WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, 6:00 p.m. PST
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
 
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21
Seattle Pacific at Saint Martin's, 6:00 p.m. PST
Marcus Pavilion / Lacey, Wash.
 
• Webcast for both games: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0nnHgoQKxoWpIvmsFX71kQ
• LiveStats for both games: https://smusaints.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
 
Seattle Pacific embarks on the only currently scheduled road trip of its unusual 2021 season with back-to-back games at Saint Martin's. The Falcons (0-2) make the short, 61-mile drive south to Lacey, Wash. for games on Wednesday, Jan. 20 and Thursday, Jan. 21. Both contests tip off at 6 p.m. in Marcus Pavilion. The Saints (0-1) lost their only game to date, a 98-63 decision at NCAA Division I member Seattle University. The Falcons swept both meetings last year after losing seven of the previous eight encounters with SMU.
 
Last Week
The Falcons dropped consecutive season-opening home games to hot-shooting Whitworth. In the Jan. 13 opener, Divant'e Moffitt's 30-point performance was spoiled in a 95-83 loss. The Jan 14 rematch saw SPU take a brief one-point lead with five minutes remaining before falling 69-65. Harry Cavell had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double for SPU. The Pirates shot 50.5 percent combined, including 44.4% (20 of 45) on treys.
 
MEHDI EL MARDI INTERVIEW

Abbreviated Schedule
With six schools opting out this year, the GNAC announced Dec. 17 that there would not be a conference season and the Falcons fended for themselves in finding opponents. SPU will almost certainly play fewer games than in any of its prior 76 seasons. Just once have the Falcons played less than 20 games, and that was in 1945-46 when they competed 18 times (3-15). There are currently 10 games scheduled, eight of them at home and two at Saint Martin's. Each of the home contests come in two-game sets on consecutive nights. There will likely be additional opponents inserted into the schedule and there is a possibility of games being postponed or cancelled if COVID issues arise.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
• Harry Cavell posted his third career double-double Jan. 14 with 11 points and 10 rebounds
 
• The Falcons are shooting 85.7 percent from the free throw line, hitting 36 of 42 attempts
 
• Transfer (American U) Kelton Samore grabbed seven rebounds in both games last week
 
• Averaging 3.0 steals, senior guard Sharif Khan collected four thefts on Jan. 14
 
Dynamic Duo
The Falcons feature their returning backcourt tandem from last year's GNAC championship team. Junior point guard Divant'e Moffitt, a first-team All-GNAC honoree, topped the team with a 17.1-point scoring average and was the leading playmaker with 99 assists (3.4 apg). Senior guard Harry Cavell was second on SPU in scoring (13.5 ppg) and was the best rebounder, collecting 6.7 caroms per contest.
 
2020 Review
Seattle Pacific registered a 22-7 record in 2020 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament that was cancelled March 12 due to the pandemic. After opening with four losses, the Falcons forged a 14-game winning streak, the second-longest in school history. SPU captured the league regular-season crown with an 18-2 league ledger. Grant Leep was honored as the 2020 GNAC Coach of the Year, Shaw Anderson was the Freshman of the Year and Harry Cavell shared the Defensive Player of the Year award. Both were honorable mention All-GNAC picks while Divant'e Moffitt was a first-team selection.

 

Notable
Five players made their SPU debuts last week, all of them coming off the bench. Chris Penner and Clayton Whitman are red-shirt freshmen from last year's roster. The other three are newcomers to the team; Syon Blackmon, Payton Richardson and Kelton Samore. The five-man starting lineup of Harry Cavell, Sharif Khan, Divant'e Moffitt, Zack Paulsen and Mehdi El Mardi were the only returning players available to play last week and they accounted for 126 of the Falcons 148 points.
 
Scouting Saint Martin's (0-1)
> The Saints play their first home games this week with their only outing to date a 98-63 loss at Division I Seattle U.
 
> Second-year coach Aaron Landon's offense features 6-foot-7 sophomore guard Tyke Thompson, who averages 20.0 points and 13.0 rebounds.
 
> SPU owns a 100-41 series lead despite losing seven of the last 10 meetings. The Falcons swept last year's meetings, winning 87-63 on Jan. 14 in Lacey and 86-75 on Feb. 11 in Seattle.
 
> 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.
 
Dynamic Divant'e
Point guard Divant'e Moffitt notched his third career 30-point game Jan. 13. He was honored as a unanimous first-team All-GNAC selection in 2020. His 17.1-point average ranked fourth in the GNAC in 2020 and his 3.4 assists per game were seventh. Moffitt erupted for a career-high 33 points at Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 30, 2020. He reached double-digits 24 times last season, nine of them 20-plus point performances. Moffitt was the Falcons top scorer in 13 games and leading assister 18 times. He shot 51 percent from the field and 81% from the free throw line.
 
Coach Leep
GNAC Coach of the Year Grant Leep, 41, begins his fifth season directing the SPU men's basketball program after seven years as an assistant on the Falcons staff. He has a 73-44 career record. Leep coached the 2020 team to a 22-7 record that featured a 14-game winning streak. His Falcons won the GNAC regular-season championship and qualified for the cancelled NCAA West Regional as the No. 5 seed.  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.