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Westminster Thanksgiving Invitational
 Behnken Field House / Salt Lake City, Utah
• Webcast for all games: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/westminster/  
• LiveStats for all games: http://www.sidearmstats.com/westminster/mbball/
 
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24 –
Seattle Pacific vs. Dixie State, 4:00 p.m. PST (5 p.m. MST)
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25 –
Seattle Pacific at Westminster, 6:00 p.m. PST (7 p.m. MST)
 
A five-game road trip is on the menu for the Seattle Pacific men's basketball team, beginning with two games this weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Westminster Thanksgiving Invitational. The Falcons (3-1) put their three-game winning streak on the line Friday, Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time (5 p.m. MST) against Dixie State. The Trailblazers (2-3), from St. George, Utah, have been a frequent foe as they have met SPU eight times in the last seven seasons, including two playoff encounters. That game takes place at Behnken Field House where the Falcons clash with tournament host Westminster (2-0) on Saturday Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. PST. That will be the first ever meeting between SPU and the Griffins.
 
Sharp Shooters
The Falcons are shooting 52.5 percent (114 of 217) as a team, reaching the 50-percent mark once and topping it twice in the last three outings. They hit 63-percent of their second-half shots (19 of 30) in the Nov. 18 win over Hilo. Nine players are making more than they miss, led by the remarkable 75-percent accuracy (15 of 20) of Coleman Wooten. SPU's best 3-point shooter is Hunter Eisenhower at 52.9 percent (9 of 17).
 


Falcons Fast Facts
After allowing 100 points in the season-opening double-overtime loss versus Sonoma State, SPU held its last three opponents under 60 points ... Junior Nikhil Lizotte is the only Falcon to tally double-figure points in every game ... SPU's balanced attack has had only one player (Gavin Long) be the team's game scoring leader more than once ... Four players have made their debut in a Falcons uniform this season, junior transfer Lizotte, sophomore transfer Trey Miller, red-shirt freshman Harry Cavell and freshman Braden Olsen ... The Falcons outrebounded exhibition foe Capilano University (North Vancouver, B.C.) by a commanding 60-25 margin in the 110-77 win on Oct. 27.
 
Wonderful Wooten
Junior Coleman Wooten earned Sodexo Classic honors Saturday for the second straight season after compiling 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting while adding 10 rebounds and nine assists in the two-game tournament. On Jan. 17, 2017 he erupted for a career-high 35 points at Saint Martin's. Wooten surpassed the 20-point mark 11 times last season. The 6-foot-5 forward had seven double-doubles and averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. He led the Falcons with 72 assists in 2017. Wooten hauled in 10 or more rebounds in eight games with a career-high 16 on Nov. 18 versus Minnesota State.
 
Last Week
Two impressive routs gave the Falcons the title of their own Sodexo Classic, led by tournament MVP Coleman Wooten and all-tournament team member Sam Simpson. They tied the school record with 11 blocked shots to defeat Concordia-Irvine 79-56 on Nov. 17. Nathan Streufert had an 8-point, 7-rebound, 4-assist, 2-steal and 7-block performance. SPU beat Hawaii-Hilo 90-59 on Nov. 18 behind the 22 points and nine rebounds of Tony Miller. The hosts shot 63 percent (19 of 30) in the second half.
 
Scouting Dixie State (2-3)
> Located in St. George, Utah, Dixie State is in its final year as a Pacific West Conference member before joining the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
> The Trailblazers have alternated losses and wins, a trend SPU seeks to stop on Friday as DSU lost 97-86 at Western Oregon on Nov. 18 and is due for a win.
 
> Senior guard Trevor Hill leads DSU with 20.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. He was named PacWest Player of the Week on Monday.
 
> SPU owns a 6-4 series lead despite a 74-72 overtime loss in the last encounter on Nov. 19, 2016 in Seattle. Dixie owns a 2-1 edge in neutral-site meetings.
 
> The teams twice met in the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Falcons were 70-68 victors on March 9, 2012 in Bellingham, Wash. and Dixie won 75-73 on March 12, 2011 in Ellensburg, Wash.
 
> Five-time PacWest Coach of the Year Jon Judkins is in his 13th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 223-113 record.
 
> Second-year SPU coach Grant Leep has an 0-1 record against the Trailblazers.
 
Scouting Westminster (2-0)
> Westminster College is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
> The Griffins won their first two games, both of them at home versus Johnson & Wales. They were 80-58 victors on Nov. 10 and 76-66 on Nov. 11.
 
> Westminster features high-scoring 6-foot-8 senior forward Dayon Goodman, who has 34- and 30-point performances to his credit to average 32.0 for the season.
 
> Saturday marks the first ever meeting between SPU and Westminster.
 
Dynamic Duo
Two players accounted for 43 percent of SPU's point production in 2017 (956 of 2,226) and both are back this season. Sophomore Tony Miller scored at a 19-point clip and junior Coleman Wooten averaged 17.0 points. They combined for 46 percent of the team's individual rebounds (469 of 1011), Miller with 9.7 per game and Wooten 8.0.

 

Magnificent Miller
SPU's Tony Miller tallied 22 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's home win over Hawaii-Hilo. He was honored as the 2017 GNAC Freshman of the Year, finishing second among all GNAC players last season, and No. 11 nationally, with 15 double-doubles. Miller ranked No. 4 among GNAC scorers (19.0 ppg) and No. 3 in rebounds (9.7 rpg). Miller had three 30-point performances with a career-high 34 points at Northwest Nazarene (Jan. 14). The 6-foot-6 forward produced 28 points in his Oct. 29, 2016 collegiate debut, an exhibition at BYU. Miller paced SPU with 25 double-digit scoring games last year and 12 games of 20 points or more.
 
Terrific Transfer
Junior Nikhil Lizotte is the only Falcons to register double-figure points in all four games. He joined the team after transferring from Humboldt State where he started all 29 games last season. The 5-foot-9 guard led the Lumberjacks in 3-pointers with 75 and ranked second in scoring with 13.8 points per game. Lizotte is a graduate of Davis High School in Yakima, Wash.
 
2018 Season Preview
A talented, young core featuring three returning starters joins a trio of productive regulars who are back from injuries that sidelined them last season. Four of the top-five scorers return, including the top-two point producers from a year ago. Tony Miller was honored as the 2017 GNAC Freshman of the Year after ranking No. 11 nationally with 15 double-doubles. The 6-foot-6 sophomore forward averaged 19.0 points and 9.7 rebounds last season. Coleman Wooten is a 6-foot-5 junior forward who garnered All-GNAC honorable mention acclaim. He averaged 17.0 points and 8.8 rebounds in 2017, ranking second on the team in both categories. Wooten led the Falcons with 72 assists. Sophomore guard Gavin Long average 10.7 points while leading the team in field goal (60.1%) and 3-point (45.8%) percentage. The cast of remaining returnees is headlined by sharpshooters Sharif Khan and Hunter Eisenhower, along with junior post man Nathan Streufert. A pair of transfers will vie for immediate playing time, Nikhil Lizotte, who averaged 13.8 points last year at Humboldt State, and 6-foot-11 Christian Russell from Oregon State. Guard Braden Olsen, from West Linn, Ore. is the lone freshman.
 
2017 Season Review
A challenging combination of injuries, youth and the absence of any returning starters hampered the SPU men in their first season under Coach Grant Leep. Key veterans Sam Simpson and Gabe Colosimo were sidelined with injuries along with North Dakota State transfer Trey Miller. The Falcons completed the 2017 season with a 12-16 record and tied for ninth in the GNAC standings with an 8-12 mark. They had a 12-year playoff run halted, a figure that was the longest active streak among NCAA Division II men's basketball programs. Forward Tony Miller was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year after leading the Falcons in both points (19.0 ppg) and rebounds (9.7 rpg). Coleman Wooten ranked second on the team in both categories (17.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and was an honorable mention All-GNAC honoree.
 
Coach Leep
Grant Leep, 37, is in his second season directing the SPU men's basketball program, his first head coaching assignment after seven years as an assistant on the Falcons staff. He has a 15-17 career record. Leep coached the 2017 team to a 12-16 record, including an 8-10 GNAC mark. He has strong basketball ties throughout the Northwest as an All-America player at Mount Vernon (Wash.) High School before lettering four years at Washington. Leep still owns the Huskies 3-point accuracy records for a season (52.7% in 2002) and career (42.9%). His coaching resumé includes stops at Eastern Washington and a pair of community colleges. SPU had a 165-51 (.764) record during his time as an assistant.
 
Next Week
The SPU men start Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on the road, beginning with a visit to Nampa, Idaho. They play Northwest Nazarene on Nov. 30 before clashing with Central Washington on Dec. 2 in Ellensburg.