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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16
Concordia-Portland at Seattle Pacific, 4:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
(#14) Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, 5:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash. -- Senior Night
 
• Webcast for all four games: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1iS12FsEzoRas8fmcWzaA/live
• LiveStats for all four games: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball
• Buy tickets in advance: http://siteline.vendini.com/site/spufalcons.com
 
In the midst of a four-game winning streak, a frenetic home slate of four games in eight days awaits Seattle Pacific. The quartet of Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contests at Brougham Pavilion begins on Thursday, Feb. 14 when the Falcons (13-6, 10-4 GNAC) host Western Oregon (17-6, 10-4) at 7 p.m. Those two teams are tied for third place in the GNAC standings. The Wolves won the last 10 meetings. On Saturday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. the Falcons have a home encounter with Concordia (9-13, 4-10). SPU escaped Portland with an 80-78 win over the Cavaliers on Jan. 17 on a buzzer-beating putback by Nathan Streufert. League-leading Saint Martin's (19-3, 12-2) visits Seattle on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. The 14th-ranked Saints won their last six matchups with SPU. The Falcons conclude the homestand on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 5:15 p.m. against Montana State Billings (11-11, 6-8). SPU had won eight straight over the Yellowjackets before losing 92-63 on Jan. 26 in Billings. Six Falcons seniors will be honored Feb. 21; Nikhil Lizotte, Trey Miller, Sam Simpson, Nathan Streufert, Coleman Wooten and Conner Van Dyken.
 
Player of the Week
Coleman Wooten, who combined for 34 points and 22 rebounds and converted 75 percent of his shots from the field in a pair of road victories, was named the GNAC Player of the Week on Monday. The senior forward hit 15 of 20 attempts, including 4-for-8 accuracy on 3-pointers, to fuel the Falcons sweep of the Alaska road trip. Wooten had 14 points and 8 rebounds, making 6 of 8 shots, in a 65-64 victory at Anchorage (Feb. 7). In the 89-52 triumph at Fairbanks (Feb. 9), Wooten nailed 9 of 12 shots en route to a 20-point, 14-rebound effort that was his fifth double-double of the season.
 
Sharp Shooters
SPU tops the GNAC and ranks 18th nationally in field goal accuracy at 49.8 percent (549 of 1,103) as a team. The Falcons held all but three foes under 50-percent and won all 11 games when shooting 50 percent themselves. SPU hit an astounding 64.3-percent of its attempts (36 of 56) in the Dec. 1 home win over Central Washington and shot 61.2 percent (30 of 49) at Simon Fraser on Jan. 5. Six Falcons make as many or more shots than they miss, led by the 62-percent accuracy of Nathan Streufert. SPU's best 3-point shooter is Sam Simpson at 45.3 percent. Six players are converting free throws at better than an 80-percent clip, topped Nikhil Lizotte's 86.8 percent accuracy.
 
Notable
Senior Coleman Wooten scored his 1,000 career point on Jan. 26 and grabbed his 600th rebound on Feb. 7. He is the ninth player in SPU history to reach both of those milestones ... The Falcons lead the GNAC in rebound margin, ranking 12th nationally by collecting 7.9 more caroms per game than foes ... SPU's record is 10-1 when scoring 80 points or more ... The Falcons are 10-1 when outshooting opponents (high percentage).
 
Scouting Western Oregon (17-6, 10-4 GNAC)
> The Wolves won three of the last four GNAC regular-season titles.
 
> WOU is led by the 12.7-point and 6.6-rebound averages of Riley Hawken.
 
> SPU leads the series 40-25 despite losing the last 10 matchups, including a 73-71 road setback on Jan. 19.
 
Scouting Concordia (9-13, 4-10 GNAC)
> The Cavaliers won their last two games.
 
> CU features Jarrett Gray, who averages 15.8 points and shared GNAC Player of the Week honors with the Falcons Coleman Wooten.
 
> SPU boasts an 8-1 series lead after winning 80-78 on Jan. 17 in Portland on a last-second putback layup by Nathan Streufert.
 
Scouting Saint Martin's (19-3, 12-2 GNAC)
> The 14th-ranked Saints were victorious in nine of their last 10 games.
 
> Four SMU players average double-figure points, topped by EJ Boyce (12.9 ppg) and GNAC Preseason Player of the Year. Luke Chavez (12.2).
 
> The Falcons boast a 97-40 all-time series lead despite losing the last six encounters. SMU was an 80-63 victor in this year's first meeting, on Jan 22 in Lacey, Wash.
 
Scouting Montana State Billings (11-11, 6-8 GNAC)
> The Yellowjackets lost their last three games after posting wins over SPU and Central.
 
> MSUB features five double-digit scorers: Tyler Green (16.7 ppg), Brendan Howard (15.0), Zack Rollins (14.6),  Melvin Newbern Jr. (13.5) and Zharon Richmond (10.7).
 
> The Falcons lead the series by a 43-31 margin, but had an eight-game winning streak over MSUB snapped with a 92-63 loss on Jan. 26 in Billings.
 
Super Students
Eight Falcons  are 2019 All-GNAC Academic selections, twice as many honorees as any other school: Sam Simpson (3.89 GPA, biochemistry), Harry Cavell (3.86, business administration), Sharif Khan (3.83, business administration), Nathan Streufert (3.80, physiology), Gavin Long (3.54, physiology), Coleman Wooten (3.50, accounting), Trey Miller (3.42, accounting), Conner Van Dyken (3.23, health & PE).
 
Balanced Attack
Four starters average double-figure points for the Falcons, who share the ball so much that only five 20-point performances have been posted by a player this season (Nikhil Lizotte 2, Coleman Wooten 2, Divant'e Moffitt 1). Nearly half (48.5%) of SPU's baskets (272 of 549) were set up by teammates and eight players have been credited with at least 20 assists. Six different Falcons served as the scoring leader for games this season and eight players topped the team in assists.

 

Gavin the Great
Gavin Long leads the Falcons with a 12.8-point scoring average. The 6-foot-5 junior guard has been SPU's top scorer six times this year, including a trio of 19-point performances. Long was a 2018 honorable mention All-GNAC selection. He is SPU's top returning scorer with an 11.9-point average in 2018. 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).
 
Hot Lizotte
Senior Nikhil Lizotte leads all SPU scorers in conference games, averaging 12.6 points versus GNAC foes. A reserve at the time, he started the second half of the Nov. 17 game with SPU trailing 30-28 and erupted for 19 points while hitting 5-of-5 treys with four assists in 15 minutes to spark the win over Azusa Pacific. Lizotte led all SPU scorers on seven occasions this season. He converts free throws at an 88.8-percent clip (46 of 53) and compiled a string of 21 consecutive charity shots that ended on Jan. 17. 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 talented newcomers Sam Boone, a junior transfer from Lamar CC, and freshman Divant'e Moffitt.
 
Coach Leep
Grant Leep, 38, is in his third season directing the SPU men's basketball program after seven years as an assistant on the Falcons staff. He has a 42-34 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.
 
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.
 
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.