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THURSDAY, JANUARY 3
Seattle Pacific at Western Washington, 7:00 p.m. PST
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 5
Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser, 7:00 p.m. PST
West Gym / Burnaby, B.C.
 
• Webcast & LiveStats for both games: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu
 
The Seattle Pacific men don't have the luxury of easing into the new year. They start 2019 with a two-game basketball road trip against Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals. Five teams have 1-1 GNAC records, including the Falcons, who play two others. SPU (4-3, 1-1 GNAC) travels to Bellingham to clash with Western Washington on Thursday, Jan. 3. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Carver Gymnasium. The Vikings (7-5, 1-1) lost their last three games, all of them non-conference contests. On Saturday, Jan. 5 SPU visits Burnaby, B.C. to take on Simon Fraser at 7 p.m. in West Gym. The Clan (6-3, 1-1) won six of their last seven games. The next home game for the Falcons is Thursday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. versus Alaska Fairbanks. Then Alaska Anchorage visits Brougham Pavilion on Jan. 12 at 4 p.m.
 
Sharp Shooters
The SPU men are shooting 49.5 percent (208 of 420) as a team, reaching the 50-percent mark four times. The Falcons held six of seven foes under 48-percent and won all four games when shooting 50 percent themselves. SPU hit an astounding 64.3-percent of its shots (36 of 56) in the Dec. 1 home win over Central Washington. Five Falcons are making as many or more shots than they miss, led by the 71-percent accuracy (29 of 41) of Nathan Streufert. SPU's best 3-point shooter is Gavin Long at 50 percent (9 of 18). Six players are converting free throws at better than an 80-percent clip, topped by the 94.4 percent accuracy of Nikhil Lizotte (17 of 18).
 

Falcons Fast Facts
The Falcons finished with a 3-2 record in non-league games, a schedule abbreviated by the absence of two season-opening games in Chico, Calif. that were cancelled due to a wildfire ... SPU's only true road game, on Dec. 18, resulted in a 76-59 win at Concordia-Irvine ... Senior forward Coleman Wooten has 527 career rebounds and 918 points ... No SPU player has double-figure points in every game with Nikhil Lizotte and Gavin Long scoring 10 or more points six times apiece ... Wooten and junior 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 last season.
 
Ticket Talk
Season tickets are still available for SPU home games. They are a tremendous value and assure a seat in the best location for every home game. Falcons fans can also obtain individual-game tickets in advance for all home events. Buy tickets online at: http://siteline.vendini.com/site/spufalcons.com    Individual game tickets for SPU men's basketball games can be obtained 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 $5 for students and senior citizens. SPU students, faculty and staff are admitted free with i.d. Groups or teams of 10 or more may qualify for special general admission rates by calling 206-281-2085 in advance.
 
Last Action
Gavin Long led all scorers with 19 points for Seattle Pacific, which also got a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double from Coleman Wooten on Dec. 18 in a 76-59 road victory that halted Concordia-Irvine's eight-game winning streak. The game was the last for the Falcons outside of GNAC play. SPU showed signs of rust at times after a 17-day layoff from competition. The first points didn't come until 2:48 into the game when Harry Cavell drained a 3-pointer. The Falcons trailed by five points early before capturing the lead for good six minutes into the contest. A 13-point halftime advantage grew to as many as 20 points in the second half. SPU shot 52 percent (30 of 58), with 9-for-22 accuracy on 3-pointers, while holding the Eagles at 41 percent (21 of 51).
 
Scouting Western Washington (7-5, 1-1 GNAC)
> The Vikings lost their last three games, all non-conference outings, after opening with seven wins in nine games.
 
> Trevor Jasinsky tops four WWU double-figure scorers with a 19.3-point average. Micah Winn averages 12.5, Luke Lovelady 10.9 and Siaan Rojas 10.5.
 
> The Vikings won last season's first matchup, 86-80, on Dec. 28 in Seattle for their third straight series win. The Falcons were 92-88 victors in the rematch on Jan. 27 in Bellingham.
 
> SPU owns an 84-55 series advantage despite losing three of the last four matchups.
 
Scouting Simon Fraser (6-3, 1-1 GNAC)
> The Clan won their last two, and six of their last seven outings.
 
> Othniel Spence leads four SFU double-digit scorers with 15.6 points per game. Julian Roche averages 13.0 points, Wilfried Balata 12.3 and Drew Bryson 10.3.
 
> The Falcons own a 17-3 lead in the all-time series. They won the first 13 matchups with Simon Fraser before losing 84-83 on Feb. 7, 2015 in Seattle.
 
> Last season's first encounter, on Dec. 30 in Seattle, took overtime to decide and SPU eventually won 98-93. The Falcons forced overtime by outscoring the visitors 11-2 over the final 3:23 of regulation. Simon Fraser won the most recent meeting, 81-80, on Jan. 25 in Burnaby for its second straight home victory over SPU.
 
Wonderful Wooten
Senior Coleman Wooten, who was named GNAC Player of the Week on Nov. 19, collected double-figure rebounds five times this season while averaging 9.4 per game. He has three double-doubles. Wooten was recognized as a second-team All-GNAC performer last year after being an honorable mention selection in 2017. In 2018, 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 19 double-digit rebounds games, including a career-high 16 boards on Nov. 18, 2016. The two-time Sodexo Classic MVP has 13 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 leads the Falcons with a 15.6-point scoring average. The 6-foot-5 junior guard has been SPU's game-high scorer four times this season with 19-point performances against Westminster (Nov. 16), St. Cloud State (Nov. 23) and Concordia-Irvine (Dec. 18) and 17 versus Central Washington (Dec. 1). Long was a 2018 honorable mention All-GNAC selection. He is SPU's top returning scorer with an 11.9-point average. Long 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 of the Nov. 17 game 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 led all SPU scorers with 17 points against Cal State San Bernardino (Nov. 24) and again on Dec. 1 versus Central Washington. He was fourth on the team with 9.8 points per game in 2018 with 13 double-digit efforts. Lizotte was the Falcons top free throw shooter at 86.9 percent (73-84). All of his SPU-high 20 points on Nov. 24, 2017 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.
 
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.
 
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 33-31 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.
 
Opening Weekend Cancelled
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 cancelled and the games will not be made up.
 
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.
 
GNAC Report
The league is loaded this season with only two teams sporting a losing ledger (Alaska Fairbanks, Concordia-Portland), while eight have winning records and one sits at .500. Just two games into the GNAC season and eight teams already have a league victory. Three teams are undefeated in league play and five have matching 1-1 marks. SPU is seeking its sixth GNAC regular-season championship, but its first since 2014.