Chuck Randall Classic
Bellingham, Washington • Carver Gymnasium

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19
Azusa Pacific vs. (#21) Seattle Pacific, 5:00 p.m. PST
 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20
Concordia-Irvine vs. (#21) Seattle Pacific, 5:00 p.m. PST
 
       • Webcast for both games:  https://www.youtube.com/WWUVikingsAthletics
       • LiveStats for both games:  https://wwuvikings.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
 
Seattle Pacific seeks to get back on track this weekend with a pair of men's basketball games at the Chuck Randall Classic in Bellingham. Hosted by Western Washington, the tournament takes place at Carver Gymnasium. The Falcons (1-3) clash with Azusa Pacific on Friday, Nov. 19 at 5:00 p.m. The Cougars (0-2) each lost to Cal Poly Pomona and Chico State last week. On Saturday, Nov. 13 Concordia-Irvine provides the opposition for the Falcons. SPU won three of four all-time meetings versus the Eagles (1-1). Ranked 21st in the preseason poll, Seeking to stop a three-game skid, SPU posted an impressive season-opening 77-71 victory over No. 20 Alabama Huntsville, but has not won since that Nov. 6 outing in Missouri. The Falcons first regular-season home game is slated for Nov. 27 versus 24th-ranked Point Loma. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m. at Brougham Pavilion.
 
Dynamic Divant'e
Senior point guard Divant'e Moffitt tops the Falcons with 15.8 points per game and 4.5 assists. He surpassed the 1,000-point plateau on Nov. 13 and ranks No. 39 among all-time SPU scorers with 1,002 career points. 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.
 
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 1,197 career points to rank No. 20 among all-time Falcons and collected 551 career caroms to rank No. 16 among SPU rebounders.
 
 

Last Week
Seattle Pacific dropped a pair of games at the Conference Crossover Challenge in Pomona, California. Despite a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double from Zack Paulsen the Falcons fell 75-71 in overtime to host Cal Poly Pomona (Nov. 12). Normally stellar-shooting SPU sank just 3 of 8 free throws during the extra session. Matching 16-point performances from Shaw Anderson and Divant'e Moffitt weren't enough to prevent a 70-65 loss to Chico State (Nov. 13). The Wildcats broke a tight game open in the final four minutes.
 
Scouting Azusa Pacific (0-2)
> Azusa and SPU share two common opponents. They each lost at Cal Poly Pomona with the Falcons falling 75-71 in overtime to the Broncos on Nov. 12 and APU losing 73-61 on Nov. 13. The Cougars lost 59-51 on Nov. 12 to Chico State, which defeated SPU 70-65 the next night.
 
> Azusa was projected for a third-place finish in the PacWest Conference.
 
> The Cougars return three starters from last season's team that posted a 5-7 record over an abbreviated schedule.
 
> Longtime assistant coach and former playing standout Peter Bond is in his third year as APU head coach.
 
> The Falcons own a 6-3 lead in the all-time series despite a 72-51 neutral-site loss in the last meeting, on Nov. 15, 2019 in Irvine, California. SPU had won the previous two matchups. They met in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament in Monmouth, Oregon and Azusa was a 77-66 victor over the Falcons.
 
Scouting Concordia-Irvine (1-1)
> After losing its season opener 79-76 to Master's, Concordia rebounded with an impressive 114-80 victory over Cal State LA.
 
> Wayne Arnold, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, was honored Monday as the PacWest Player of the Week. The Cal State Fullerton transfer scored 32 points in the win, giving him 56 for the week. He shot 57.9 percent on 3-pointers, hitting 11 of them.
 
> Coach Ken Ammann, a former standout player at Stanford, is in his 21st year at Concordia with a career record of 487-173.
 
> SPU and CUI met on Nov. 16, 2019 for just the fourth time ever with the Falcons notching an 80-66 road victory. The win pushed SPU's series lead to 3-1, the lone loss coming in the first meeting. That was a 68-60 overtime win for the Eagles on Nov. 13, 2015 in St. George, Utah.
 
 

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.
 
Shaw Returns
Shaw Anderson, the 2020 GNAC Freshman of the Year, returns to the court after missing 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.
 
Opening Weekend Recap
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.
 
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 84-48 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.