• COMPLETE RELEASE (pdf)    |    • VIDEO: Sharif  Khan
 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Western Oregon at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m. PST
Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8
Concordia-Portland at Seattle Pacific, 4:15 p.m. PST  (HOMECOMING)
Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Saint Martin's at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
• Webcast for all three home games:  https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports
• LiveStats for all three home games:  www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball
• Ticket Information:  http://siteline.vendini.com/site/spufalcons.com
 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Seattle Pacific at Montana State Billings, 4:15 p.m. PST
Alterowitz Gymnasium / Billings, Mont.
 
• Webcast & LiveStats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/spu/
 
A hectic slate of four games in eight days awaits Seattle Pacific, the first three at home during a six-day span. That compressed collection of Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contests begins on Thursday, Feb. 6 when the first-place Falcons (15-5, 11-1 GNAC) host fourth-place Western Oregon at 7:30 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion. That cash features a rematch of the 2019 GNAC Tournament championship when SPU defeated the Wolves (13-5, 7-5) by a score of 78-66 in Bellingham for its fourth league tournament title. On Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4:15 p.m. SPU hosts Concordia-Portland in the annual Homecoming Game. The Cavaliers (2-18, 1-11) seek to snap a six-game losing streak. Saint Martin's visits Seattle on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. The Saints (5-16, 3-9) ended SPU's 2019 season with a 67-63 decision in the West Region semifinal of the NCAA Division II Tournament. After the three-game homestand, the Falcons travel to Montana for a matchup with MSU Billings on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 4:15 p.m. Pacific Time (5:15 p.m. MST). The Yellowjackets (9-11, 4-8) lost 10 of their last 11 encounters versus SPU.
 
Streaks Stopped
SPU's 14-game win streak ended on Jan. 30 with an 83-77 loss at Alaska Fairbanks, one game shy of tying the school record of 15 consecutive victories. Also stopped was the Falcons' 20-game undefeated stretch in regular-season GNAC games.
 
SHARIF KHAN INTERVIEW

Dynamic Divant'e
Sophomore point guard Divant'e Moffitt is in the midst of an impressive stretch, averaging 25.0 points and 3.2 assists while shooting 55 percent (42 of 76) during the last five games. Moffitt erupted for a career-high 33 points at Alaska Fairbanks (Jan. 30), his second 30-point performance.  For the season, he tops the team in scoring (16.5 ppg) and assists (3.3 apg) with 51-percent accuracy from the field.
 
Notable
Two of the Falcons' five losses came versus opponents currently ranked in the Top-25: Azusa Pacific (7) and Chico State (24). The combined record of the five teams that defeated SPU is 68-30 (69.4%) ... The Falcons boast a 10-0 record in games when they score 80 or more points ... Sharif Khan leads SPU with 22 steals despite averaging just 15.6 minutes ... Eight different Falcons have led the team in scoring in a game ... SPU won all 14 games when it was ahead with five minutes remaining and has a 12-1 record when leading at halftime.
 
Frosh Phenom
 

Freshman Shaw Anderson is a two-time GNAC Player of the Week (Jan. 6 & Jan. 13). He averages 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 56 percent from the field. The 6-foot-6 forward is even better outside the arc, hitting 57.1 percent of his 3-pointers (40 of 70). Shaw poured in a career-high 34 points at Western Oregon (Jan. 11).
 
Last Week
The Falcons drew a split on their trip to Alaska, beginning with an 83-77 loss at Fairbanks (Jan. 30) that snapped a 14-game winning streak. Divant'e Moffitt compiled a career-high 33 points in the first GNAC setback of the season. Shaw Anderson's 19-point performance and 29 points from reserves lifted SPU to an 83-77 victory at Anchorage (Feb. 1).
 
Scouting Western Oregon (13-5, 7-5 GNAC)
> The Wolves convincingly won their last three outings by an average of 18.6 points.
 
> WOU has four double-digit scorers led by the 17.6 points of Dalven Brushier.
 
> SPU leads the all-time series 43-25 and won the last three meetings to halt a 10-game losing skid versus Western Oregon.
 
> The Falcons rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to win this season's first meeting at WOU, a 98-88 overtime decision led by Shaw Anderson's 34 points. SPU beat the Wolves 78-66 in the 2019 GNAC Tournament championship game.
 
Scouting Concordia (2-18, 1-11 GNAC)
> The Cavaliers lost their last six games after getting their lone GNAC win, 86-74, versus Saint Martin's on Jan. 11.
 
> CU features the scoring tandem of Hunter Sweet and Dakota Ayala, who average 14.9 and 11.2 points, respectively.
 
> SPU boasts a 10-1 series lead after sweeping both games in 2019 and winning this season's first encounter, 80-55, on Jan. 9 in Portland.
 
Scouting Saint Martin's (5-16, 3-9 GNAC)
> The defending GNAC regular-season champion Saints won 81-75 at Alaska Fairbanks in their last outing to halt a 12-game losing skid.
 
> First-year coach Aaron Landon, who takes over for Alex Pribble, spent his previous six years at South Puget Sound Community College. His SMU offense features four double-figures scorers led by Demonte Malloy, who scores at a 14.9-point clip.
 
> SPU owns a 99-41 series lead despite losing seven of the last nine meetings. The Falcons won this year's first matchup, 87-63, on Jan. 14 in Lacey.
 
> The Saints ended SPU's 2019 season with a 67-63 triumph on March 16 in San Diego, Calif. in the NCAA Division II West Regional semifinal.
 
Scouting MSU Billings (9-11, 4-8 GNAC)
> The Yellowjackets attack is headlined by Brendan Howard. The 6-foot-6 forward ranks second in the GNAC, averaging 22.0 points per game.
 
> MSUB also boasts two other high-scoring players as Zharon Richmond averages 19.0 points per contest and Tyler Green 15.8.
 
> The Falcons lead the series by a 45-31 margin, but had an eight-game win streak over MSUB stopped with a 92-63 loss on Jan. 26, 2019 in Billings. SPU won the rematch, 76-67, on Feb. 21, 2019 in Seattle and was an 83-72 victor in this season's first meeting, Jan. 18 in Seattle.
 
Sharp Shooters
The SPU men rank No. 25 nationally in team field goal accuracy at 49.3percent, reaching the 50-percent mark nine times in 20 contests and winning all nine. They held all but two foes under 50-percent and won all 12 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. Five Falcons are making more shots than they miss, led by the 56-percent accuracy (90 of 160) of Shaw Anderson, who is also SPU's best 3-point shooter at 57 percent (40 of 70). The Falcons rank sixth nationally in free throw accuracy at 79.7 percent and six players convert free throws at better than an 80-percent clip, topped by Braden Olsen at 89 percent (46 of 52).
 
Youth Movement
Just six of the 13 players on the roster had worn an SPU uniform before this season and only two of them were primary starters last season (Harry Cavell, Gavin Long). The 11-player rotation implemented includes six underclassmen. Four are freshmen, with true frosh Shaw Anderson and Zack Paulsen joined by red-shirts Jacob Medjo and Filip Fullerton. Sophomores Divant'e Moffitt and Braden Olsen share point-guard duties. The infusion of newcomers also features reserve center Mehdi El Mardi, a junior transfer from Trevecca Nazarene, and incoming freshmen Chris Penner and Clayton Whitman, who are red-shirting.
 
Court Report
SPU players have produced four 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 tallied 30 points on Jan. 18 and erupted for a career-high 33 on Jan. 30 ... 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.
 
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 66-40 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.