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2019 GNAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
•Webcasts & LiveStats: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/gnac/
• Buy Tickets:  www.gnachooptickets.com
• Parking/Hotel Information:  https://wwuvikings.com/sports/2019/2/18/2019-gnac-basketball.aspx

Thursday, March 7 (Quarterfinals)
Game 1 –  (#6) Simon Fraser vs. (#3) Northwest Nazarene, 5:15 pm PST
Game 2 – (#5) MSU Billings vs. (#4) Western Oregon, 7:30 pm PST
 
Friday, March 8 (Semifinals)
Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. (#2) Seattle Pacific, 5:15 pm PST
Game 4 – Winner Game 2 vs. (#1) Saint Martin's, 7:30 pm PST
 
Saturday, March 9 (Championship)
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:35 pm PST (ESPN3)
 
Seattle Pacific seeks to parlay another second seed into a title at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament this week in Bellingham, Washington. The Falcons (19-6) are the No. 2 seed and have a first-round bye before playing a semifinal contest on Friday, Mar. 8 at 5:15 p.m. They meet the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 seed Northwest Nazarene (19-7) and No. 6 Simon Fraser (15-13). The three-day conference playoffs run from March 7-9 at Carver Gymnasium on the Western Washington campus. A win Friday would send SPU into Saturday's 7:35 p.m. championship game that will be broadcast nationally on ESPN3. Both previous time the Falcons were the No. 2 seed, they won GNAC Tournament championships, in 2013 and 2015. SPU has three championship trophies, tops among GNAC schools, also winning as the top seed in 2014.
 
GNAC Tournament
For the ninth 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, Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific, receiving first-round byes.
 
Title Tidbits
SPU is the only No. 2 seed to win the GNAC Tournament and did it twice (2013, 2015) ... The Falcons, with three titles (2013, 14, 15), and Western Oregon (2016, 18) are the only programs to win the championship more than once.
 
SPU in the GNACs
The Falcons have a 9-4 record in GNAC Tournament play, drawing a split last season. Then fourth-seeded SPU got a 64-51 quarterfinal win over host Alaska Anchorage before losing to No. 1 seed Western Oregon in the semifinals, 97-70. 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.

 

Sharp Shooters
SPU ranks 36th nationally in field goal accuracy at 48.6 percent (700 of 1,439). The Falcons held all but four foes under 50-percent and won all 12 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. Four Falcons make as many or more shots than they miss, led by the 59.1-percent accuracy of Nathan Streufert. SPU's best 3-point shooter is Coleman Wooten at 41.9 percent. Nikhil Lizotte is the top free throw shooter at 87.8 percent.

 
About Northwest Nazarene (19-7, 14-6 GNAC)
> Located in Nampa, Idaho, NNU recently changed its nickname to Nighthawks (previously was Crusaders). Paul Rush is in his second season as head coach after serving three years as an assistant.
 
> Adonis Arms, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, is the GNAC Player of the Year and leads the league with 20.9 points per game. He is a transfer from Mesa CC that also produced Obi Megwa, who averages 19.2 points.
 
> The Falcons lead the series 59-26 and had lost three games versus NNU before an 87-82 victory in the last meeting, on Mar. 2 in Nampa. The Nighthawks were 87-86 victors in this season's first matchup, on Nov. 19 in Seattle.
 
About Simon Fraser (15-13, 9-11 GNAC)
> The Clan qualified for the GNAC Tournament field for the first time.
 
> Othniel Spence leads five SFU double-digit scorers with 13.7 points per game.
 
> Seattle Pacific owns a 19-3 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.
 
> The Falcons swept both regular-season games versus the Clan. They were 94-66 victors on Jan. 5 in Burnaby, B.C. and won the rematch, 92-76, on Jan. 31 in Seattle behind Coleman Wooten's 23-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
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 to such an impressive degree that nearly half (49.4%) of their baskets (346 of 700) were set up by teammates. Eight SPU players have been credited with at least 30 assists. Six different Falcons served as the scoring leader for games this season and eight players topped the team in assists.
 
Notable
The current 10-game win streak is SPU's longest since a 11-game skein in 2014. The last longer streak was a school-record 15 straight wins in 2002 ... The Falcons lead the GNAC in rebound margin, ranking ninth nationally with 8.5 more caroms per game than opponents ... SPU's record is 11-1 when scoring at least 80 points and 11-0 when holding foes under 70 points ... The Falcons are 15-1 when shooting better than foes.

 

Wonderful Wooten
Senior Coleman Wooten, a first-team All-GNAC selection, has twice been named conference Player of the Week (Nov. 19 & Feb. 11). He is the ninth player in SPU history to reach both the 1,000-point and 600-rebound milestones, currently ranking No. 20 in career points (1,150) and No. 9 in boards (656). Wooten sparked SPU's current 10-game winning streak, leading the team during that stretch in points (14.4), rebounds (8.0), field goal percentage (63.8%) and 3-point percentage (56.3%). He was recognized as a second-team All-GNAC performer last year after being honorable mention in 2017. On Jan. 17, 2017 Wooten erupted for a career-high 35 points at Saint Martin's. The 6-foot-5 forward has 18 career games of 20 points or more and 23 double-digit rebounds games, including a career-high 16 boards on Nov. 18, 2016. Wooten compiled 16 career double-doubles.
 
Gavin the Great
Gavin Long, a second-team All-GNAC honoree, leads the Falcons with a 13.4-point scoring average. The 6-foot-5 junior guard has been SPU's top scorer seven times this year, including a 21-point effort at Northwest Nazarene in the last outing (Mar. 2). He grabbed 10 rebounds in that contest for his first career double-double. Long was a 2018 honorable mention All-GNAC selection. He had a career-high 26 points at Simon Fraser on Jan. 25, 2018, the top scoring game by a Falcon last season. With 965 career points, Long needs 35 more to become SPU's 37th 1,000-pont scorer.
 
Hot Lizotte
Senior Nikhil Lizotte leads all SPU scorers in conference games, averaging 13.1 points versus GNAC foes. He poured in a career-high 26 points on Feb. 19 to lead an upset of No. 12 Saint Martin's. Lizotte led all SPU scorers on nine occasions this season. 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 converts free throws at an 87.8-percent clip (65 of 74) and compiled a string of 21 consecutive charity shots that ended on Jan. 17. He 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). He is a graduate of Davis High School in Yakima, Wash.

 

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 48-34 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. The 2019 NCAA playoff bracket will be announced Sunday.
 
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.