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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28 –
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30 –
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
• Webcast for both games: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1iS12FsEzoRas8fmcWzaA/live
• LiveStats for both games: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball
 
THURSDAY, JANUARY 4 –
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks, 8:00 p.m. PST (7 pm AST)
Patty Center / Fairbanks, Ak.
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 6 –
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage, 8:00 p.m. PST (7 pm AST)
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Ak.
 
• Webcast & LiveStats for both games in Alaska: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
After a 10-day break for Christmas, Seattle Pacific dives headlong into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball campaign with four games against teams at or near the top of the table. The Falcons (6-3, 1-1 GNAC) complete the 2017 calendar year with two home games, beginning on Thursday, Dec. 28 against defending league champion Western Washington. The first-place Vikings (7-3, 2-0) won their last 10 games against GNAC opponents and swept two games from SPU last season. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion where the Falcons host Simon Fraser (7-3, 1-1) on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. SPU won 16 of 18 all-time encounters versus the Clan. Next week the Falcons start 2018 with a visit to the state of Alaska. They play at Fairbanks (4-6, 2-2) on Jan. 4 and Anchorage (7-5, 3-1) on Jan. 6. SPU swept both games on the Alaska road trip for four straight seasons before drawing a split in 2017 with the win coming at UAF.
 
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 $15 on Thursday versus Western Washington and $10 on Saturday versus Simon Fraser. General admission tickets are priced at $7 for adults and $4 for students and senior citizens.
 
GNAC Report
The league is loaded this season with 9 of 11 teams sporting winning overall records. The congested standings feature four teams with winning GNAC ledgers and five sitting at .500. SPU is seeking its sixth GNAC regular-season championship, but its first since 2014. The Falcons won three consecutive GNAC Tournament titles from 2013-15.
 
Non-League Recap
SPU completed non-conference play with a 5-2 record, capped by a 90-79 victory at Stanislaus State on Dec. 18. Point guard Gabe Colosimo made his first start since 2016 and contributed 9 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. The Falcons outscored non-league foes 82.6 to 72.3 and shot 50.3 percent in those seven outings (197 of 392).

 

Falcons Fast Facts
Tony Miller topped all SPU scorers in each of the last seven games, scoring at a 20.9-point clip during that span ... SPU has outboarded seven of nine opponents this season, outrebounding foes by 6.1 per game (40.1 - 34.0) ... The Falcons tied their school single-game record with 11 blocked shots on Nov. 17 versus Concordia-Irvine, led by seven from Nathan Streufert ... Four difference Falcons have had a five-assist game.
 
Scouting Western Washington (7-3, 2-0 GNAC)
> The defending GNAC champion Vikings won five of their last six games, including both league outings.
 
> Western features a high-octane offense that produced a GNAC-leading 88.3 points per game. That figure is nearly five points more than SPU's average of 83.7.
 
> Daulton Hommes tops three WWU double-figure scorers with an 18.1-point average. Deandra Dickson averages 14.2 and Trey Drechsel 13.4.
 
> The Falcons own an 83-54 series advantage. They lost both encounters last season, falling 96-91 in overtime at WWU on Dec. 3 in Seattle and 89-87 on Feb. 22 in Bellingham.
 
Scouting Simon Fraser (7-3, 1-1 GNAC)
> The Clan, under second-year head coach Steve Hanson, have already topped last season's four-win total. They are halfway to last year's total of two GNAC victories.
 
> Kedar Salam leads three SFU double-digit scorers with 16.1 points. He is shooting 50 percent (14 of 28) from 3-point range and 52-percent overall.
 
> The Falcons own a 16-2 lead in the all-time series. They won the first 13 all-time matchups with Simon Fraser before losing 84-83 on Feb. 7, 2015 in Seattle.
 
> The teams split last year's meetings. SPU won 88-66 on Dec. 1 in Seattle and the Clan claimed the rematch 93-82 on Feb. 25 in Burnaby.
 
Scouting Alaska Fairbanks (4-6, 2-2 GNAC)
> The Nanooks have already played four GNAC games, winning half of them.
 
> Fairbanks features junior guard Davis Kimble, who leads the team in scoring (12.4 ppg), assists (4.9 apg) and steals (1.5 spg).
 
> Mick Durham is in his seventh year as head coach at UAF. The former Montana State coach has a 1-11 record against SPU.
 
> The Falcons lead the all-time series 60-16 and won 18 of the last 20 encounters. SPU swept the 2017 season series, winning 79-77 on Dec. 31 in Fairbanks and getting a 72-69 overtime decision on Jan. 26 in Seattle.
 
Scouting Alaska Anchorage (7-5, 3-1 GNAC)
> The second-place Seawolves won three of their last four outings, all GNAC contests.
 
> UAA features 6-foot-9 senior forward Jacob Lampkin from Bellevue, Wash. The O'Dea High School product leads the team with 15.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
 
> The Seawolves dealt SPU its most lopsided loss since 1998 with an 85-49 rout on Dec. 29, 2016 in Anchorage. UAA eked out an 83-81 overtime decision in the rematch on Jan. 28 in Seattle to claim a 37-36 edge in the all-time series. SPU won eight of the last 11 encounters.
 
> The SPU men were victorious four straight visits to UAA before losing last season.

 

Sharp Shooters
The SPU men are shooting 48.9 percent (255 of 522) as a team, reaching the 50-percent mark four times. They hit 59-percent of their shots (33 of 56) in the Dec. 18 win at Stanislaus State. Seven Falcons are making as many or more shots than they miss, led by the 59-percent accuracy (20 of 34) of Nathan Streufert. SPU's best 3-point shooter is Sam Simpson at 44 percent (11 of 25).
 
Terrific Transfer
Junior Nikhil Lizotte ranks third on the team with 12.2 points per game, including seven double-figure performances. All of his SPU-high 20 points on Nov. 24 came 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.
 
Magnificent Miller
Sophomore Tony Miller leads SPU with 17.2 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.
 
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 an 18-19 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.