This Week's Schedule

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Anchorage, 8:30 p.m. PST (7:30 AST)
Alaska Airlines Center / Anchorage, Ak.
       • Webcast:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0tjLDGhQlMriBVz8egKu_A
       • LiveStats:  https://goseawolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 1
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks -- POSTPONED
 
The annual trek north to Alaska takes place this week for Seattle Pacific, but this trip will be unique. The Falcons (8-5, 1-1 GNAC) fly to Alaska for just one game as the second was postponed, SPU visits Alaska Anchorage (6-3, 1-1) on Thursday, Dec. 30 to resume conference competition. Tip-off is 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time (7:30 p.m. Alaska Time) at the Alaska Airlines Center. That will be the final game of the 2021 calendar year for the Falcons. Saturday's scheduled game at Fairbanks has been postponed.
 
No Game Saturday
Due to health and safety protocols involving the Alaska Fairbanks men's basketball program, the Nanooks' scheduled home games against Montana State Billings on Thursday, Dec. 30 and Seattle Pacific on Saturday, Jan. 1 have been postponed, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference office announced Monday. The Seattle Pacific men's team will still travel to Alaska this week as planned for their game at Anchorage on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 8:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Their game at Fairbanks will be rescheduled for a later date.
 
Notable
SPU has played an extremely difficult schedule with two of its losses coming against teams currently ranked among the Top-5 nationally. The combined record of the Falcons 11 NCAA Division II opponents is 79-32 (72%).
 
 

1,000-Point Scorers
Two players on the current roster have produced 1,000 career points in a Falcons uniform. Shooting guard Harry Cavell reached that milestone last season and currently ranks 11th among all-time SPU players with 1,314 career points. Point guard Divant'e Moffitt netted his 1,000th career point on Nov. 13 and has increased that to 1,181 points, a figure that ranks No. 21 on the school scoring chart.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
• SPU made 10 or more 3-pointers in 5 of the last 7 games after doing so just once in its first 6 games
 
• Harry Cavell can climb into the top-10 among all-time SPU scoring leaders with 13 more points. He has 1,314 career points, ranking close behind No. 10 Chris Banchero (2008-11) who has 1,327 points.
 
• Cavell is the 11th player in SPU history to compile both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. He needs 11 more boards to become the 15th Falcon to reach the 600-rebound milestone for his career
 
• Sophomore guard Zack Paulsen posted SPU's only two double-doubles (Nov. 12 & Dec. 13)
 
• Paulsen (2) & Mehdi El Mardi (1) accounted for all three of the Falcons double-digit rebound games
 
• For the first time on Dec. 20 the Falcons won after scoring the game's initial point. They lost all four previous games in which they got on the board first. They are 7-1 when conceding the first point.
 
• SPU was the most accurate NCAA D-II free shooting team in both 2020 (80.5%) and 2021 (84.2%)
 
• 3 Falcons have a 30-point game in their career:  Divant'e Moffitt, Harry Cavell, & Shaw Anderson
 
Scouting Alaska Anchorage (6-3,  1-1 GNAC)
> Anchorage and the Falcons are tied for third in the early GNAC standings with matching 1-1 records.
 
> The Seawolves are undefeated in four home games this season, but SPU was victorious in eight of its last nine games at Anchorage, including a 79-73 win on Feb. 1, 2020 in its last visit.
 
> The high-scoring duo of Hunter Sweet (17.2 ppg) and Tobin Karlberg (16.7) pace the UAA attack that outscores opponents by an average of nearly 11 points (77.6 to 66.7).
 
> The Seawolves won the most recent encounter, an 86-85 victory at SPU in the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament on March 6, 2020.
 
> The road team won 10 of the last 12 meetings in the UAA-SPU series that the Falcons lead 42-39 after winning three of the last four encounters.
 
Last Week
Shaw Anderson was one of six Seattle Pacific double-digit scorers on Dec. 20, netting 10 of his 15 points in the first half to help the Falcons build a large early lead en route to an 86-50 non-conference win over Puget Sound. SPU led by as many as 20 points before halftime, a margin that nearly doubled during the second half. The largest disparity was 38 points, at 86-48, after Syon Blackmon made a mid-range jumper with 57.5 seconds left to play. That was the final non-GNAC game for the Falcons, who posted a 7-4 record against out-of-league opponents. Matching Anderson for game-high scoring honors was Divant'e Moffitt, who added five assists and five rebounds to his 15-point production. Zack Paulsen contributed 13 points for the Falcons, Blackmon had 12, Sharif Khan 11 and Harry Cavell 10.
 
Dynamic Divant'e
Senior point guard Divant'e Moffitt tops the Falcons with 18.6 points per game and 3.9 assists. He surpassed the 1,000-point plateau on Nov. 13 and currently ranks No. 21 among all-time SPU scorers with 1,181 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. Moffitt notched two 30-point performances in 2021, doubling his career total to four. He was honored as a unanimous first-team All-GNAC selection in 2020.
 
 

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.
 
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 a 91-50 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 7.2 rebounds.
 
Brougham Pavilion Entry Policies
Fans are welcome back to Brougham Pavilion. In compliance with King County guidelines, spectators 12-years-of-age and older attending SPU athletic events are required to provide proof of full vaccination or present a negative COVID-19 test. Before purchasing or picking up tickets at venue Will Call windows, attendees must show evidence of vaccination. Acceptable forms of proof include a CDC-issued Vaccination Record Card, a photo of the card, the Washington state myIRmobile.com app or a document from a health care provider. Those who cannot provide proof of vaccination may instead present documentation of a negative FDA-approved COVID-19 test administered by a professional and dated within 72 hours of the event. Mask wearing is mandatory at all times and spectators are encouraged to social distance when possible. Save the wait in line and obtain your SPU basketball tickets in advance by purchasing them online at -- www.spufalcons.com/tickets
 
Next Week
The Falcons play a pair of home games next week, hosting Saint Martin's on Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Western Oregon on Jan. 8 at 2:00 p.m. Both contests will be played on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.