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Thanksgiving Classic
 Golden Gymnasium / San Diego, Calif. (hosted by Point Loma)
• Webcast & LiveStats for both games: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/plnu/
 
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23
Seattle Pacific vs. (#16) St. Cloud State, 5:30 p.m. PST
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 24
Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State San Bernardino, 5:30 p.m. PST
 
Seattle Pacific spends the holiday weekend in San Diego, Calif. to participate in the Thanksgiving Classic. The Falcons (2-0) put their perfect record on the line Friday, Nov. 23 at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time against 16th-ranked St. Cloud State. That will be the first ever meeting between SPU and the Huskies (3-1), from St. Cloud, Minnesota, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament last year. Friday's game takes place at Golden Gymnasium on the Point Loma Nazarene campus where the Falcons clash with Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 5:30 p.m. The Coyotes (2-0) own a 5-4 series lead, but they haven't played SPU in 10 years.
 
Player of the Week
Coleman Wooten, who compiled 25 points and 23 rebounds in two season-opening home victories, was named the GNAC Player of the Week on Monday. The senior forward topped all rebounders in each outing. He collected 12 caroms and scored seven points in Friday's 81-72 victory over Westminster. In Saturday's impressive 83-65 come-from-behind win over Azusa Pacific, Wooten produced an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double. For the weekend, Wooten made 11 of 23 shots from the field while playing a team-high 59 minutes. The Falcons were the only entry in the four-team Sodexo Classic field that won both games in Brougham Pavilion.


 
Falcons Fast Facts
The Falcons hit exactly 29 of 56 shots with eight 3-pointers in each of the first two games. The only scoring difference was two more free throws (17) Saturday ... Senior Coleman Wooten and junior Gavin Long were named to the 15-man Preseason All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference team and the Falcons were picked second in the coaches preseason poll ... Tony Miller, the 2017 GNAC Freshman of the Year, transferred to Montana in June. He averaged 18.0 points and 6.2 rebounds in 12 games as an SPU sophomore last season before being sidelined the final 17 games with a shoulder injury.
 
2019 Season Preview
All five starters return from last season's 17-12 team, including the Falcons top-five point producers. Heading the list of returnees is senior forward Coleman Wooten, a second-team All-GNAC selection in 2018 after averaging 11.0 points and 7.0 rebounds. Junior guard Gavin Long was an honorable mention all-league pick who averaged 11.9 points. That standout tandem is joined by three other returning starters; seniors Nikhil Lizotte and Nathan Streufert along with junior Gabe Colosimo. "This is the first time in my three years that we've had a really good mix of returning, experienced veterans, but then also some talented young players behind them," said third-year coach Grant Leep. Athletic sophomore Harry Cavell is back after drawing 10 starts in 2018. Two veteran returnees are back from injuries that sidelined them the majority of last year. Senior Sam Simpson is a stat sheet stuffer while sophomore Sharif Khan is a stellar sharpshooter. The lineup is bolstered by the addition of three talented newcomers; junior transfer Sam Boone from Lamar CC and freshmen Divant'e Moffitt and Jacob Medjo.
 
Scouting St. Clous State (3-1)
> Located in St. Cloud, Minnesota the Huskies compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
 
> St. Cloud won its first three games, including an 89-77 triumph over 25th-ranked Missouri Southern, before losing 80-77 in overtime against Minnesota State Mankato in its last outing.
 
> The Huskies were picked to win the NSIC and Gage Davis is the two-time Preseason Player of the Year. The senior guard, one of four returning starters, is currently averaging 21.5 points and 9.3 rebounds.
 
> Friday marks the first ever meeting between SPU and St. Cloud State.
 
Scouting Cal State San Bernardino (2-0)
> The Coyotes of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) feature six double-digit scorers, led by the 22.0 average of Daytone Jennings. The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward averages a double-double as he grabs 11 rebounds per game.
 
> San Bernardino is undefeated, having wins over two GNAC teams; Concordia (82-75) and Central Washington (87-83) in overtime.
 
> Andy Newman is in his first season as CSUSB head coach after previously compiling 101 wins at Texas-Permian Basin.
 
> San Bernardino owns a slim 5-4 lead in the all-time series. SPU won the last meeting, a 104-94 double-overtime result on Nov. 22, 2008 in Seattle, after losing the previous two encounters.
 
Opening Weekend Canceled
The Falcons were scheduled to start the 2018-19 season at the Mac Martin Invitational in Chico, California on Nov. 9 and 10. The team arrived in Chico on Nov. 8, but returned home that night due to the "Camp" wildfire. The tournament was canceled and the games were postponed with the possibility of makeup dates and venues to be arranged.
 
Wonderful Wooten
Senior Coleman Wooten, who Monday was named GNAC Player of the Week, was recognized as a second-team All-GNAC honoree for his all-around prowess last season. He was an honorable mention selection in 2017. Wooten led SPU in assists with 83 (2.9 apg) and was second in rebounds (7.0 rpg) while scoring at an 11.0-point clip on 54-percent shooting accuracy. On Jan. 17, 2017 Wooten erupted for a career-high 35 points at Saint Martin's. The 6-foot-5 forward has 16 career games of 20 points or more and 16 double-digit rebounds games, including a career-high 16 boards on Nov. 18, 2016. The two-time Sodexo Classic MVP has 11 career double-doubles.
 
Super Students
Six student-athletes from this year's SPU team were 2018 All-GNAC Academic honorees, led by Sam Simpson with a 3.87 grade point in biochemistry. Nathan Streufert boasts a 3.76 GPA in physiology. The other academic all-stars are: Gabe Colosimo (3.49, psychology), Gavin Long (3.41, physiology), Conner Van Dyken (3.31, health) and Coleman Wooten (3.50, accounting).
 
Gavin the Great
Gavin Long was a 2018 honorable mention All-GNAC selection. He is SPU's top returning scorer with an 11.9-point average. The 6-foot-5 junior guard poured in a game-high 19 points in Friday's season-opening 81-72 win over Westminster. He netted a career-high 26 points at Simon Fraser on Jan. 25, 2018, the top scoring game by a Falcon last season. Last year, Long ranked second on the team in blocked shots (15) and third in both field goal accuracy (52.4%) and assists (53).
 
Carom Collector
Senior Nathan Streufert was a dominating presence on the boards last year, collecting 7.4 caroms per game to lead SPU. On Feb. 1 versus Alaska Anchorage, he out-rebounded the rest of his teammates by a 17-14 margin. Streufert grabbed 11 rebounds in this season's opening win over Westminster (Nov. 16). His father, Earl Streufert, is the boy's basketball coach at Richland (Wash.) High School.

 

Hot Lizotte
Senior Nikhil Lizotte started the second half Saturday with SPU trailing 30-28. He erupted for 19 points and hit 5-of-5 treys with four assists in 15 minutes to spark the win over Azusa Pacific. Lizotte was fourth on the team with 9.8 points per game in 2018 with 13 double-digit efforts. He was the Falcons top free throw shooter at 86.9 percent (73-84). All of his SPU-high 20 points on Nov. 24 came after halftime. Lizotte transferred to SPU from Humboldt State where he started all 29 games in 2016-17. The 5-foot-9 guard led the Lumberjacks in 3-pointers (75) and was second in scoring (13.8 ppg). Lizotte is a graduate of Davis High School in Yakima, Wash.
Coach Leep: Grant Leep, 38, begins his third season directing the SPU men's basketball program after seven years as an assistant on the Falcons staff. He has a 31-28 career record. Leep coached the 2018 team to a 17-12 record, including an 11-9 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.
 
2018 Season Review
The Falcons finished the 2017-18 season with a 17-12 record, tying for fourth in the standings at 11-9. They beat host Alaska Anchorage in the GNAC Tournament first round before a semifinal loss to Western Oregon. Coleman Wooten earned second-team All-GNAC honors and Gavin Long was honorable mention.
 
Postseason Pursuit
SPU seeks to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament after a two-year absence. Prior to that, the Falcons forged a run of 12 straight playoff berths, from 2005-2016, that was the longest active streak among Division II men's basketball teams. SPU advanced to the national semifinals in both 2000 and 2006, placing third both times.
 
Exhibition Recap
Coleman Wooten produced an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double for Seattle Pacific, which led at halftime before succumbing to 25th-ranked Washington during the final nine minutes of a 70-61 exhibition men's basketball loss at Alaska Airlines Arena on Nov. 1. Wooten hit 7 of 15 shots from the field, including 2-for-3 accuracy from 3-point range. Gavin Long finished with 15 points. Jalen Nowell paced the Huskies with 23 points while David Crisp added 20. UW's Matisse Thybulle finished with eight steals, seven points and seven rebounds. SPU shot 38 percent (24 of 64) from the field while the Huskies managed 40 percent (21 of 53). The Falcons (7 of 17) were outscored by 14 points at the line by UW (21 of 32). SPU trailed 11-0 before Long made a layup 3:10 into the game. SPU held the Huskies scoreless for almost seven minutes en route to a 15-0 run and 25-18 lead. The Falcons, who led 27-26 at halftime, were up 47-46 with 9:09 remaining before a five-point surge put UW ahead for good.