CONFERENCE CROSSOVER CHALLENGE
Pomona, California  •  Kellogg Arena
 
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12
(#21) Seattle Pacific at Cal Poly Pomona, 2:00 p.m. PST
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13
(#21) Seattle Pacific vs. Chico State, 12:00 p.m. PST
 
       • Webcast for both games:  https://www.ccaanetwork.com/cpp/?B=320350
       • LiveStats for both games:  https://www.broncoathletics.com/sidearmstats/mbball
 
The 21st-ranked Seattle Pacific men's basketball team takes on two perennial powers from the California Collegiate Athletic Association on the road this week. The Falcons (1-1) travel to Pomona, California to compete in the Conference Crossover Challenge at Kellogg Arena. SPU clashes with host Cal Poly Pomona on Friday, Nov. 12 at 2:00 p.m. The Broncos (0-0) won the last meeting, on Nov. 9, 2019 in Seattle, to even the all-time series at 4-4. On Saturday, Nov. 13 the Falcons face CCAA favorite Chico State at noon. SPU won four of its last six encounters versus the Wildcats (0-0).
 
 

Dynamic Divant'e
Senior point guard Divant'e Moffitt tallied 19 points in each game last week versus ranked opponents en route to SCB Hall of Fame all-tournament team honors. With 977 career points, he needs 23 to reach the 1,000-pont milestone. The 2022 GNAC Preseason Player of the Year, Moffitt topped SPU with 17.6 points and 5.2 assists per game last season. That assist figure ranked 28th nationally among NCAA Division II players. He notched two 30-point performances in 2021, doubling his career total to four. Moffitt was honored as a unanimous first-team All-GNAC selection in 2020. He has started all 44 SPU games during the last three seasons.
 
Notable
Senior point guard Divant'e Moffitt has 977 career points and needs 23 more to become the 39th 1,000-point scorer in SPU men's basketball history. He scored at a 13.6-point clip over 72 career games.
 
2022 Season Preview
Seattle Pacific was a unanimous choice to win the 2022 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship in the coaches poll released Oct. 15 and for good reason. All five starters return from last season's 10-3 team, including the team's top-10 point producers. The Falcons feature Preseason Player of the Year selection Divant'e Moffitt along with projected all-conference candidates Shaw Anderson and Harry Cavell. Moffitt, a 2020 All-West Region honoree, topped the team with 17.6 points and 5.2 assists per game last season. Cavell scored at a 16.7-point clip and led the Falcons with 7.2 rebounds in 2021. Anderson missed all last year after receiving the 2020 GNAC Freshman of the Year award. They are joined by returning starters at guard, Sharif Khan (9.9 ppg), Zack Paulsen (9.6), and center Mehdi El Mardi (7.6). While limited to eight games, forward Kelton Samore averaged 10.3 points when healthy. "We have so many returning players, 14 of them. They are just hungry to compete and play, and play in front of people again and be a part of what is means to be a basketball player at SPU and have that experience," said Coach Grant Leep.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
• SPU was the most accurate NCAA D-II free shooting team in both 2020 (80.5%) and 2021 (84.2%).

• Divant'e Moffitt was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year and joined Harry Cavell and Shaw Anderson on the 15-man All-GNAC Preseason team.

• SPU used the same starting lineup every game in 2021 and was victorious in 10 of its final 11 outings.

• Shaw Anderson returns after missing last season. He was the 2020 GNAC Freshman of the Year after averaging 12.8 points on 55-percent shooting, including 56.3% accuracy on 3-pointers (58-103).

• Three Falcons have produced a 30-point game:  Divant'e Moffitt, Harry Cavell, & Shaw Anderson.

• Harry Cavell is the 11th player in SPU history to compile both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

• Harry Cavell has 1,176 career points to rank No. 20 among all-time Falcons and collected 535 career caroms to rank No. 16 among SPU rebounders.
 
Last Week
Seattle Pacific drew a split on its challenging opening week against ranked opponents at the National Hall of Fame Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri. The 21st-ranked Falcons topped No. 20 Alabama Huntsville 77-71 on Nov. 6 behind the 19-point, 8-assist, 5-rebound performance of Divant'e Moffitt. Kelton Samore finished with 16 points for SPU, which also got 12 apiece from Shaw Anderson and Sharif Khan. On Nov. 7 SPU suffered a narrow setback versus top-ranked Northwest Missouri State, the defending national champion. Moffitt again netted 19 points while Anderson had 18 and Harry Cavell 15. The Falcons were unable to overcome a 17-point disparity at the free throw line (29-12) despite missing only one of 13 attempts. The Bearcats sank 29 of 40 free throws.
 
Scouting Cal Poly Pomona (22-7 in 2020)
> The Broncos did not play last season as their conference canceled all sports due to the COVID outbreak.

> Friday's contest marks the first counting game Pomona has played since March 7, 2020.

> Pomona was picked third in the preseason CCAA coaches poll behind Chico State and Cal State San Bernardino.

> The Broncos return five players from the 2020 team, including All-CCAA guard BJ Standley (10.6 ppg). That 2020 squad finished with a 22-7 record.

> Greg Kamansky enters his 22nd season with the Broncos. He has a 3-3 coaching record against SPU with two of the wins coming in NCAA Tournament matchups (2005, 2009).

> Pomona was a 64-58 victor in the last encounter, on Nov. 9, 2019 in Seattle, to level the all-time series at 4-4. Before that the teams hadn't met since SPU posted a 67-54 victory on March 18, 2013 in the NCAA Tournament West Regional semifinal.
 
Scouting Chico State (23-7 in 2020)
> The Wildcats did not play last season as their conference canceled all sports because of the COVID outbreak.

> Chico was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the CCAA coaches poll.

> The Wildcats finished 23-7 in 2020, earning an NCAA playoff berth for the seventh time in nine seasons. They return three starters from that squad, Malik Duffy (12.4 ppg), Kevin Warren (12.2) and Isaiah Brooks (10.7).

> SPU and Chico were scheduled to meet in the first round of the 2020 NCAA Division II Tournament, which was canceled on March 12 due to the COVID outbreak.

> Fourteenth-year Chico State coach Greg Clink has a 2-3 record versus SPU.

> SPU has a 13-3 series lead despite a 75-53 home loss in the last meeting on Nov. 8, 2019.
 
 

Shaw Returns
Shaw Anderson, the 2020 GNAC Freshman of the Year, returns to the court after missing all last season. His return was triumphant, pouring in 24 points to lead all scorers in the 76-65 home exhibition victory over Lincoln (Calif.) University on Oct. 30. Anderson was a two-time GNAC Player of the Week (Jan. 6 & Jan. 13) in 2020. He averaged 12.8 points while shooting 55 percent from the field. The 6-foot-6 forward was even better outside the arc, nailing 56.3 percent of his 3-pointers (58 of 103). Anderson compiled a streak off 11 straight successful 3-pointers from Jan. 30 to Feb. 8, 2020. He netted a career-high 34 points at Western Oregon (Jan. 11, 2020). Anderson posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. CWU on Feb. 29, 2020.
 
Exhibition Recap
Shaw Anderson returned after a season's absence and led all scorers with 24 points on Oct. 30 for 21st-ranked Seattle Pacific which opened the campaign with a 76-65 home exhibition win over a Lincoln University team coached by legendary Seattle Sonics point guard Gary Payton, an NBA Hall of Famer. The Falcons reeled off 13 unanswered points to start the game. But the visitors trimmed that margin to two later in the first half. SPU led 37-31 at the break, but Lincoln again rallied, this time to draw even, at 42-42, on a basket by Tre Finch with 15:53 left to play. The Falcons netted the next eight points, four of them from Mehdi El Mardi, to gain a comfortable 50-42 margin that eventually grew to as many as 14 points. Anderson made 9 of 19 shots from the field, including 4-for-11 accuracy on 3-pointers. Divante'e Moffitt was the only other Falcon in double figures, with 14 points. El Mardi contributed seven points and a game-high nine rebounds to spark SPU's 43-39 edge on the boards. The coach's son, Julian Payton, paced the Oaklanders with 18 points.
 
Coach Leep
The GNAC's 2020 Coach of the Year Grant Leep, 42, is in his sixth season directing the SPU men's basketball program after seven years as an assistant on the Falcons staff. He has an 85-45 career record. Leep coached the 2021 to a 10-3 record over a schedule abbreviated due to the COVID outbreak. The 2020 team's 22-7 record featured a 14-game winning streak. His Falcons won the 2020 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.
 
2021 Season Review
The same five starters opened every game last season and all of them are back in 2021-22. The Falcons won their final five games en route to a 10-3 overall record against an abbreviated slate of opponents. Last season's schedule took place entirely from January through the first week of March and there was no GNAC season. The NCAA conducted playoffs in 2021, but SPU was not permitted to travel out of state so could not participate. Divant'e Moffitt led the team with 17.6 points and 5.2 assists per game while Harry Cavell scored at a 16.7-point clip with a team-high 7.2-rebound average.