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THURSDAY, JANUARY 26 –
Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28 –
Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
• Webcast for both games: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
• LiveStats for both games: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball
 
The Seattle Pacific men (8-10, 4-6 GNAC) continue their second-to-last basketball homestand of the season when they host their Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals from the state of Alaska. The Nanooks from Alaska Fairbanks (8-11, 3-7) invade Brougham Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. SPU won 17 of the last 19 encounters with UAF. On Saturday, Jan. 28 the Falcons clash with second-place Alaska Anchorage (13-5, 7-3) at 7 p.m. The Seawolves dealt SPU its most lopsided loss of the season with an 85-49 decision on Dec. 29 in Anchorage. After this week's action the Falcons have just one more stretch of Seattle games, a three-game homestand that includes meetings with Northwest Nazarene (Feb. 9), Central Washington (Feb. 11) and Saint Martin's (Feb. 14).
 
Get Your Tickets
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 $9. General admission tickets are priced at $6 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens.


 
Fantastic Frosh
Falcons forward Tony Miller has been the finest freshman in the conference this season. He leads all GNAC players, and ranks No. 17 nationally, with eight double-doubles. Miller tops the league's freshmen and ranks No. 9 overall among GNAC players in scoring (17.0 ppg) and is No. 2 in rebounds (8.7 rpg). Miller poured in a career-high 34 points at Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 14, his second 30-point performance. The 6-foot-6 standout tallied 32 points at Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 31. Miller displayed his scoring prowess in his collegiate debut with 28 points in an exhibition contest at Brigham Young on Oct. 29. Miller paces SPU with 16 double-figure scoring games.
 
Ailing Falcons
A slew of injuries have depleted the SPU roster. Sophomore Gabe Colosimo and junior Sam Simpson are sidelined for the season. Senior point guard Will Parker is out with an injured foot. Sophomore Nathan Streufert missed the first eight games before returning for the last 10. Sophomore transfer Trey Miller (North Dakota State) has not yet played due to injury and his return date is uncertain. That leaves 11 available players (Harry Cavell is redshirting). Two of those players are averaging 30 or more minutes per game (Tony Miller and Coleman Wooten).
 
Coaching Change
Grant Leep is the 12th head coach in the 73-year history of the storied Seattle Pacific program that owns the longest active playoff streak among NCAA Division II men's basketball programs. The run of 12 consecutive postseason berths stretches back to 2005. Leep succeeds Ryan Looney who compiled a 165-51 record in seven seasons at SPU before departing for Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego, Calif. Leep was an SPU assistant in each of Looney's seasons. Leep is a former prep All-American at Mount Vernon (Wash.) High School and standout collegian at Washington (1999-2002).
 
Falcons Fast Fact
True freshmen Tony Miller (306), Gavin Long (139) and Sharif Khan (98) account for 37 percent of SPU's scoring, combining for 543 points.
 
Scouting Alaska Fairbanks (8-11, 3-7 GNAC)
> The Nanooks lost three of their last four games and are tied for ninth in the standings.
 
> Fairbanks features a quartet of double-figure scorers led by the 13.5-point average of senior guard Brandon Davis.
 
> Mick Durham is in his sixth year as head coach at UAF. The former Montana State coach has a 1-10 record against SPU.
 
> The Falcons lead the all-time series 59-16 and won 17 of the last 19 encounters. They won this year's first meeting 79-77 on Dec. 31 in Fairbanks after overcoming an 11-point second-half deficit.
 
Scouting Alaska Anchorage (13-5, 7-3 GNAC)
> The second-place Seawolves won their last two games. They boast a perfect 11-0 record at home in the Alaska Airlines Center, but are just 2-5 on the road.
 
> UAA features senior guard Sekou Wiggs, a transfer from Idaho who ranks second among GNAC scorers at 22.9 points per game. He is a graduate of Seattle's O'Dea High School.
 
> Anchorage forward Corey Hammell leads the GNAC with a 10.3 rebounds per game, an average of nearly two more than SPU's Tony Miller (8.7) in the No. 2 spot.
 
> The Seawolves dealt SPU its worst loss, 85-49, on Dec. 29 in Anchorage to even the all-time series at 36-36. The Falcons were victorious in eight of the last 10 encounters.
 
> The Falcons were victorious in 11 consecutive home games versus Anchorage before falling 61-59 at Brougham Pavilion on Dec. 31, 2015. That was the Seawolves first win in Seattle since 2004.
 
Last Action
SPU stopped a three-game losing streak with Saturday's 94-75 home victory over Montana State Billings (Jan. 21). Coleman Wooten led all scorers with 23 points while Tony Miller tallied 10 of his 17 points during the decisive five-minute, second-half stretch. SPU broke the game open midway through the second half with a 22-2 run. Miller made all four of his shots during the surge, with two of them coming beyond the 3-point arc. The Falcons nailed 15 of 16 shots during one second-half stretch.
 
Terrific Trio
Three players account for 62 percent of SPU's point production this season (894 of 1,449). Sophomore Coleman Wooten scores at a 17.7-point clip to top the team, freshman Tony Miller averages 17.0 points and senior Joe Rasmussen chips in 15.0.
 
Notable
Seven different players have led the Falcons in scoring in at least one game this season ... The Falcons projected starting lineup (Wooten-Miller-Rasmussen-Betu-Long) combined to start just five career games prior to this season led by Coleman Wooten's three ... SPU led the nation in rebound margin in 2016 for the second year in a row, collecting 11.7 more caroms per game than opponents ... Senior Joe Rasmussen's father Blair had an eight-year NBA career in Denver and Atlanta.

 

Super Soph
Sophomore forward Coleman Wooten erupted for a career-high 35 points at Saint Martin's on Jan. 17. He added 23 in the last outing (Jan. 21 vs. MSUB), surpassing the 20-point mark for the ninth time this season. The 6-foot-5 forward has seven double-doubles and is averaging 17.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He hauled in 10 or more rebounds in eight games with a career-high 16 on Nov. 18 versus Minnesota State. Wooten was named the MVP of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic (Nov. 11 & 12).
 
2017 Season Preview
You will need a roster to follow these Falcons. Along with a new coaching staff, helmed by former assistant Grant Leep, seven players will wear SPU maroon for the first time. The Falcons have some rebuilding to do, as all five primary starters were seniors from the 2015-16 squad that posted a 22-9 record. Five players return with some starting experience, but only one was in the opening lineup for more than four games last season. Leep must deal with the departure of five of the team's top-six scorers as 6-foot-8 senior center Joe Rasmussen is the top returning point producer with 6.1 per game in 2016. Also returning is senior point guard Will Parker who averaged 4.5 points and 1.5 assists while drawing 14 starts. Senior shooting guard Oliver-Paul Betu looks to have a more significant impact one year after transferring from UC Davis. Increased contributions are anticipated as forwards Sam Simpson and Coleman Wooten see increased playing time. A talented trio of local freshmen, in Sharif Khan (Bellevue HS) Gavin Long (Wenatchee HS) and Tony Miller (Woodinville HS), bolster a lineup that also features North Dakota State sophomore transfer Trey Miller.
 
2016 Season Review
The Falcons forged a 22-9 record last year in the seventh, and final, season under Coach Ryan Looney. They advanced to the GNAC Tournament semifinals before falling 58-57 against eventual champion Western Oregon. SPU participated in the NCAA playoffs for the 12th consecutive year, but suffered a 77-66 opening-round setback versus Azusa Pacific. The season featured lengthy winning streaks of nine and eight games. Senior forward Mitch Penner garnered first-team All-GNAC honors after topping the team with an 18.6-point average. Gillies Dierickx (11.4 ppg) earned second-team recognition and Bryce Leavitt (4.3 apg) was an honorable mention pick.
 
Coach Leep
Grant Leep, 36, assumes control of the SPU program in his first head coaching assignment after seven seasons as an assistant on the Falcons staff. He has an 8-10 record. Leep has strong basketball ties throughout the Northwest as an All-America player at Mount Vernon (Wash.) High School before lettering four years at the University of Washington. He still owns the Huskies 3-point accuracy records for a season (52.7% in 2002) and career (42.9%). Leep's coaching resumé includes stops at Eastern Washington and a pair of community colleges. The Falcons compiled a 165-51 (.764) record during Leep's time as an assistant coach. Two teams (2012, 2013) advanced to the West Regional championship game of the NCAA Division II Tournament. SPU twice won conference regular-season championships, in 2010 and 2014, and captured the GNAC Tournament title three consecutive years, from 2013-15.
 
Next Week
The Falcons travel to Oregon for two games, beginning on Feb. 2 with a 7 p.m. game in Portland against Concordia. Their Feb. 4 game at Western Oregon will be televised live at 5 p.m. on ROOT Sports.