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2018 GNAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Alaska
•Webcasts & LiveStats: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/gnac/
 
Thursday, March 1 (Quarterfinals) -- Pacific Times Listed
Game 1 –  (#6) Central Washington vs. (#3) Saint Martin's, 1:00 pm PST
Game 2 – (#5) Alska Anchorage vs. (#4) Seattle Pacific, 3:15 pm PST
 
Friday, March 2 (Semifinals)
Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. (#2) Western Washington, 1:00 pm PST
Game 4 – Winner Game 2 vs. (#1) Western Oregon, 3:15 pm PST
 
Saturday, March 3 (Championship)
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 6:15 pm PST (ESPN3)
 
After a one-year absence from the playoffs, Seattle Pacific returns to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament in pursuit of its fourth championship. The Falcons (16-11) are the No. 4 seed and have a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, Mar. 1 at 3:15 p.m. Pacific Time against No. 5 seed Alaska Anchorage (15-13). They split their regular-season meetings as each won on the road. Playing the host school is a tough draw, but SPU won in five of its last six visits to Anchorage. The three-day conference playoffs run from March 1-3 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. Thursday's SPU/UAA winner meets top-seeded and nationally third-ranked Western Oregon (27-1) on Friday at 3:15 p.m. Saturday's 6:15 p.m. championship game will be televised nationally on ESPN3.
 
Falcons Fast Fact
SPU has a 12-2 record when holding opponents under 80 points ... The Falcons have a 12-0 record this season when shooting 50 percent or better and are 14-3 when posting a higher percentage from the field than foes.

Title Tidbits
SPU is the only school with more than one men's GNAC Tournament title to its credit after winning in 2013, 2014 and 2015. This year will be a tougher challenge for the Falcons, who must win three games on consecutive days. They needed just two wins in each of the title years as they were a top-two seed and benefited from first-round byes. No team has won games on three straight days to win the GNAC Tournament title. Montana State Billings captured the 2012 crown with a run of three wins during a four-day span.


 
GNAC Tournament
For the eighth year, the GNAC is hosting a postseason tournament with the winner receiving the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II playoffs. The six highest finishers from the regular-season standings compete in the tournament with the top two, Western Oregon and Western Washington, receiving first-round byes.
 
SPU in the GNACs
The Falcons have an 8-3 record in GNAC Tournament play, drawing a split in their most recent appearance, in 2016. Then fourth-seeded SPU got a 69-65 semifinal win over Central Washington before losing to No. 1 seed Western Oregon in the semifinals, 58-57. SPU won three straight championships from 2013-15, defeating Western Washington 72-70 in 2013 on a last-second 3-pointer by Jobi Wall, 65-62 in 2014, and 81-68 in 2015. In the inaugural 2011 tournament, No. 3 seed SPU opened with a 69-65 win over No. 6 seed Western Oregon in Seattle before losing 72-67 at No. 2 seed Alaska Anchorage in the semifinals. In 2012, third-seeded SPU lost 70-60 to No. 6 seed Central Washington in Lacey.
 
Scouting Alaska Anchorage (15-13, 11-9 GNAC)
> The host Seawolves won their last three, and five of their last six games.
 
> UAA features 6-foot-9 senior forward Jacob Lampkin from Bellevue, Wash. The O'Dea High School product leads the Seawolves with 15.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
 
> SPU won this season's first meeting 57-54 on Jan. 6, its fifth win in the last six visits to Anchorage.
 
> The Falcons lone loss in Anchorage since 2013 came when UAA dealt SPU's most lopsided loss versus any opponent since 1998, an 85-49 rout on Dec. 29, 2016.
 
> The Seawolves won the most recent encounter, 67-62 on Feb. 1 in Seattle to take a slim 38-37 edge in the all-time series.
 
Scouting Western Oregon (27-1, 19-1 GNAC)
> The third-ranked Wolves won three of the last four conference regular-season championships (2015, 2016, 2018) and the 2016 GNAC Tournament title.
 
> The lone WOU loss this season was an 85-58 defeat at Western Washington on Dec. 2.
 
> WOU, which won its last 20 outings, is led by the 13.5-point and 6.3-rebound averages of 2018 GNAC Player of the Year Tanner Omlid. He erupted for 34 points versus the Falcons on Jan. 5 last year in Seattle and 32 on Feb. 8, 2018 in Monmouth.

> SPU leads the all-time series 40-23 despite losing the last eight encounters, three of them in overtime. The Wolves won this year's first meeting 83-79 on Jan. 13 in Seattle behind the 20-point performances of Omlid and Riley Hawken. They were 95-81 home victors on Feb. 8 when Omlid tallied 32 points.
 
Wonderful Wooten
Junior Coleman Wooten was recognized as a second-team All-GNAC for his all-around prowess. He was an honorable mention selection in 2017. Wooten leads SPU in assists with 83 (3.1 apg) and is second in rebounds (7.1 rpg) while scoring at an 11.3-point clip on 55-percent shooting accuracy. He netted 19 of his season-high 26 points in the first half on Feb. 17 at MSU Billings. On Jan. 17, 2017 Wooten erupted for a career-high 35 points at Saint Martin's. The 6-foot-5 forward averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while leading the Falcons with 72 assists last season. Wooten has 16 career games of 20 points or more and 14 double-digit rebounds games, collecting a career-high 16 caroms on Nov. 18, 2016. The two-time Sodexo Classic MVP has 10 career double-doubles.
 
Super Soph
Gavin Long is a 2018 honorable mention All-GNAC selection. He leads all active Falcons with a 12.3-point scoring average. The 6-foot-5 sophomore guard poured in a career-high 26 points at Simon Fraser on Jan. 25, the top scoring game by an SPU player this season.  That eclipsed the 24-point performance Long produced in the season opener versus Sonoma State on Nov. 10. He ranks second on the team in blocked shots (13) and third in both field goal accuracy (53.0%) and assists (50).
 
Terrific Transfer
Junior Nikhil Lizotte is fourth on the team with 9.7 points per game, including 13 double-digit performances. He is the Falcons top free throw shooter at 86.6 percent (71-82). 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 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.
 
Nate the Great
Junior Nathan Streufert has been a dominating presence on the boards, collecting 7.4 caroms per game to lead SPU. During his 18-point, 17-rebound performance versus Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 1 he outrebounded the rest of his teammates (17-14) and notched career-high marks in both points and boards. Streufert tops the team with four double-doubles and was the Falcons leader on the boards in 12 games. His father, Earl, is the boy's basketball coach at Richland (Wash.) High School.
 
Ailing Falcons
For the second straight season, a slew of injuries have depleted the SPU roster. Sharif Khan, Sam Simpson and Braden Olsen are sidelined for the season. Sophomore forward Tony Miller is also out after undergoing shoulder injury. His brother, sophomore Trey Miller, has been limited to 12 games due to injury. Trey transferred from North Dakota State and was an injury red-shirt last season. That leaves 10 available players. The Falcons lost 82 combined games due to injuries this season. Gavin Long and Coleman Wooten are the only players to start all 27 games.
 
Missing Miller
Sophomore Tony Miller's is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in early February. He was sidelined the last 15 games. Miller's 18.0-point average leads SPU. Honored as the 2017 GNAC Freshman of the Year, he finished No. 11 nationally with 15 double-doubles while averaging 19.0 points and 9.7 rebounds.
 
Coach Leep
Grant Leep, 37, is in his second season directing the SPU men's basketball program after seven years as an assistant on the Falcons staff. He has a 28-27 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.
 
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. He averaged 19.0 points and 9.7 rebounds. Coleman Wooten garnered All-GNAC honorable mention acclaim after averaging 17.0 points and 8.8 rebounds while leading the Falcons with 72 assists. Sophomore guard Gavin Long averaged 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. One transfer will vie for immediate playing time, Nikhil Lizotte, who averaged 13.8 points last year at Humboldt 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. The Falcons completed the 2017 season with a 12-16 record, tying for ninth in the GNAC standings at 8-12. They had a 12-year playoff run halted, a figure that was the longest active streak among NCAA Division II men's basketball programs. Tony Miller was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year after leading the Falcons in points (19.0 ppg) and rebounds (9.7 rpg). Coleman Wooten was second on the team in both categories (17.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and was an honorable mention All-GNAC honoree.