• COMPLETE RELEASE (pdf)    |    • SEMIFINAL GAME RECAP

2019 GNAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Carver Gymnasium / Bellingham, Wash.
• Webcast: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3495132/great-northwest-athletic-conference-mens-basketball-tournament
• LiveStats: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/gnac/
 
SATURDAY, MARCH 9
Championship Game
(#4 seed) Western Oregon vs. (#2 seed) Seattle Pacific, 7:35 pm PST
 
Seattle Pacific seeks to parlay another championship game appearance into a crown. Three previous forays into the final day of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament each produced championships. The second-seeded Falcons (20-6) pursue a fourth title on Saturday, March 9 against No. 4 seed Western Oregon (22-9). Tip-off is 7:35 p.m. at Carver Gymnasium in Bellingham, Washington. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Darren Goldwater and Leah Secondo calling the action. SPU advanced to the title tilt by virtue of Friday's 89-81 semifinal victory over Northwest Nazarene while the Wolves stunned top seed Saint Martin's, 70-53. Both previous times 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.
 
Title Tidbits
The Falcons were victorious in each of their previous three appearances in the GNAC Tournament championship game ... SPU is the only No. 2 seed to win the tournament, doing it twice (2013, 2015) ... The Falcons, with three titles (2013, 14, 15), and Western Oregon with two (2016, 18), are the only programs to win the championship more than once ... Saturday will either produce the Falcons unprecedented fourth tournament title or Western Oregon will equal SPU's league-leading total of three ... The Wolves will participate in the GNAC championship game for the fourth straight season.
 
SPU in the GNACs
The Falcons have a 10-4 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 (729 of 1,501). The Falcons held all but five 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. Five Falcons make as many or more shots than they miss, led by the 58.8-percent accuracy of Nathan Streufert. SPU's best 3-point shooter is Gavin Long at 44.7 percent. Nikhil Lizotte is the top free throw shooter at 88.5 percent.

 

Notable
The Falcons have reached the 20-victory mark for the 25th time in their 75-year history, the first under third-year coach Grant Leep ...  SPU's current 11-game win streak its longest since a similar 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 8.4 more caroms per game than opponents ... SPU's record is 12-1 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.


 
About Western Oregon (22-9)
> The Wolves won three of the last five GNAC regular-season titles.
 
> Defending GNAC Tournament champion WOU participates in its fourth consecutive title game, having won in 2016 and 2018.
 
> Western Oregon is led by the 12.3-point and 6.5-rebound averages of Riley Hawken, a second-team All-GNAC selection.
 
> SPU leads the all-time series 41-25 despite being dominated lately by the Wolves, losing 10 of the last 11 matchups.
 
> The Falcons won the last encounter, 66-57, on Feb. 14 in Seattle to halt a 10-game losing skid versus WOU. The Wolves won the first meeting, 73-71, on Jan. 19 in Monmouth.
 
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 (49.5%) of their baskets (361 of 729) 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.
 
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 (1,166) and No. 9 in boards (665). Wooten sparked SPU's current 11-game winning streak, leading the team during that stretch in points (14.5), rebounds (8.1), field goal percentage (62.0%) and 3-point percentage (52.8%). 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 13.9-point scoring average. With 992 career points, Long needs eight more to become SPU's 37th 1,000-pont scorer. The 6-foot-5 junior guard has been SPU's top scorer eight times this year, including season highs in each of his last two outings. He tallied 21 points at Northwest Nazarene on Mar. 2, also grabbing 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Long posted a career-high 27-point effort against NNU in Friday's GNAC Tournament semifinal. His previous best was 26 points at Simon Fraser on Jan. 25, 2018. Long was a 2018 honorable mention All-GNAC selection.
 
Hot Lizotte
Senior Nikhil Lizotte led 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 88.5-percent clip (69 of 78) 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 49-34 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.