SEATTLE – The SPU men's basketball team returns to Royal Brougham Pavilion for two Great Northwest Athletic Conference home games this weekend. The competition starts on Thursday at 7 p.m. when the Falcons host Western Oregon. Then on Saturday, Preseason GNAC favorites #23 Saint Martin's visits for a game at 2 p.m. 

QUOTABLE
"We have found a great rhythm on both ends," head coach Grant Leep said. "With the number of new players we incorporated into our team this year, we anticipated it taking some time to gel and play how we want to play. We knew this team's best basketball would come a little later in the season. Now that we've taken a few steps along that road of where we ultimately want to end, we need to compete just as hard, if not harder, to keep it. There are no easy weeks in the GNAC, and we need to be ready to continue to improve and play hard this week. It will be nice to have a couple of weeks at home and do what we can to protect home court."

LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons improved their winning streak to four games after sweeping their second consecutive weekend of conference play. This time, they did it on the road. SPU decimated Simon Fraser 92-72 in Canada on Thursday night and followed it with an impressive 90-73 victory over Western Washington on Saturday. 

Thursday featured a 21-4 lead over the final 6:34 of the first half that propelled the Falcons. Syon Blackmon was excellent during that stretch, scoring five points while adding a block and a steal. Kelton Samore took over to begin the second half. He scored 11 consecutive points in an 11-2 Falcon run. Suddenly, the Falcons led by 18 points.

The Falcons' prolific offense carried them throughout the remainder of the second half. SPU finished the game shooting 55 percent (33-for-60) from the field. They went 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) from 3-point range and made all but four of their 19 free throw attempts. 

Saturday featured another late first-half run and a signature performance from a Falcon. SPU stepped on the gas when they had a 27-25 lead with 4:24 to go in the first half. Maui Sze attacked the basket, and instead of laying it in, he passed the ball to Shaw Anderson, who slammed it home. That play sparked an 18-5 run to close out the first half. Anderson took over that stretch, scoring 10 of the Falcons' 18 points.

Anderson was sensational against the Vikings on Saturday. He finished with a game-high 28 points on an incredible 12-for-14 shooting. Anderson made his only 3-point attempt while adding four assists, two rebounds, and two blocks to a nearly perfect night.

The Falcons were unbelievable on the offensive end against the Vikings. They shot 59.7 percent (27-for-62) from the field, including a 7-for-16 performance (43.8 percent) from the 3-point range.

AROUND THE GNAC
The Falcons follow Montana State University Billings and Saint Martin's as the only unbeaten teams entering the weekend in the conference. The team leads the conference in field goal percentage (53.1), and 3-point field goal percentage (42.7). The Falcons take care of the ball. SPU ranks second in assists with 16.9 per game and assist to turnover ratio at 1.4. 

Anderson continues to lead the conference in points per game with 19.9 and minutes played at 33.2 per game. Samore leads the league in shooting percentage, making 65 percent of his attempts while averaging 11.4 points per game. Sze ranks third in 3-point field goal percentage, knocking down 56.1 of his attempts from distance. 

ALL OVER THE NATIONAL LEADER BOARDS
The Falcons jumped even higher on the national leader boards after last weekend. Before Thursday, SPU ranked fifth in both field goal and 3-point field goal percentages. Now, the team ranks third in the country in field goal percentage at 53.1 percent. The Falcons are shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range, good enough for third in the nation. They also rank 24th in assists per game with 16.9.  

THE D2SIDA WEST REGION POLL
SPU has been climbing in recent D2SIDA West Region Polls. They entered last week after receiving votes. After two convincing conference victories, the Falcons jumped well inside the top 10 by landing in seventh. 

The regional poll is released every Monday, followed by the national poll every Tuesday. Each region has six representatives (two per conference) that comprise the regional poll. The national poll has 16 voters - 2 from each region.

SCOUTING THE WESTERN OREGON WOLVES (5-7, 2-3 GNAC) 
The Wolves entered the season picked to finish eighth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll. They received one first-place vote in the poll but had just 48 total points. WOU entered the season coming off a 9-18 2021-22 campaign while going 6-10 in conference play.

Cameron Cranston was named the GNAC Preseason Player of the Year. Last season, he averaged 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 16 steals, and 1.3 blocks. He knocked down 43.2 percent of his 3-point attempts. He earned Second Team All-GNAC honors after 2021-22 and helped the Wolves reach the conference semifinals. 

WOU has struggled recently, dropping five of their last six games. They picked up a 79-67 win at home over Simon Fraser on Dec. 31. Last weekend, the team played Saint Martin's and fell 71-59. Opponents are averaging 76.5 points per game, while the Wolves have scored 74.6 points per game. 

SCOUTING THE SAINT MARTIN'S SAINTS (13-2, 5-0 GNAC) 
The Saints took the regular season GNAC championship a season ago, leading to a first-place finish in this year's GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Saints were one of five teams to receive a first-place vote, earning three. They gathered 81 points, beating out Northwest Nazarene by three points. 

The Saints feature two Preseason All-Conference selections in Kyle Greeley and Jaden Nielsen-Skinner. Greeley finished the 2021-22 season averaging 13 points, four rebounds, and 1.1 assists while shooting 52 percent. He earned Second Team All-GNAC recognition for the production. Nielsen-Skinner had 7.7 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 42% from the floor during the 2021-22 season. He was named GNAC Honorable Mention. 

SMU has enjoyed great success early in the 2022-23 season. They enter the weekend as one of two unbeaten teams in the GNAC. They'll meet fellow unbeaten MSU Billings on Thursday before facing the Falcons on Saturday. The Saints have won five of their last six games, including conference wins over Simon Fraser, Western Washington, and Western Oregon. The Saints featured the third-best scoring offense in the league (82.7 ppg) and are second in rebounding margin at +4.9 (33.8 rpg).