before visiting Seattle. The home team won all six previous meetings in the Falcons series with WPC. SPU resumes Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Jan. 3, hosting defending national champion Western Washington at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion. That top-10 showdown is a rematch of last season's NCAA West Regional championship game that the Vikings won 56-50 in Bellingham.
 
Ticket Talk
Individual tickets for SPU basketball games can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 Third Ave. W., Seattle 98119) on game day. Ticket windows open one hour before tip-off. 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 and senior citizens. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special GA rates by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance. SPU students and staff are admitted free with i.d.
 


Falcons Fast Facts
Stingy SPU limits opponents to 57.3 points per game to rank No. 7 among NCAA Division II defenses ... Andy Poling became the 32nd member of SPU's 1,000-point club on Dec. 8. He has 1,010 career points ... The Falcons have out-boarded every opponent and rank No. 9 nationally, topping opponents by an average of 11.8 rebounds per game ... 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 7.1 rebounds per game ...  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 ... Junior point guard David Downs was voted the MVP of two early-season tournaments.
 
Prolific Passers
“We assisted on a lot of baskets, which is something that has kind of become a trend for us so far,” Coach Ryan Looney said of SPU's remarkably unselfish style of play in an 80-45 home win over Evergreen State on Dec. 8. Of the Falcons' 28 baskets in their last game, 24 were directly set up by passes. That follows a Dec. 1 win at No. 25 Alaska Anchorage during which 24 of 26 field goals were assisted. During the two December outings, the Falcons were credited with assists on 48 of 54 baskets, an impressive 89-percent ratio. For the season, SPU's rate of assisted field goals is 75 percent, significantly higher than last year's final figure of 64 percent.
 
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 Warner Pacific (8-3 pending game Dec. 15 vs. Concordia)
> Warner Pacific is an NAIA member school from Portland, Ore. that competes in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.
 
> The Knights are ranked 14th in this week's NAIA national coaches poll. They have an 8-3 record and host Concordia (Ore.) on Dec. 15 before visiting SPU.
 
> Stephen Harris is a 6-foot-5 senior forward who averages a double-double. He leads WPC in scoring (17.9 ppg) and rebounds (10.8).
 
> Seattle Pacific won the most recent encounter 71-66 on Nov. 25, 2002 to even the all-time series at 3-3. The home team won all six previous meetings.
 
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 has been sidelined 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.
 
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.
 
Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney is in his fourth season after directing Seattle Pacific to postseason berths in each of his first three campaigns. He has a 73-25 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 168-80 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.