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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 –
Montana State Billings at (#15) 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
 
The 13th-ranked Seattle Pacific men (22-4, 13-2 GNAC) seek to clinch the Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball championship on Saturday, Feb. 22 when they host Montana State Billings (11-12, 7-8). The 7 p.m. tipoff at Brougham Pavilion will be preceded by a ceremony to honor two SPU seniors before their final regular-season home game. A win would guarantee at least a tie for the league crown and deliver the No. 1 seed for the GNAC Tournament as the Falcons own the tiebreaking scenario. SPU won this season's first meeting against the Yellowjackets, a 92-87 double-overtime decision on Jan. 25 in Billings. Next week, the Falcons then play their final two regular-season games on the road, on Feb. 27 at Central Washington and Mar. 1 at Northwest Nazarene.
 
Streaking
The Falcons' current 11-game winning streak ties a similar 11-game stretch last season as the second-longest in school history. The SPU record of 15 consecutive victories was established in 2002. The Falcons haven't lost since a Jan. 4 visit to Saint Martin's.
 
GNAC Race
Picked first in the preseason coaches poll, the Falcons are seeking their fifth GNAC championship since the league was formed in 2002. 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. The Falcons won the 2013 GNAC Tournament, beating regular-season winner WWU.
 


Senior Salute
Saturday marks the final regular-season home playing appearance for SPU seniors David Downs and Patrick Simon. They will be honored in a brief ceremony prior to Saturday's tip-off at Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons compiled a 92-26 record during Downs' four seasons, with playoff berths every year. They are 49-8 in two years with Simon.
 
Ticket Talk
Individual men's basketball game tickets 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 for 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 at least 72 hours in advance. SPU students and staff are admitted free with i.d.
 
Senior David Downs, who averaged 32 points on stellar shooting during two home victories, received the GNAC Player of the Week award on Monday. Downs shot 56 percent from the field (19 of 34) in two games, including 10 of 17 accuracy from 3-point range, and converted 16 of 19 free throws. He distributed 10 assists with just one turnover. The 6-foot-2 point guard tallied 28 points in an 89-79 win over Simon Fraser on Feb. 13 and a career-high 36 points in a 91-88 triumph over Western Washington.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
SPU ranks No. 2 nationally in fewest turnovers per game (8.9), third in 3-point percentage (43.7%), sixth in field goal accuracy (51.6%), seventh in assist-turnover ratio (1.63) and 25th in scoring defense (66.7 ppg).
 
Straight Shooters
The Falcons rank No. 6 nationally in field goal accuracy at 51.6 percent. That figure includes a 43.7-percent mark on 3-pointers that is the nation's third best. Among the nation's finest NCAA Division II 3-point shooters, Patrick Simon ranks No. 1 (53.7%) and David Downs is No. 2 (50.0%). SPU reached the 50-percent mark in over half (14) of its 26 games and outshot opponents on 20 occasions. The Falcons fantastic shooting was vividly on display in a Nov. 29 win over San Francisco State. Led by Simon's 10-for-12 performance behind the arc, they combined to make a remarkable 19 of 24 treys.
 
Scouting Montana State Billings (11-12, 7-8 GNAC)
> Saturday's matchup features a battle between the best 3-point shooting team in the GNAC (SPU at 43.7%) and the second-best at defending the trey (MSUB at 33.1%).
 
> Jonathan Mesghna leads the Billings attack by scoring at a 15.0-point clip. Austin Hudson averages 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 60 percent.
 
> The Falcons lead the series by a 35-29 margin and won the last four encounters. They won this season's first meeting, a 92-87 double-overtime decision on Jan. 25 in Billings.
 
> Jamie Stevens is in his third year as head coach at MSUB after serving the previous four years at Central Wyoming College. Stevens played for the Yellowjackets and compiled a school-record 805 assists during his career from 1994-99.
 
> Fifth-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 7-2 record against MSU Billings.
 
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.
 
Climbing the Charts
Senior point guard David Downs is the only player in history to rank among SPU's all-time top-5 in both points and assists. He owns the No. 4 spot among all-time Falcons scorers with 1,650 points and is second in playmaking with 538 assists. Downs distributed 127 this season to become just the second player in school history to compile four 100-assist seasons (Robin Marshall, 1980-83).
 
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 19.9 points and 4.9 assists. A two-time, first-team all-conference selection, Downs was the Nov. 11 and Feb. 17 GNAC Player of the Week and the MVP of both the Disney Tip-Off Classic and GNAC/PacWest Challenge. He is shooting 50 percent (71 of 142) from 3-point range to rank No. 2 nationally. Downs was a Division II Bulletin All-American and the MVP of the 2013 GNAC Tournament after leading SPU to the title. He poured in a career-high 36 points against 24th-ranked Western Washington on Feb. 15.
 
20-Game Winners
The Falcons (22-4) have recorded their unprecedented fifth consecutive 20-win season and the 22nd overall in school history. They previously strung together four 20-victory seasons from 1999 to 2002. The current streak of 20-win seasons started in Coach Ryan Looney's first year, a 22-6 campaign in 2009-10. That was followed by records of 20-10, 23-8 and a 27-4 mark last season that tied the school record for victories and marked the finest winning percentage (87.1%) in the 70-year history of the program.  
 
Fifth-year coach Ryan Looney registered his 100th victory on the SPU sidelines with a 73-54 home win on Dec. 5 versus Northwest Nazarene. He is the fourth coach in school history to post 100 wins and hit the century mark faster than any of his predecessors, doing so in his 130th game. Previously the quickest to 100 wins on the SPU sidelines was current Washington State coach Ken Bone who took 146 games to reach that milestone in his sixth season with the Falcons. A 114-32 record gives Looney fewer Falcons wins than only Les Habegger (267), Bone (253) and Jeff Hironaka (134).
 
Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney directed Seattle Pacific into the playoffs in each of his previous four seasons as head coach. He has a 114-32 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 209-87 career record, including a 95-55 ledger in five seasons with Eastern Oregon.