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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, 6:00 p.m. PST (7 pm MST)
Johnson Sports Center / Nampa, Idaho
 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 7:00 p.m. PST
Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.
 
• Webcast & LiveStats for both games: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
MONDAY, DECEMBER 18
Seattle Pacific at Stanislaus State, 7:00 p.m. PST
Fitzpatrick Arena / Turlock, Calif.
• Webcast: http://warriorathletics.com/sports/2010/1/21/GEN_0121101850.aspx
• LiveStats: http://sidearmstats.com/csustan/mbball/
 
Seattle Pacific plays its opening Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) contests while continuing a five-game road trip.  The Falcons (4-2, 0-0 GNAC) travel to Nampa, Idaho on Thursday, Nov. 30 to battle Northwest Nazarene (4-2, 0-0) at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. Mountain). They won 12 of the last 13 encounters versus the Nighthawks. On Saturday, Dec. 2 SPU is in Ellensburg to clash with Central Washington (3-2, 0-0) at 7 p.m. The Falcons won 12 of the last 16 meetings with the Wildcats. SPU completes the non-conference portion of its schedule against Stanislaus State on Monday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. in Turlock, Calif. They meet for the first time since the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
 
GNAC Report
The Falcons won all six conference openers since 2011-12 when the GNAC began starting the league season before Christmas, including last year's 88-66 home victory over Simon Fraser. The league is loaded this season with only one team sporting a losing ledger (Alaska Fairbanks), while nine have winning records and one sits at .500. SPU is seeking its sixth GNAC regular-season championship, but its first since 2014.
 
Sharp Shooters
The SPU men are shooting 48.8 percent (164 of 336) as a team, reaching the 50-percent mark three times. They hit 63-percent of their second-half shots (19 of 30) in the Nov. 18 win over Hawaii-Hilo. Eight Falcons are making as many or more shots than they miss, led by the 67-percent accuracy (12 of 18) of Nathan Streufert. SPU's best 3-point shooter is Hunter Eisenhower at 45.5 percent (10 of 22).
 


Terrific Transfer
Junior Nikhil Lizotte is the only Falcon to register double-figure points in all six games. All of his SPU-high 20 points on Nov. 24 game after halftime. Lizotte 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 (75) and was second in scoring (3.8 ppg). Lizotte is a graduate of Davis High School in Yakima, Wash.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
SPU has outrebounded all six opponents ... The Falcons won all four games in which they posted a superior field goal percentage than their foes ... SPU's balanced attack has seen four different players lead the team in scoring during a game with only Gavin Long and Tony Miller topping the team twice ... The Falcons tied their school single-game record with 11 blocked shots on Nov. 17 versus Concordia-Irvine, led by seven from Nathan Streufert.
 
Scouting Northwest Nazarene (4-2, 0-0 GNAC)
> Located in Nampa, Idaho, NNU recently changed its nickname to Nighthawks (previously was Crusaders). Paul Rush is in his first season as head coach after serving three years as an assistant.
 
> Maurice Jones,  a 6-foot-5 senior forward, leads the Nighthawks with averages of 21.2 points and 10.5 rebounds. He was the only GNAC player to average a double-double last year (16.0 ppg & 10.4 rpg).
 
> The Falcons lead the series 58-23 and had won 11 consecutive meetings before losing 85-80 on Jan. 14 in Nampa. SPU was an 83-68 home victor in the Feb. 9 rematch.
 
Scouting Central Washington (3-2, 0-0 GNAC)
> Central Washington played just one home game in its opening five outings, a 100-64 win over Walla Walla on Nov. 25.
 
> A trio of players from Seattle's Rainier Beach High School lead the Wildcats. Freshman Kalil Shabazz averages a team-high 18.2 points and 3.0 assists. Senior center Fuquan Niles averages 10.0 points and 9.6 rebounds while shooting 74 percent (20 of 27). He led the GNAC with 63.7-percent field goal accuracy last season. Junior Naim Ladd is the top returning point producer, scoring at a 13.5 clip in 2017.
 
> CWU leads the all-time series 74-54 despite losing 11 of the last 16 meetings. The Falcons lost 89-85 on Jan. 12, 2016 in Ellensburg as injuries limited them to seven players. Then-freshman point guard Sharif Khan made his only start and played all 40 minutes. SPU won the rematch 79-61 on Feb. 11 in Seattle.
 
Scouting Stanislaus State (4-2, 1-2 CCAA)
> The Warriors, from Turlock, Calif., are directed by co-head coaches Larry Reynolds and Paul Trevor. The SSU coach since 2009, Reynolds announced in April that he is battling Parkinson's disease and Trevor was hired as co-head coach at that time.
 
> Junior guard Andy Cleaves leads Stanislaus with 14.5 points per game. He is shooting 55.8 percent from the field, including 51.7-percent 3-point accuracy (15 of 29).
 
> The Falcons own a 3-2 edge in series despite losing an 80-72 overtime decision on March 14, 2014 in the last meeting during the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. SSU won the only previous Turlock encounter, 88-80 on Dec. 4, 1989.
 
Last Week
SPU split two games at the Westminster Thanksgiving Invitational in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nikhil Lizotte compiled his entire 20-point total in the second half, helping the Falcons rally from a 13-point deficit to beat Dixie State 79-70 on Nov. 24. They lost 83-77 versus host Westminster on Nov. 25 despite 17 points from Tony Miller. SPU led 77-72 with three minutes left before the Griffins netted the final 11 points in a game that featured 12 ties and 20 lead changes.

 

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
Sophomore Tony Miller leads SPU with 15.3 points per game. 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.
 
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 16-18 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.