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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21 --
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, 7:00 p.m. PST
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
   • Webcast & LiveStats: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal#
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23 --
Seattle Pacific at Western Oregon, 2:00 p.m. PST
New PE Building / Monmouth, Ore.
  • Webcast: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal#
  • LiveStats: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm
 
Seeking to secure its record-tying fourth consecutive 20-win season, the fifth-ranked Seattle Pacific men's basketball team takes its final regular-season road trip this week. SPU (19-3, 12-2 GNAC) visits Lacey, Wash. on Thursday, Feb. 21 for a clash against Saint Martin's (8-14, 4-10). Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Marcus Pavilion, where the Falcons will return in two weeks for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament, March 7-9. SPU won its last seven encounters against the Saints. On Saturday, Feb. 23 the Falcons are in Monmouth, Ore. for a 2 p.m. meeting with Western Oregon (10-11, 5-8). SPU won 15 of the last 17 outings vs. the Wolves, but it took overtime on Jan. 24 for a 78-72 home win.
 
Going for 21
The Falcons have reached the 20-victory plateau 20 times in school history. They need one more win this year to push that figure to 21. SPU has posted three consecutive 20-win seasons and seek to equal the school record of four straight accomplished once before, from 1999 to 2001.
 


Dynamic Defense
The SPU defense ranks No. 23 nationally, surrendering only 62.1 points per game. Last year's squad established a new school record in that category, limiting opponents to 60.7 points. The Falcons have a 9-0 record when keeping opponents under 60 points and just five teams have compiled more than 69 points. Falcons foes are shooting only 39.8 percent and none of them have reached the 50-percent plateau.
 
Court Report
SPU's top three scorers compiled totals within four points of each other: David Downs (308), Patrick Simon (305) and Jobi Wall (304) ... Downs led all Falcons scorers in each of the last four games, averaging 22.3 points during that span ... SPU ranks No. 3 nationally in assist-turnover ratio at 1.55 assists-per turnover. Sophomore guard Riley Stockton's 2.61 assist-turnover ratio is the nation's 11th best ... The Falcons have out-boarded all but two foes. They rank No. 6 nationally with a plus-10.4 rebound differential ... SPU has an 18-0 record when posting a superior field goal percentage to opponents ... The Falcons 41.2-percent 3-point accuracy is the nation's seventh best.
 
Ranking Report
Seattle Pacific remained No. 5 in this week's national coaches poll. The Falcons were No. 4 on Jan 29, their highest ranking in six seasons, since the 2006-07 squad opened at fourth in the preseason poll. Since starting at No. 9 in this season's preseason poll, the SPU men have been in the top-10 every week except one, when they were 13th the week of Nov. 27. Two other West Region teams are listed ahead of the Falcons: No. 2 Western Washington and No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona.
 
Scouting Saint Martin's (8-14, 4-10 GNAC)
> Saints 6-foot-5 senior forward Roger Neill ranks No. 6 among GNAC scorers at 15.6 points per game.
 
> The Falcons boast a 92-33 lead in all-time matchups, including seven straight wins. SPU was victorious in 26 of the last 28 encounters, capped by an 82-54 win on Jan. 26 in Seattle in this year's first meeting.
 
> SPU swept the season series last year, beginning with a 56-41 decision on Dec. 31, 2011 in Lacey, Wash. The Falcons then won 66-54 on Jan. 26, 2012 in Seattle.
 
> Ninth-year Saints coach Keith Cooper served as an assistant on the SPU staff in 2002-03. He has a 2-18 record against the Falcons. Cooper is married to the former Linda Johnson, a basketball standout who is an SPU Hall of Fame inductee.
 
> Fourth-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 7-0 record against the Saints.
 
Scouting Western Oregon (10-12, 5-9 GNAC)
> The Wolves, from Monmouth, Ore., feature 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman forward Andy Avgi. His 15.8-point average ranks fourth among GNAC scorers.
 
> WOU's Devon Alexander, a 6-foot-1 freshman guard, leads the league with 2.4 steals per game.
 
> Seattle Pacific leads the all-time series 36-14, winning 15 of the last 17 meetings.
 
> The Falcons won this season's first encounter, a 78-72 overtime decision on Jan. 24 in Seattle.
 
> Brady Bergeson is in his second year as head coach of the Wolves after serving the previous three seasons as an assistant at Sacramento State. He is 1-2 against SPU.
 
> Fourth-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 6-2 record against WOU. He competed against the Wolves during his playing career at Eastern Oregon.
 
Falcons Fast Fact
As a prep pitcher at Faith Christian Academy, SPU senior forward Jobi Wall tossed a perfect game and hit for the cycle in a five-inning contest during the 2008 Colorado state Class 3A playoffs.
 
Prolific Passers
The Falcons rank No. 11 nationally with 18.1 assists per game. That figure is all the more remarkable considering they rank just 45th in scoring at 77.6 points per game. SPU registered assists on 24 of 26 baskets in an 85-79 victory at Alaska Anchorage (Dec. 1). Junior point guard David Downs leads the GNAC and ranks 19th nationally with 5.5 assists per game.
 
Famous Uncle
SPU sophomore starting 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). Riley Stockton prepped at Ferris High School in Spokane.
 
All-GNAC Talent
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.
 
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 participated in the last four games after being 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.
 
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 an 84-27 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 179-82 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, receiving the remaining two first-place votes for 90 points. 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.
 
Next Week
The SPU men close out their regular-season slate at home, hosting Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 28 and Alaska Fairbanks on Mar. 2. Both games start at 7 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.