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THURSDAY, JANUARY 29 –
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, 7:00 p.m. PST
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 31 –
Seattle Pacific at Western Oregon, 7:00 p.m. PST
New PE Building / Monmouth, Ore.
 
• Webcast & LiveStats for both games: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/spu.portal#
 
A significant basketball road trip awaits the Seattle Pacific men this week as they begin the second half of their Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball schedule. The second-place Falcons (15-4, 7-2 GNAC) venture 60 miles down Interstate 5 on Thursday, Jan. 29 to play Saint Martin's (5-14, 2-7). Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey, Wash. SPU was victorious in 10 of the last 11 encounters against the Saints, including an 87-52 decision on Jan. 3. On Saturday, Jan. 31, the Falcons travel to Monmouth, Ore. for a clash with GNAC-leading Western Oregon (16-3, 8-1). The Wolves won their last six games following an 83-76 loss at SPU on Jan. 1 in Seattle that was their lone league loss. The Falcons return home next week to host Western Washington and Simon Fraser.
 
GNAC Race
Picked third in the preseason coaches poll, the defending champion Falcons are seeking their sixth GNAC championship since the league was formed in 2002. They captured the 2014, 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 and Western Washington. The Falcons have never won back-to-back outright GNAC titles.
 


Recapping Last Week
Matt Borton tallied 13 of his 15 points during the first half, helping SPU build an early lead en route to a 60-44 win at Montana State Billings (Jan. 24). Borton hit 6 of 11 shots from the field, including 3 of 4 attempts from 3-point range. He grabbed nine rebounds to lead the visitors' 38-21 advantage on the boards. Mitch Penner contributed 13 points and eight rebounds for SPU. The Falcons led by as many as 18 points in the first half. After MSUB trimmed the deficit to four points, SPU closed out the game with a 19-7 run. The Yellowjackets were held to a season-low point total.
 
Dynamic Defense
The SPU defense is ranked No. 12 nationally, surrendering just 62.1 points per game. The 2013 squad established the school record in that category, limiting foes to 60.7 points. Falcons foes are shooting 42.6 percent and just two of them reached the 50-percent plateau in a game this season.

 

Hutsen Joins 1,000-Point Club
Cory Hutsen scored his 1,000th career point on Dec. 12, becoming the 34th player in SPU history to reach that milestone. The 6-foot-8 senior center currently ranks 24th on SPU's scoring list with 1,112 points. He needs nine more to take over the No. 23 spot from Jeff Case (1974-78), who compiled 1,120 points. Hutsen leads SPU with a 14.8-point scoring output that includes seven 20-point performances.
 
Defending Champs
SPU last season became just the second team to win both the GNAC regular-season and tournament championships, joining Central Washington (2011). The Falcons finished with a 15-3 record to secure their fifth GNAC regular-season championship since the league was formed in 2002. SPU won its second straight GNAC Tournament title with a 65-62 win over Western Washington.
 
Scouting Saint Martin's (5-14, 2-7 GNAC)
> The Saints are in a four-way tie for seventh place in the GNAC standings after losing their last six games.
 
> The backcourt tandem of Trey Ingram (10.4 ppg) and Tyler Copp (9.7) top all SMU scorers. Former Falcon Riley Carel leads with 4.1 assists per game.
 
> SPU had won eight straight over the Saint Martin's before losing last year's first matchup 73-69 (Jan. 4, 2014) in Lacey. The Falcons won the rematch 76-53 (Jan. 30, 2014) in Seattle and were 87-52 home victors on Jan 3 in this year's first meeting.
 
> The Falcons boast a 95-34 all-time series lead and won 29 of the last 32 matchups.
 
> Michael Ostlund is in his second season as head coach at SMU after a five-year stint as the head man at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. He replaced Keith Cooper.
 
> Sixth-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 10-1 record against the Saints.
 
Scouting Western Oregon (16-3, 8-1 GNAC)
> The league-leading Wolves boast a GNAC best six-game winning streak, having not lost since an 83-76 setback at SPU on Jan. 1.
 
> Expect a low-scoring contest as SPU leads the GNAC by limiting opponents to just 62.1 points per game while Western Oregon is second at 67.1.
 
> Junior forward Andy Avgi scores at a 17.1-point clip to lead the Wolves.
 
> SPU leads the all-time series 40-15 and won 19 of the last 22 meetings.
 
> Western Oregon won last season's first matchup 74-70 on Jan. 2 in Monmouth. The Falcons won the rematch 79-47 on Feb. 1 in Seattle and then were 73-57 victors on Mar. 6 in a GNAC Tournament semifinal clash in Lacey, Wash.
 
> Brady Bergeson is in his fourth year as head coach of the Wolves after serving the previous three seasons as an assistant at Sacramento State. He is 2-6 against SPU.
 
> Sixth-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 10-3 record against WOU. He competed against the Wolves during his playing career at Eastern Oregon.
 
On the Rebound
The Falcons lead the GNAC and rank second nationally in rebound margin, grabbing an average of 13.7 more rebounds per game than their opponents. On Jan. 8, SPU collected a remarkable 36 more rebounds than Simon Fraser (53-17) and on Nov. 18 they limited Rollins to just 14 rebounds while hauling in 41. The Falcons have been outrebound just once this season, on Nov. 22 at BYU-Hawaii (25-27).

 

Straight Shooters
The Falcons rank No. 5 nationally in field goal accuracy at 52.0 percent. That figure includes a 40.1-percent mark on 3-pointers that is the GNAC's best. SPU reached the 50-percent mark in 10 of its 19 games and outshot opponents on 14 occasions, winning them all. Eight SPU players are shooting at or above the 50-percent plateau led by senior Matt Borton at 56.2% (77 of 137), including a 65-percent figure on attempts from inside the 3-point arc (58-89).
 
Famous Uncle
Senior guard Riley Stockton is the nephew of NBA Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton, who compiled a record 15,806 assists during his 19-season career with the Utah Jazz (1984-2003). Riley was an honorable mention All-GNAC honoree in 2014 and is a preseason all-league pick this year. The 2013 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, Riley Stockton prepped at Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash. In 2013, the 6-foot-4 guard became the shortest player to lead the GNAC in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game. Stockton led SPU with 5.8 rebounds per game last season while scoring at a 8.1-point clip and averaging 3.9 assists.
 
Prolific Passer
Senior guard Riley Stockton has distributed 396 assists during his career, a figure that ranks him No. 9 among all-time SPU playmakers. He needs 38 assists to eclipse the total of 433 compiled by Brannon Stone (1991-2002) and take over the No. 8 spot. Stockton posted two 100-assist seasons, in 2013 (113) and 2014 (125).
 
2015 Season Preview
Seattle Pacific has two large holes to fill, but don't discount the Falcons as they seek to extend the nation's longest playoff streak. Gone is 2014 GNAC and West Region Player of the Year David Downs. The All-America point guard averaged 20.4 points and 4.7 assists while ranking third nationally in 3-point accuracy at 47.4 percent. The national 3-point leader? Patrick Simon (50.0%), another SPU graduate and first-team All-GNAC selection, who averaged 16.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 2014. Filling the void for that dynamic duo is a trio of stellar starters entering their senior season. Guard Riley Stockton was the 2013 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and is a stat-sheet stuffer. Center Cory Hutsen will get more shots to improve his 10.9-point scoring production. Matt Borton scored at a 7.6-point clip last year after transferring from Idaho. Sixth-year coach Ryan Looney believes Borton is capable of greatly increased point production and is a potential breakout star. Also returning is super sub Mitch Penner, a junior forward who averaged 8.8 points and keyed several big non-conference victories. The Falcons lineup is bolstered by senior guard Shawn Reid, a transfer from Montana State who sat out last year as a red-shirt. A pair of junior college transfers are expected to make an immediate impact, especially Bryce Leavitt from North Idaho College in the newly vacant point guard role. Forward Garrett Swanson from Casper (Wyo.) JC is a sharpshooter who should ease the loss of Simon's long-range productivity. SPU competed in the last 10 NCAA Division II Tournaments and advanced to the West Regional championship game in 2012 and 2013.
 
Looney's Ledger
Ryan Looney, the 2014 GNAC Coach of the Year, directed Seattle Pacific into the playoffs in each of his five previous seasons. He has a 133-38 record at SPU, including a 26-6 mark last year. SPU won both the GNAC regular season and tournament championships in 2014. The Falcons registered a 27-4 record in 2013, equaling the school standard for single-season victories while establishing the best winning percentage (87.1%) in program history. They won the 2013 GNAC Tournament title and advanced to the West Region championship game for the second straight season. 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, 39, has a 228-93 career record, including a 95-55 ledger in five seasons with Eastern Oregon.