SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team plays their home opener Tuesday night against Douglas College. The holiday week homestand continues on Saturday when the team hosts Warner Pacific at 3 p.m. inside Royal Brougham Pavilion.
 
QUOTABLE  
"It is nice to have two home games this week," head coach Grant Leep said. "I was proud of how our team handled these first two weekends of the season with being on the road. We have learned a lot about ourselves which sets us up for the challenges this week presents. We knew playing on a Tuesday following Friday and Saturday games would challenge our ability to prepare and implement a game plan with a short turnaround. We will have to be good at it as we get closer to conference games. Then again on Saturday, we will be put in that same situation, playing on one day of prep. It's always nice to be at home during Thanksgiving week. Our group is very excited for this week."
 
GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A stellar performance at last weekend's GNAC/PacWest Challenge propelled Seattle Pacific's Shaw Anderson to repeat as Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week.
 
Anderson has been sensational through the first two weeks of the 2022-23 basketball season. He finished the GNAC/PacWest Challenge with 49 points on 16-for-25 shooting, including a 5-for-7 performance from 3-point range, going 12-for-13 from the free throw line. Anderson added six rebounds and eight assists for an incredible weekend in Southern California. 
 
Anderson led the Falcons in scoring in both games last weekend. He started with 19 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including perfect performances from 3-point range (3) and free throw line (6).
Anderson was incredible against CUI on Saturday evening. He poured in 30 points, on 11-for-18 shooting from the field. Anderson added four rebounds and six assists to a stellar stat line.
 
SOMETIMES, IT'S HOW YOU START
The Falcons split their games at the GNAC/PacWest Challenge last weekend. In both games, the opening minutes played a critical role in the results. On Friday, the Falcons were on the wrong end of a quick start from host Azusa Pacific. The Cougars went on an 8-0 run in the first two minutes of the game. Later, APU went on another 8-0 run that lasted just 1:20. The Cougars held a 43-32 lead at halftime. 
 
SPU went on to outscore APU in the second half. Ben Baker-McCann hit a smooth jumper to bring the score to 69-66 in favor of the Cougars with just 1:52 to play. APU created some late separation and went on to take the game 77-70.
 
Saturday's game against CUI was a stark contrast from the previous night. The Falcons were relentless from tip-off, using a 20-4 run over the first 6:07 to create separation. Later in the Half, Maui Sze and Anderson knocked down back-to-back 3 -pointers to put the Falcons up 38-20. SPU outscored CUI 47-34 in the first half and would control the game in the second half to secure the win.
 
RETURNERS BRINGING IMPACT EARLY ON
The majority of the SPU men's basketball roster features newcomers in 2022-23. Just six players returned, but those with experience have been key for the Falcons. Anderson has repeated as GNAC Player of the Week in just two chances to win the award. Zack Paulsen and Kelton Samore walked alongside Anderson in excellent performances. 

 Paulsen is averaging 15.8 points per game while shooting 559 percent from the field. He's hitting 46.2 percent of his 3-pointers while averaging nearly four rebounds per game. Paulsen leads the team with five steals and is tied with Anderson for a team-high 11 assists. Samore has been solid for the Falcons as well. In four games, he's averaging 8.8 points per game on 56 percent shooting from the field. Both will be critical as the season continues for the Falcons. 
 
SCOUTING THE DOUGLAS COLLEGE ROYALS (2-3, 2-3 Pacific Western Association)
The Royals are coming off a difficult 2021-22 season. They owned a 5-12 record and struggled mightily in road games by going 1-9. They played at a fast pace, scoring 80 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the field. 
 
Matt McKay is at the helm and is in his second season with the Royals. Key returners for the squad feature Corez Johnson and Bhavan Dhillon. Johnson was fourth in the conference with 18 points per game. In just eight games with the Royals, last season Dhillon averaged just over eight points per game. 
 
SCOUTING THE WARNER PACIFIC KNIGHTS (2-2) 
The Knights landed in ninth place on the Cascade Collegiate Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The team went 15-17 a season ago, with a 10-12 conference record. They'll play Multnomah on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before taking on SPU on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Miles Thomas has been excellent for the Knights this season. He's averaging 21.5 points per game, with eight rebounds per game and 12 total steals. Isaac Etter can score as well, filling it up with 18.5 points per game.