FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 6:00 p.m. PST
Nicholson Pavilion / Ellensburg, Wash.
      • Webcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqjWT9SG0cQ
      • LiveStats: http://www.wildcatsports.com/stretchinternet
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20
Central Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
      • Webcast: https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports
      • LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball
 
A home-and-home series on consecutive nights constitutes the Seattle Pacific men's basketball schedule this week. The Falcons (5-3) face back-to-back games versus Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Central Washington (0-0), on Friday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. in Ellensburg and Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in Seattle. Friday's clash at Nicholson Pavilion marks the first contest of a brief, four-game slate for the Wildcats. They cancelled the previously scheduled opener, at home versus Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 13. SPU was victorious in 18 of the last 22 meetings with the Wildcats and won the last seven encounters. Please note that due to COVID protocols, spectators will not be allowed to attend Saturday's game on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion.
 
 

Last Week
Seattle Pacific's five-game winning streak was stopped by an 80-66 home loss to Saint Martin's (Feb. 12). Divant'e Moffitt tallied 27 points to pace the Falcons, who shot just 38 percent (23 of 60). The same teams were scheduled to play the next afternoon in Seattle, on Feb. 13, but the game was postponed, as was an attempted Feb. 15 makeup.
 
Falcons Fast Facts
• Nine of the 12 Falcons that played this season have established a career-high game scoring total
 
• Harry Cavell is the only Falcon to register double-digit points in all eight games
 
• Cavell has 1,073 career points to rank No. 20 among all-time Falcons. He reached 1,000 on Jan. 27
 
• Cavell has collected 493 career rebounds, needing seven to become SPU's 16th 500-rebound player
 
• Only 10 players in SPU men's basketball history have compiled both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds
 
• SPU, the 2020 NCAA D-II leader (80.5%), ranks No. 2 in free throw accuracy at 84.5% (131 of 155)
 
• The Falcons converted 25 of 26 free throws in a 70-62 win at Saint Martin's on Jan. 21
 
• Point guard Divant'e Moffitt posted a pair of 30-point performances (32 on Jan. 27 & 30 on Jan. 13)
 
• SPU had consecutive GNAC Players of the Week in Kelton Samore (Jan. 25) & Harry Cavell (Feb. 1)
 
• Senior guard Sharif Khan leads the Falcons in blocked shots (6) and is second in steals (13)
 
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 12 games scheduled, nine of them at home. There may be additional opponents inserted into the schedule.
 
2020 Review
Seattle Pacific registered a 22-7 record in 2020, including a 14-game winning streak that was the program's second longest, to qualify for the NCAA Tournament that was cancelled March 12 due to the pandemic. SPU won the league regular-season title with an 18-2 mark. Grant Leep was the 2020 GNAC Coach of the Year, Shaw Anderson was the Freshman of the Year and Harry Cavell shared Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Scouting Central Washington (0-0)
> Friday's game is the first of the season for the Wildcats, who cancelled a Feb. 13 matchup with Northwest Nazarene.
 
> Brandon Rinta is in his third year as Central's head coach after spending seven seasons at Lewis-Clark State. The 2001 CWU grad replaced Greg Sparling.
 
> CWU leads the all-time series 74-60 despite losing 18 of the last 22 meetings. SPU was victorious in the last seven encounters, including a sweep of last season's two matchups.
 
> SPU was victorious in each of the Wildcats last nine visits to Seattle Pacific, last losing at home to CWU in 2011.
 
Coach Leep
The GNAC's 2020 Coach of the Year Grant Leep, 41, is in his fifth season directing the SPU men's basketball program after seven years as an assistant on the Falcons staff. He has a 78-45 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.
 
Dynamic Divant'e
Point guard Divant'e Moffitt leads SPU with 18.6 points and 5.1 assists per game. He notched two 30-point performances in 2021, increasing his career total to four. Moffitt erupted for 32 points versus Lewis-Clark State (Jan. 28) and 30 against Whitworth (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 were seventh. Moffitt poured in 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.