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Pioneer Challenge / Pioneer Gymnasium / Hayward, Calif.
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• LiveStats for both games: http://www.sidearmstats.com/csueastbay/mbball/
 
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10 –
Seattle Pacific vs. Sonoma State, 12:00 p.m. PST
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11 –
Seattle Pacific at Cal State East Bay, 2:00 p.m. PST
 
The second season of the Grant Leep Era begins this week when Seattle Pacific tips off the men's basketball schedule with a two-game tournament in Hayward, California. The Falcons (0-0) compete in the Pioneer Challenge on Nov. 10 and 11. They meet Sonoma State (0-0) on Friday at noon. SPU won all five previous encounters with the Seawolves, who participated in the NCAA Division II Tournament last season. On Saturday, the Falcons clash with tournament host Cal State East Bay (0-0) at 2 p.m. The Pioneers are winless in 11 all-time meetings versus SPU.
 
Magnificent Miller
SPU sophomore Tony Miller was honored as the 2017 GNAC Freshman of the Year. He finished second among all GNAC players last season, and No. 11 nationally, with 15 double-doubles. Miller (Woodinville HS) 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 and 12 games of 20 points or more.


 
Get Your Tickets
Season tickets for SPU men's basketball games are currently available. They are a tremendous value and assure a seat in the best location for every home game. Season tickets can be purchased at www.spufalcons.com or by calling 206-281-2393. 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 $10. General admission tickets are priced at $7 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates by calling 206-281-2393 in advance.
 
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 Oslsen, from West Linn, Ore. is the lone freshman.
 
Exhibition Recap
Tony Miller tallied 17 of his game-high 27 points inside the opening nine minutes of Seattle Pacific's 110-77 home exhibition victory over Capilano University on Oct. 27. The scoring output was third highest ever for the Falcons in an exhibition game and their most points since a 116-79 rout of the Blue Angels in 2009. Miller hit 11 of 19 shots from the field and led SPU's 60-25 domination of the boards with 13 rebounds. His 17th point came on a jumper with 11:34 left in the first half as part of SPU's run of 14 unanswered points. Newcomer Nikhil Lizotte, a 5-foot-9 junior transfer from Humboldt State, added 14 points for the Falcons.
 
Scouting Sonoma State (20-9 in 2017)
> Located in Rohnert Park, Calif., Sonoma State is a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
 
> The Seawolves are coming off a great 2016-17 campaign during which they posted a 20-9 record, had the nation's top-ranked defense and made their first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance in eleven years. They lost in the first round of the playoffs.
 
> Sonoma returns two starters in junior backcourt mates Armani Nicolis, who averaged 7.9 points, and Mason Phillips, who averaged 5.2.
 
> The Falcons won all five previous games against Sonoma, including a 78-58 decision on Nov. 27, 2009 in Chico, Calif. during the most recent meeting.
 
> Second-year SPU coach Grant Leep has never coached against Sonoma State.
 
Scouting Cal State East Bay (13-15 in 2017)
> Located in Hayward, Calif. (and formerly called Cal State Hayward), Cal State East Bay is a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
 
> The Pioneers return three starters, including junior guard Juwan Anderson who dished assists at a 4.7 clip last year and led the CCAA with a 2.8 assist-turnover ratio.
 
> Bryan Rooney is in his first season directing the East Bay program after serving the previous 10 years as the head coach at California Maritime Academy.
 
> The Falcons won all 11 previous meetings against CSUEB, including a 71-57 victory in the last encounter, on Nov. 28, 2015 in Chico, Calif.
 
> In his second season at SPU, Grant Leep has never coached against the Pioneers.
 
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.
 
Ailing Falcons
Injuries took a heavy toll last season as SPU lost 106 games to ailments and only one player started every contest. Gabe Colosimo, Sam Simpson and Trey Miller were sidelined for the season and Nathan Streufert missed the first eight games. All are back and healthy to start this season. Sophomores Gavin Long and Sharif Khan are the only returning players that participated in every game in 2017.

 

Wonderful Wooten
Junior forward Coleman Wooten erupted for a career-high 35 points at Saint Martin's on Jan. 17, 2017. He 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. He was named the MVP of the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic (Nov. 11 & 12, 2017).



 
Terrific Transfer
Junior Nikhil Lizotte joins the Falcons 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. He is a graduate of Davis High School in Yakima, Wash.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
SPU returns nine players that started at least one game last season … The Falcons outrebounded exhibition foe Capilano University (North Vancouver, B.C.) by a commanding 60-25 margin on Oct. 27 ... Five of the 15 players on the roster have never before played a game in a Falcons uniform, including Trey Miller, a transfer from Division I North Dakota State who sat out last season at SPU with an injury. He hopes to play alongside his brother, Tony, for the first time.
 
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 coached the 2017 team to a 12-16 record in his inaugural campaign, including an 8-10 GNAC mark that tied for ninth place. Leep has strong basketball ties throughout the Northwest as an All-America player at Mount Vernon (Wash.) High School before lettering four years at 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 his time as an assistant and they twice (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
SPU plays its first home games, on Nov. 17 and 18, as host of the four-team Sodexo Classic at Brougham Pavilion. Doubleheaders take place both days with SPU playing at 7 p.m. against California-Irvine on Friday and Hawaii-Hilo on Saturday.