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THURSDAY, JANUARY 23
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 4:00 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
• Webcast for both games:  https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports
• LiveStats for both games:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball
• Ticket Information:  http://siteline.vendini.com/site/spufalcons.com
 
Somebody's streak is going to end. The top-two men's basketball teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference clash Thursday when first-place Seattle Pacific (12-4, 8-0), riding a 12-game winning streak, hosts second-place Western Washington. Tip-off is 7 p.m. on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion. The Vikings (12-4, 7-1) won their last eight games. Both teams sport 12-4 overall records and just one game separates the Falcons, undefeated in eight GNAC outings, from once-beaten WWU. On Saturday, Jan. 25 SPU entertains Simon Fraser at 4 p.m. to finish its first swing through the GNAC slate. The Clan (11-5, 4-3) features the league's fourth-leading scorer in Jasdeep Singh (17.2).
 
Notable
Three of SPU's four losses came versus teams currently ranked nationally in the top-25, including Azusa Pacific (12), Chico State (19) and Cal Poly Pomona (25). The combined record of the four teams that defeated the Falcons is 52-15 (77.6%).
 
Falcons Fast Fact
SPU's 12-game winning streak is the third-longest in school history and it follows four season-opening losses. The second-longest was a 13-game streak last year and the record was a 15-game spree during the 2002.
 
Streaking
Along with the current 12-game winning streak, three shy of the school record, the Falcons have registered some other lengthy stretches of success. They won their last 18 regular-season meetings versus GNAC opponents. SPU's last league loss came on Jan. 26, 2019 in Billings, Mont.  At 8-0 in conference play, the Falcons are off to their best start since the GNAC was formed in 2001-02. Twice before, in 2002 and 2010, they won their first seven GNAC contests before falling in game No. 8.
 
2019 Streak Stopper
The Falcons fashioned a 13-game win streak from Jan. 31 to Mar. 15, 2019 that was their longest since a school-record stretch of 15 straight victories in 2002. Last year's win streak was stopped by a 67-63 loss to Saint Martin's in the NCAA Division II Tournament West Region semifinal that ended SPU's season.
 
New Look Falcons
Just three Falcons who played in the last meeting versus Western Washington, on Feb. 2, 2019, will suit up for Thursday's matchup -- Harry Cavell, Sharif Khan and Divant'e Moffitt.

BRADEN OLSEN INTERVIEW

Sharp Shooters
The SPU men rank No. 22 nationally in team field goal accuracy at 49.8 percent (452 of 907), reaching the 50-percent mark seven times in 16 contests and winning all seven. They held all but two foes under 50-percent and won all nine games when out-shooting opponents. SPU hit an astounding 70 percent of its attempts (42 of 60) in a Dec. 20 home win over Puget Sound, nearly eclipsing the school record of 71.2 percent (37 of 52) set against BYU-Hawaii on Jan. 29, 2000. Six Falcons are making more shots than they miss, led by the 57-percent accuracy (74 of 129) of Shaw Anderson, SPU's most accurate 3-point shooter at 57 percent (31 of 54). The Falcons rank 13th nationally in free throw accuracy at 78.7 percent (222 of 282) and four players are converting free throws at better than an 80-percent clip, topped by Braden Olsen at 87 percent (40 of 46).
 
Recent Recap
Harry Cavell (17) and Gabe Colosimo (16) combined for 33 points on Jan. 14 with six 3-pointers between them to spark SPU's 87-63 win at Saint Martin's that concluded a difficult stretch of three road games in six days. The Falcons previously defeated Concordia-Portland 80-55 on Jan. 9 before a thrilling 98-88 overtime triumph at 24th-ranked Western Oregon on Jan. 11. On Jan. 18, Divant'e Moffit's career-high 30-point performance propelled SPU to an 83-72 home win over MSU Billings.
 
About Western Washington (12-4, 7-1 GNAC
> Second-place WWU won its last eight games, and hasn't lost since a 77-74 setback at Simon Fraser on Dec. 3.
> Trevor Jasinsky tops four Vikings double-figure scorers with a 15.3-point average that ranks 10th among GNAC players. Jalen Green, who compiled a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double on Jan. 16 vs. Concordia-Portland, averages 14.0 points.
> The Falcons won the last three meetings, including a 2019 season sweep. They were 86-72 victors on Jan. 3, 2019 in Bellingham and won the most recent encounter, 91-75, on Feb. 2, 2019 in Seattle.
> SPU owns an 86-55 series advantage despite losing three of the last six matchups.
 
About Simon Fraser (11-5, 4-3 GNAC)
> The fourth-place Clan have cooled off, losing four of their last seven contests immediately following an eight-game winning streak.
 
> Five players average double-digit points for Simon Fraser paced by Jasdeep Singh, who scores at a 17.2-point clip. Wilfried Balata averages 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds.
 
> The Falcons own a 19-3 lead in the all-time series. They won the first 13 matchups with Simon Fraser before going 6-3 since then. SPU swept both meetings last year, winning 94-66 on Jan. 5 in Burnaby, B.C. and 92-76 on Jan. 31 in Seattle.
 
Youth Movement
Only six of the 13 players on the roster had worn an SPU uniform before this season and just two of them were primary starters last season (Harry Cavell, Gavin Long). The 11-player rotation utilized so far includes six underclassmen. Four of those are freshmen, with true frosh Shaw Anderson and Zack Paulsen joined by red shirts Jacob Medjo and Filip Fullerton. A pair of sophomores, Divant'e Moffitt and Braden Olsen, share the point-guard duties. The infusion of newcomers also features starting center Mehdi El Mardi, a junior transfer from Trevecca Nazarene, and incoming freshmen Chris Penner and Clayton Whitman.
 
Court Report
 

SPU players have produced three 30-point games, the most since there were four in 2017. Shaw Anderson tallied 33 points on Jan. 4, the most by a Falcon since Feb. 14, 2017 when Tony Miller had 33. Anderson then compiled 34 points on Jan. 11. Divant'e Moffitt erupted for a career-high 30 points on Jan. 18 ... Anderson was named the GNAC Player of the Week on consecutive Mondays (Jan. 6 & Jan. 13) and Moffitt garnered the weekly honor on Dec. 2 ... Senior Gavin Long and junior Harry Cavell were named to the 15-man Preseason All-GNAC team and the Falcons were projected second in the coaches preseason poll.
 
Quoting Coach Grant Leep
On attempting to extend the winning streak to 13 games on Thursday vs. Western Washington -- "It was a test to get it to 12. SPU and Western is such an intense rivalry, always such an intense game. They are very talented, they are very big. They shoot it well, they rebound it well and they're defending at a really high level right now. We will be ready to play, but our guys have to be prepared to compete and battle and play a really physical matchup on Thursday."
 
2020 Season Preview
Two starters return from the Seattle Pacific team that posted a 22-7 record in 2019, won the GNAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA West Regional semifinal. Headlining the list of returnees is leading scorer Gavin Long. The 6-foot-5 senior guard averaged 14.4 points en route to second-team All-GNAC honors. Junior guard Harry Cavell is also back after averaging 10.2 points as a starter. A quartet of returning guards bolsters that starting tandem, a group that includes Gabe Colosimo, Sharif Khan, Divant'e Moffitt and Braden Olsen. Graduation hit the frontcourt hard, but capable reinforcements are prepared to fill the void. The Falcons have two transfers eligible at the center position, Filip Fullerton from Portland State and Mehdi El Mardi from Trevecca Nazarene. A fantastic four-man freshman class is brimming with talent and only lacks experience in the college game. All four were standouts in the Washington state prep ranks. The frosh class is comprised of Shaw Anderson (Kelso HS), Zack Paulsen (Curtis HS), Chris Penner (Capital HS) and Clayton Whitman (Lynden HS).
 
Coach Leep
Grant Leep, 40, is in his fourth season directing the SPU men's basketball program after seven years as an assistant on the Falcons staff. He has a 63-39 career record. Leep coached the 2019 team to a 22-7 record that featured a late 13-game winning streak. His Falcons won the GNAC Tournament and advanced to the West Regional semifinal of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Leep 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.
 
GNAC Tournament
SPU captured its fourth GNAC Tournament title last year, adding a 2019 trophy to the display that includes hardware from three consecutive seasons between 2013-15. The conference determines its automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division II Tournament with a post-season playoff. The top-six finishers in the regular-season standings will participate in the GNAC Tournament. All of the conference's 2020 men's and women's playoff games will be contested at SPU's Brougham Pavilion. The top-two seeds receive a first-round bye while the lower seeds meet on March 5. The semifinals are set for March 6 and the championship game is March 7.
 
2019 Season Review
The Falcons returned to the NCAA Division II Tournament after a two-year absence. They reeled off 13 consecutive victories en route to a GNAC Tournament championship and appearance in the NCAA West Regional semifinal. SPU's final record of 22-7 included a 16-4 league ledger that was good for second place in the GNAC standings. Coleman Wooten earned first-team All-GNAC honors, Gavin Long was a second-teamer and Nikhil Lizotte garnered honorable mention acclaim.
 
Decade of Dominance
The winningest decade in the stellar history of SPU basketball came to a close on Dec. 20 with the program's 211th victory from 2010-19. The 211-88 record produced a 70.6 winning percentage that ranks second all-time, trailing only the 71.3 percent mark (206-83) compiled by the Falcons teams from 2000-09.
 
Postseason Pursuit
SPU seeks to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second straight season after a two-year absence in 2017 and 2018. 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.
 
Next Week
The Falcons embark on their annual trek north to Alaska for two games versus contending teams. They visit Fairbanks on Jan. 30 for an 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time game before venturing to Anchorage on Feb. 1, also at 8:30 p.m. PST.