THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17
Simon Fraser at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST
Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion / Seattle
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19
Western Washington at Seattle Pacific, 4:15 p.m. PST
Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.  (Senior Day)
(Proof of vaccination or negative COVID test required for attendance at SPU home games)
       • Webcasts: https://www.youtube.com/user/SPUsports 
       • LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball 
       • Tickets: https://www.spufalcons.com/tickets
 
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks, 8:00 p.m. PST (7:00 p.m. AST)
Alaska Airlines Gymnasium / Fairbanks, Ak.
       • Webcast:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM0zSWh6A5uG-dFIPZ2BHqA
       • LiveStats:  https://alaskananooks.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
 
Seattle Pacific concludes the home portion of its 2022 men's basketball schedule with a pair of games this week on Iron Coaching Court at Brougham Pavilion before closing out the regular season with three road games. The Falcons (13-9, 6-5 GNAC) face a frenetic slate of three games in five days, beginning at home on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. versus Simon Fraser (10-10, 5-7). SPU seeks to avenge a 75-72 loss on Jan. 22 in Burnaby, B.C. On Saturday, Feb. 19, the Falcons host a Senior Day clash with Western Washington (12-11, 5-8) at 4:15 p.m. Six SPU seniors will be honored with a pregame ceremony prior to tip-off.  SPU was a 78-59 victor over the Vikings on Jan. 20 in Bellingham. On Monday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. Pacific Time (7 p.m. AST) the Falcons visit Alaska Fairbanks (7-12, 4-9) for a makeup up a game that was postponed on Jan. 1. SPU won this season's first encounter with the Nanooks, 74-72 in overtime, on Jan. 27 in Seattle.

Notable
SPU has played an extremely difficult schedule with two of its losses coming against teams currently ranked among the Top-11 nationally. The combined record of the eight opponents to defeat the Falcons is 103-45 (70%) and none of them have a losing record.
 
So Long Seniors
Saturday marks the final regular-season home appearance for six SPU seniors: Harry Cavell, Filip Fullerton, Sharif Khan, Mehdi El Mardi, Divant'e Moffitt and Jacob Medjo. In the six years since Cavell and Khan arrived, the Falcons forged a 96-54 record (64.0%) while collecting a conference regular-season championship (2020), one GNAC Tournament title (2019) and two NCAA playoff berths (2019, 2020). Those six Falcons seniors will be honored in a brief ceremony prior to Saturday's 4:15 p.m. tip-off.
 
MEHDI EL MARDI INTERVIEW

 Falcons Fast Facts
• SPU leads the GNAC and ranks No. 2 nationally in free throw accuracy at 80.4 percent (296-368). Nine of 11 Falcons who attempted a free throw are shooting better than 70%
 
• SPU was the most accurate NCAA D-II free shooting team in both 2020 (80.5%) and 2021 (84.2%)
 
• Divant'e Moffitt ranks 4th among GNAC scorers (17.8 ppg) and Shaw Anderson is No. 17 (13.7)
 
• The Falcons boast an 8-2 home record, the losses coming versus Central Washington & MSU Billings
 
• 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
 
• Three Falcons have a 30-point game in their career: Divant'e Moffitt (5), Shaw Anderson (2) & Harry Cavell (1). Moffitt is the only one with such a game this season, scoring 31 vs. Anchorage on Jan. 29
 
Top-10 Scorers
Two players on the current roster rank among the Top-10 scorers in a Falcons uniform. Shooting guard Harry Cavell reached the 1,000-point milestone last season and currently ranks No. 7 among all-time SPU players with 1,432 career points. Point guard Divant'e Moffitt netted his 1,000th career point on Nov. 13 and has increased that to 1,331 points, a figure that ranks No. 10 on the school scoring chart.
 
 

Dynamic Divant'e
Senior point guard Divant'e Moffitt leads the Falcons with 17.8 points per game and 3.8 assists. He topped all SPU scorers in 13 games this season and in assists on 18 occasions. Moffitt surpassed the 1,000-point plateau on Nov. 13 and currently ranks No. 10 among all-time SPU scorers with 1,331 career points, just three shy of the 1,334 points tallied by No. 9 Cory Hutsen (2012-15). Moffitt poured in a season-best 31 points versus Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 29. He has tallied five career 30-point performances. Moffitt's 83 assists are more than twice as many as any of his teammates have distributed this season (Harry Cavell has 41). Moffitt was named the 2022 GNAC Preseason Player of the Year and was honored as a unanimous first-team All-GNAC selection in 2020.
 
 

Cavell's Career Numbers
Guard Harry Cavell is the 10th player in SPU history to reach both the 1,000-point and 600-rebound milestones. Cavell's 1,432 career points rank No. 7 in school history and he ranks No. 11 in career rebounds with 648. He needs seven rebounds to tie Dave Wortman (1958-62) in the No. 10 spot with 655 career boards. Cavell will then be the fourth Falcon to rank among the school's Top-10 in both points and rebounds. A graduate student, Cavell was a preseason 2022 All-GNAC selection after garnering second-team and GNAC Defensive Player of the Year acclaim in 2020.
 
Scouting Simon Fraser (10-10, 5-7 GNAC)
Simon Fraser lost its last two games and won just two of its past eight games since defeating SPU 75-72 on Jan. 22 in Burnaby, B.C. The Canadian squad is paced by the 13.6-point scoring average of Jasdeep Singh. Julian Roche averages 13.5 points and ranks second among GNAC players with 8.9 rebounds per game. The Falcons won four of the last five matchups to forge a 21-4 lead in the all-time series. They won the first 13 encounters with SFU before going 8-4 since then.   
 
Scouting Western Washington (12-11, 5-8 GNAC)
The Vikings lost five of their past six games, including their last three outings. They top the GNAC with 4.43 blocked shots per game paced by the league-leading 23 blocks (1.35 bpg) of Jalen Green, who is also their leading scoring at 15.7 points per game. Daniel Hornbuckle scores at a 14.2-point clip and leads the GNAC in 3-point accuracy at 45 percent (68 of 151). The Falcons increased their series lead to 88-56 with a 78-59 victory in Bellingham on Jan. 20. SPU was a winner in four of the last five meetings.
 
Scouting Alaska Fairbanks (7-12, 4-9 GNAC)
The Nanooks lost their last two games following a three-game winning streak. Senior guard Shadeed Shabazz, a product of Seattle's Rainier Beach High School, ranks No. 2 among GNAC scorers with 19.2 points per game. He leads the league with 2.9 steals per game, over one more than any other player. Greg Sparling is in his fourth year as head coach at UAF after serving the previous 24 seasons at Central Washington. The Falcons lead the all-time series 66-17 and were victorious in 24 of the last 27 encounters. SPU won the most recent matchup, 74-72, in overtime on Jan. 27 in Seattle.
 
Shaw Returns
Shaw Anderson, the 2020 GNAC Freshman of the Year, returned to the court after missing last season. He ranks second among Falcons with 13.7 points per game and his 40 treys are 13 more than any teammate. Anderson averaged 12.8 points while shooting 55 percent from the field in 2020. 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.
 
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.
 
 

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 96-54 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.
 
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. 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.
 
Next Week
The Falcons close out the regular season on the road, beginning with a game at Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 24. They visit Central Washington on Feb. 26.