• Complete Release (pdf)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 5 –
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 7 –
Concordia (Ore.) 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 open the 2017 calendar year with their first home basketball games in over a month. The Falcons (6-6, 2-2 GNAC), who last played at Brougham Pavilion on Dec. 3, host two-time defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Western Oregon (5-7, 2-2) on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m. as the nightcap of a doubleheader with the SPU women, who play at 5:15 p.m. The Wolves won the last four men's meetings, three of them went into overtime and the other was a two-point decision in the 2016 conference tournament semifinals. On Saturday, Jan. 7, the Falcons entertain Concordia (6-5, 2-2) at 7 p.m. The Cavaliers are winless in five all-time encounters versus SPU.
 
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.
 
Terrific Trio
Three players account for 59 percent of SPU's point production this season (561 of 948). Sophomore Coleman Wooten scores at a 16.7-point clip to top the team, freshman Tony Miller averages 16.6 points and senior Joe Rasmussen chips in 13.5.
 
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).
 
Ailing Falcons
A slew of injuries have depleted the SPU roster. Sophomore Gabe Colosimo and junior Sam Simpson are sidelined for the season. Sophomore Nathan Streufert missed the first eight games before returning for the last four. Sophomore transfer Trey Miller (North Dakota State) has not yet played due to injury and his return date is uncertain. That leaves 12 available players (Harry Cavell is redshirting). Three of those players are averaging 29.3 or more minutes per game (Wooten, Miller, Parker).
 
Falcons Fast Facts
Seven different players have led the Falcons in scoring in at least one game this season ... SPU sophomore Coleman Wooten leads the GNAC and ranks No. 17 nationally in double-doubles with six ... The Falcons projected starting lineup (Wooten-Miller-Rasmussen-Parker-Betu) combined to start just 19 career games prior to this season led by Will Parker's 14 ... SPU led the nation in rebound margin last year 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.
 
Scouting Western Oregon (5-7, 2-2 GNAC)
> The Wolves won the last two GNAC regular-season titles (2015, 2016).
 
> WOU, which lost four of its last five outings, is led by Tanner Omlid who averages 13.8 points and 7.7 rebounds.
 
> SPU leads the all-time series 40-19 despite losing the last four encounters, three of them in overtime. WOU swept all three meetings in 2016 with a 96-90 overtime home win on Jan. 7, an 84-82 overtime road victory on Feb. 6 and a 58-57 decision on Mar.4 in the GNAC Tournament semifinals.  Still, the Falcons have won 19 of the last 26 meetings.
 
> Former Wolves All-American player, Jim Shaw, is in his second year as the WOU head coach after nine years as an assistant at Washington. He is 3-0 against SPU.
 
Scouting Concordia (6-5, 2-2 GNAC)
> Located in Portland, Ore., Concordia is a second-year NCAA competitor and member of the GNAC after previously competing at the NAIA level.
 
> The Cavaliers had a four-game winning streak snapped with an 80-73 home loss to Central Washington in their last game.
 
> Concordia features the dynamic duo of Drew Martin (16.3 points per game / 7.3 rebounds per game) and Christopher Edward (14.1 ppg / 8.5 rpg).
 
> SPU owns a 5-0 series advantage after sweeping the Cavaliers in 2016. The Falcons were 91-63 victors on Jan. 9 in Portland and won the rematch 76-54 on Feb. 4 in Seattle. Graduated senior Mitch Penner led SPU with 30 points in the first encounter and followed that up with a 30-point performance in the second meeting.
 
> The Falcons hosted and won all three regular-season meetings prior to last season, defeating the Cavaliers 100-86 in 1993, 87-81 in 1984 and 124-87 in 1983.
 
Last Action
The Falcons split two games in Alaska. The 85-49 setback at Anchorage (Dec. 29) was their most lopsided loss in 19 seasons. Wasilla, Alaska native Hunter Eisenhower was SPU's lone double-digit scorer with 12 points. The Falcons rebounded with a 79-77 win at Fairbanks (Dec. 31) in a game they trailed by 11 points with 6:19 remaining. Tony Miller paced SPU with 32 points and Coleman Wooten added 22.
 
Super Soph
Sophomore forward Coleman Wooten has a GNAC-leading six double-doubles and is averaging 16.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He hauled in 10 or more rebounds in six games with a career-high 16 on Nov. 18 versus Minnesota State. Wooten compiled a career-best 26 points in the Nov. 11 season opener vs. Humboldt State. He 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.
 
Exhibition Recap
Freshman Tony Miller led five double-figure scorers with 18 points for SPU, which completed its men's basketball exhibition slate Saturday (Nov. 5) with a 96-65 win over Lewis & Clark at Brougham Pavilion. Miller completed a double-double with 10 rebounds, one week after a 28-point, 9-rebeound performance in a 102-82 loss at Brigham Young (Oct. 29). Center Joe Rasmussen averaged 14.0 points in the two exhibitions while forward Coleman Wooten rebounded at a 7.0 clip.
 
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 a 6-6 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.
 
Postseason Pursuit
SPU is seeking its 13th straight NCAA Tournament berth. The Falcons have been postseason participants every year since 2005, the longest consecutive playoff streak in school history. The stretch of 12 straight postseason berths is the longest current streak among Division II men's basketball teams. The Falcons advanced to the national semifinals in both 2000 and 2006, placing third both times.
 
Next Week
The Falcons hit the road for a frenetic stretch of three games in six days. They visit Central Washington on Jan 12 at 7 pm. Pacific Time, Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. (PST) and Saint Martin's on Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.