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2012 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
West Regional / Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
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Purchase Tickets
By Phone: (360) 650-2583  
Online:  http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=22357

FRIDAY, MARCH 9 (First Round)
Game 1 – (#6) Dixie State vs. (#3) Seattle Pacific, 12:30 pm
Game 2 – (#7) Montana State Billings vs. (#2) Alaska Anchorage, 2:30 pm
Game 3 – (#5) Chico State vs. (#4) Humboldt State, 5:30 pm
Game 4 – (#8) Grand Canyon vs. (#1) Western Washington, 7:30 pm

SATURDAY, MARCH 10 (Regional Semifinals)
Game 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 5:00 pm
Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:00 pm

MONDAY, MARCH 12 (Regional Championship)
Game 7 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 7:00 pm

Perennial playoff participant Seattle Pacific starts this year's postseason journey against a familiar foe. The Falcons (21-7) drew the No. 3 seed in the West Region for their eighth straight foray into the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament, the nation's longest current streak. They open with a rematch against No. 6 Dixie State on Friday, Mar. 9. Tip-off is 12:30 p.m. at Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham, Wash. The Red Storm (20-6) are champions of the Pacific West Conference. SPU defeated Dixie 58-42 on Nov. 11 in St. George, Utah in the season opener for both teams. These teams met in the NCAA West Region semifinals last year and Dixie State was a 75-73 victor over the Falcons.

Regional Format
The SPU-Dixie State winner meets the victor of Friday's 2:30 p.m. game between Montana State Billings and Alaska Anchorage. The West Region semifinal is slated for Saturday, Mar. 10 at 5 p.m. The other half of the bracket has Chico State meeting Humboldt State at 5:30 p.m. followed by a 7:30 p.m. clash between Western Washington and Grand Canyon. The regional championship game is slated for Monday, Mar. 12 at 7 p.m. All three opening rounds will be played in Bellingham. The West region winner advances to the Elite Eight, set for Mar. 21, 22 and 24 in Highland Heights, Ky.

West Region Field
The 64-team field was announced Sunday and SPU is one of eight teams vying for the West Region title, joining regional top-seed and host Western Washington. The Vikings (25-5) have a first-round matchup with No. 8 seed Grand Canyon (19-7) from the Pac West. League regular-season winner WWU and SPU are among four Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams that comprise half the West Region field, including No. 2 Alaska Anchorage (22-6) and No. 7 Montana State Billings (18-11). The latter two will meet in the NCAA first round in a rematch of Saturday's GNAC Tournament championship game that Billings won 74-70. Also participating in the West are No. 4 Humboldt State (22-7) and No. 5 Chico State (24-7). Those two California Collegiate Athletic Association rivals have a first-round playoff clash. Humboldt beat Chico 89-76 in Saturday's CCAA Tournament title game.

Ticket Talk
Tickets for the West Regional can be purchased by calling 360-650-2583. Reserved tickets are $12, general admission $8, and students, youth and seniors with ID are $5. Tickets are good all day for multiple-game dates. Tickets are also available online through the WWU Ticket Office at: http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=22357



Dynamic Defense
SPU's defense ranks No. 10 nationally by surrendering 60.4 points per game, over one point 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 (Nov. 26), the lowest opponent point total yielded since 1951. The Falcons have a 14-0 record when keeping foes under 60 points. SPU is holding opponents to 38.9-percent shooting (No. 8 nationally). BYU-Hawaii (Dec. 10) and Alaska Anchorage (Feb. 2) are the only teams to shoot 50 percent against SPU. The Falcons held five foes under 50 points. Along with scoring and field goal defense, SPU also leads the league in rebound margin at plus-10.1 (No. 5 NCAA).

Scouting Dixie State (20-6)
> The Red Storm have won three straight Pacific West Conference champions.

> Dixie is led by the scoring duo of Maurice Cole (12.7 ppg) and Griffon Jones (11.6).

> The Falcons defeated Dixie 58-42 on Nov. 11 in St. George, Utah in this year's season opener for both teams. Jobi Wall scored 10 points to lead a balanced attack for SPU, which limited the Red Storm to 14 first-half points. Dixie was held to its lowest point total, and also failed to put a scorer in double figures for the first time, in six seasons as a Division II member. The win gave SPU a 3-2 edge in the series

> The Red Storm swept a pair of games last season, winning 68-61 in Seattle on Nov. 20, 2010 and then eliminating SPU from the 2011 NCAA Tournament with a 75-73 decision on Mar. 12, 2011 in Ellensburg, Wash. in the West Regional semifinal.

> The Falcons won the first two encounters, defeating Dixie 82-76 on Dec. 20, 2006 in Utah and 71-67 on Dec. 30, 2006 in Seattle.

> Third-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 1-2 record against the Red Storm.

Close to Home
For the fourth straight season SPU remains in the state of Washington for the playoffs. The venue for this year's tournament is WWU's Carver Gym in Bellingham, the site of the 2009 and 2010 West Regionals. The 2011 regional was contested in Ellensburg last year.

SPU in the NCAAs
The Falcons are participating in the NCAA Tournament for the school-record eighth straight season, the longest current streak among Division II teams. Seattle Pacific will participate in the postseason for the 16th time in the last 19 seasons. The Falcons won at least one game in 17 of its 22 previous NCAA playoff appearances. SPU compiled a 25-22 all-time record in the NCAA playoffs and advanced to the national semifinals in 2000 and again in 2006. Last year, the eighth-seeded Falcons upset No. 1 seed and fifth-ranked Central Washington 76-63 in the opening round before losing 75-73 to Dixie State in the West Region semifinal in Ellensburg, Wash.

SPU vs. the Field
SPU has a 3-5 record against teams from this year's 64-team NCAA Tournament field, having played five of them: Alaska Anchorage (1-1), Dixie State (1-0), Grand Canyon (0-1), Montana State Billings (1-1) and Western Washington (0-2).

Remarkable Rebounders
SPU out-rebounded each of its last 18 opponents by a combined 727-465 margin, including a 35-board advantage at Central Washington (54-19) on Jan. 12. The last team to out-rebound the Falcons was BYU-Hawaii (30-23) on Dec. 10. SPU ranks No. 5 nationally in rebound differential at plus-10.1 boards per game.

Quoting Coach Ryan Looney
“I'm excited about the seed we got. We didn't necessarily end the season the way we wanted to and we're fortunate to have that third seed. We also know that in playing Dixie State we're getting a team that is very similar to ourselves. They are going to play extremely hard and they're very well coached. We're going to have to bring some toughness to be able to win that game. It's great that we don't have to travel that far. We'll be able to spend at least a little bit more time at home probably than some of the teams. To be able to play in a venue that we're familiar with helps”

On eight straight playoff berths:“We take pride in that streak. When we recruit players we talk about, regardless of level or where they decide to go to play, one of the things that helps create a quality experience is winning. Obviously our program has been able to do that now with eight consecutive trips to the tournament.”

Famous Uncle
SPU 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.

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.

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.

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 64-22 (.744). 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 159-77 (.674) 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.

20 for 20
The Falcons reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in the last eight years. SPU registered 20 victories in a season for the 20th time in school history.

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.

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.

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.