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MAC MARTIN INVITATIONAL
Acker Gym / Chico, Calif.
 
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 –
(#9) Seattle Pacific vs. San Francisco State, 5:30 p.m. PST
• LiveStats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/csuchico/mbball/xlive.htm
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 –
(#9) Seattle Pacific at 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#
 
For the second straight season the Thanksgiving destination for ninth-ranked Seattle Pacific is Chico, Calif. for the 54th-annual Mac Martin Invitational men's basketball tournament. The Falcons (6-1) hope the Friday, Nov. 29 first-round game goes better than last year's when playing the same San Francisco State team that dealt their lone 2012-13 non-conference loss, 60-55. The rematch with the Gators (1-0) is set 5:30 p.m. at Acker Gym, the site of at Saturday, Nov. 30 encounter at 7:30 p.m. with host Chico State (2-1). SPU has a 12-1 advantage in the all-time series, including a convincing 79-47 victory in the second round of last year's tournament in Chico. Those games are the final tune-ups before the Falcons begin the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule next week at home. They host Northwest Nazarene on Dec. 5 and Central Washington on Dec. 7.
 
Almost 100
Fifth-year coach Ryan Looney needs two victories to become the fourth coach in SPU history to reach the 100-win mark. His 98-29 record gives Looney fewer Falcons wins than only Les Habegger (267), Ken Bone (253) and Jeff Hironaka (134).
 


Falcons Fast Facts
SPU owns the longest current playoff streak among NCAA Division II men's basketball teams at nine years ... Seven returning Falcons already reached their single-game scoring high this year: David Downs (34), Patrick Simon (30), Cory Hutsen (24), Riley Stockton (15), Mitch Penner (13), Brendan Carroll (12) and Ryan Todd (6) ... SPU was selected No. 1 in the Sporting News preseason magazine's national rankings.
 
Dynamic Downs
Senior David Downs is a preseason All-American and was voted the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year by the league's coaches. The 6-foot-2 point guard is averaging a team-high 21.7 points and 4.7 assists. A two-time, first-team all-conference selection, Downs ranks No. 7 among all-time Falcons with 444 career assists. His 1,284 career points place him 10th among all-time SPU scorers, just 11 points behind No. 9 Gregg Kingma (1,295). Downs was the Nov. 11 GNAC Player of the Week and the MVP of both the Disney Tip-Off Classic and GNAC/PacWest Challenge. He is shooting a remarkable 60 percent (21 of 35) from 3-point range. Downs (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue Christian HS) was a Division II Bulletin honorable mention All-America selection last year and was the MVP of the 2013 GNAC Tournament after leading SPU to the championship.
 
Famous Uncle
Junior guard 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). The 2013 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, Riley Stockton prepped at Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash. The 6-foot-4 guard last year became the shortest player to lead the GNAC in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game.
 
Scouting San Francisco State (1-0)
> The Gators opened the season with a 77-57 win at Williams Jessup on Nov. 19 behind 26 points from William Overton Jr.
 
> SFSU is coming off a 16-12 season in which they finished ninth in the West Region ranking to miss a postseason berth by one spot.
 
> SPU owns a 7-4 series advantage despite losing the last two meetings, including last season's 60-55 Gator win on Nov. 23 at the 2012 Mac Martin Invitational that was the Falcons lone non-conference loss in 2012-13.
 
> In his fifth season at SPU, Ryan Looney has an 0-1 record versus SFSU.
 
Scouting Chico State (2-1)
> The Wildcats sandwiched wins over Holy Names (75-43) and Simpson (70-47) around an 80-78 overtime league loss to Cal State Stanislaus.
 
> Chico has three starters returning from the 2013 playoff squad that posted a 19-11 record and was third in the CCAA with a 14-8 league ledger.
 
> Heading the list of returnees is Amir Carraway, a second-team All-CCAA selection who led the team with 11.5 points per game in 2013.
 
> The Falcons routed Chico 79-47 on Nov. 24 in last year's Mac Martin Invitational to take a 12-1 series lead. Chico's lone win came at home (93-91) on Nov. 28, 2003.
 
> Fifth-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 2-0 record against the Wildcats.
 
Recent Recap
David Downs tallied 21 of his game-high 25 points during the second half when Seattle Pacific broke open a tight game en route to a 73-57 win over Hawaii Pacific (Nov. 23) at the GNAC/PacWest Challenge in Ellensburg. The game was tied at halftime and remained close for the next 10 minutes. It was even at 45-45 when Downs scored the Falcons' next 11 points, sparking a 14-2 run that gave them the lead for good. Downs was the tournament MVP. The Falcons were the only team to win both games in the tournament. They defeated BYU-Hawaii 86-73 the night before (Nov. 22) led by a combined 40 points from Cory Hutsen and Matt Borton. Hutsen led all scorers with 22 points, on 9-for-14 shooting from the floor. Borton, a junior transfer from Idaho, posted his collegiate high with 18 points. His 6-of-8 performance from the field included four 3-pointers in five attempts.
 
Exhibition Recap
The Falcons drew a split of their two exhibition games. They defeated Concordia (Ore.) 92-71 at home on Oct. 29 behind 13-for-21 team shooting on 3-pointers and 24 points from Cory Hutsen. On Nov. 2 at Division I Stanford, Division II SPU was within one point, at 44-43, with 16:44 to play. But the Cardinal tallied the next five points and later used a 24-4 game-closing run to win 89-61. Chasson Randle amassed 37 points and shot 13 of 16 for Stanford. David Downs paced the Falcons with 20 points.
 
2014 Preview
Fifth-year coach Ryan Looney has six of his top seven scorers back from last season's 24-7 squad that made its ninth straight playoff appearance. An impressive trio of returning starters is headlined by point guard David Downs, a preseason All-American who was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year by the GNAC coaches. The 6-foot-2 senior received the 2013 GNAC Tournament MVP award after leading SPU to the championship. Downs was the Falcons second-leading scorer with 14.2 points per game and led all GNAC playmakers with 170 assists (5.5 per game). Also back is senior Patrick Simon, a second-team all-conference forward, and junior guard Riley Stockton (Spokane, Wash./Ferris HS), an honorable mention pick. Simon scored at a 13.4-point clip and made 66 treys while shooting 46 percent from 3-point range. Stockton led the league with 7.5 rebounds per game and was named the 2013 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. Six other lettermen return, led by Cory Hutsen (6-8, Jr.) who takes over the starting center post after averaging 9.2 points as the backup. An impressive cast of newcomers includes Division I transfers Matt Borton (6-5, Jr., G, Idaho) and Jake Ehlers (6-7, So., F, Portland) along with 6-8 freshman center Joe Rasmussen, whose father Blair had a eight-year NBA career in Denver and Atlanta. SPU must fill voids left by starters Jobi Wall and Andy Poling. Wall, a forward, led the Falcons in scoring (14.3 ppg) and topped the nation in 3-point field goal accuracy at 48.9 percent. Poling averaged 10.1 points and 3.9 rebounds from his center position.
 
Dynamic Defense
The SPU defense ranked No. 18 nationally last year, surrendering just 62.4 points per game. Two years ago, the 2012 squad established a school record in that category, limiting opponents to 60.7 points. Falcons foes shot 41.5 percent and just three of them reached the 50-percent plateau in a game last season.
 
Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney directed Seattle Pacific into the playoffs in each of his four seasons as head coach. He has a 98-29 record at SPU. The Falcons registered a 27-4 record last year, equaling the school standard for single-season victories while establishing the best winning percentage (87.1%) in the 70-year history of the program. They won the 2013 GNAC Tournament title after placing second in the standings with a 16-2 conference record. SPU won two playoff games before losing 62-58 at Western Washington in the West Region championship game. In 2012, the Falcons compiled a 23-8 record and lost 56-50 to eventual national champion WWU in the regional final. 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, 38, has a 193-84 career record, including a 95-55 ledger in five seasons with Eastern Oregon.
 
Ticket Talk
Season tickets for SPU basketball games are currently available. They are a tremendous value and assure a seat in the best location for every home game. Season tickets can be obtained by calling 206-281-2085. Individual game tickets for SPU men's basketball games can be purchased at Brougham Pavilion (3414 Third Ave. W., Seattle 98119) on game day. Reserved seats for Falcon men's basketball 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.