SEATTLE – After a tough weekend on the road, the Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team has a chance to bounce back on their home court this weekend. The Falcons host Western Washington on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before welcoming Simon Fraser to Royal Brougham Pavilion on Saturday at 2 p.m.
QUOTABLE
"We need to get back to playing with the rhythm and flow we have grown accustomed to playing with this season," head coach Grant Leep said. "Now that it's the second time through the conference schedule, teams will be trying to take us out of that rhythm and flow we are fighting for. This is a great opportunity for us to get better and find some new ways to get back to doing what it takes to put ourselves in a position to win. We have a resilient group and I'm proud of the togetherness we see out of them daily."
BALLARD FOOD BANK NIGHT
Thursday is Ballard Food Bank Night as the Falcons host the Saints and Vikings. Every fan can bring three cans of food to be donated to cover their admission. Ballard Food Bank's mission is to bring food and hopes to our neighbors. To achieve this mission, they provide access to nutritious food through their grocery-style food bank, no-cost café, home delivery, and weekend food for kids program.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons dropped two road games for the first time since the middle of December last weekend. They opened the weekend at Central Washington, where the Wildcats earned a 69-62 victory over the Falcons. Shaw Anderson led the Falcons with 17 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Kelton Samore had a strong night with 10 points and seven boards as well. Maui Sze matched Samore with 10 points.
The Falcons struggled against Northwest Nazarene last Saturday, falling 78-62 in Nampa, ID. The Falcons struggled to shoot from the field as they went 22-for-55 (40 percent) while making just six 3-pointers for the game. The team pulled down 30 rebounds, 13 of which came on the offensive glass. They scored just 11 second-chance points against the Nighthawks.
SHOOTING IT WELL
The Falcons remain one of the best shooting teams in the country. They rank second in the nation in 3-point percentage, hitting 41.5 percent of their attempts. SPU is sixth in the nation in field goal percentage at 51.1 percent.
INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS
Anderson leads the conference with 20 points per game. Zack Paulsen pours in 12.9 points per game, good enough for ninth in the GNAC. Samore ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage, hitting 63.1 percent of his attempts. Sze averages 3.1 assists per game and is tied for the eighth most in the league.
THE D2SIDA WEST REGION POLL
SPU held steady in this week's D2SIDA West Region Poll. They fell from third to ninth in the latest version of the poll. 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 WASHINGTON VIKINGS (11-10, 4-7 GNAC)
The Vikings find themselves in seventh place in the GNAC standings entering the weekend. They trail Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene who are tied with 5-6 conference records. WWU plays a fast-paced style, scoring 85 points per game, the most in the conference. They also give up the most points per game in the conference at 79.1 per game.
D'Angelo Minnis is putting together a solid season for the Vikings. He's averaging 13.2 points per game and sits just outside the top five in the conference in scoring. KJ Bolly leads the league in field goal percentage, making 64.3 percent of his attempts. He gets after it on the boards, pulling down 6.2 rebounds per game.
The Vikings have been struggling of late, falling in four of their last five games. Last weekend, the team dropped games to Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. The Vikings fell by four to the Saints and just two to the Wolves.
In their first meeting on Jan. 7 in Bellingham, Wash. the Falcons stepped on the Vikings 90-73. SPU proved to dominate in several areas of Saturday's game. The Falcons outrebounded the Vikings 41-29 for the game, including a 32-19 edge on defensive rebounds. Defensively, SPU halted WWU to a 42-9 percentage (30-for-70) from the field. The Vikings made just five 3-pointers over the entire 40 minutes.
SCOUTING THE SIMON FRASER RED LEAFS (6-15, 1-10 GNAC)
The Read Leafs sit at the bottom of the conference. They picked up their only conference with at Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 12 when they took down the Nanooks 78-69. Since then, they've dropped five consecutive games. They'll travel to Montana State University Billings on Thursday before playing the Falcons on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Read Leafs lead the league in blocked shots, stopping 5.7 shots per game. Victor Radocaj is the main shot blocker on the Red Leafs, ranking third in the conference with 1.4 blocks per game. Zach Stone isn't far off, averaging 1.1 blocks per game. Immanuel Oludele leads the team with 10.5 points per game.
The Falcons traveled to Burnaby, B.C. on Jan. 5. They took down the home team 92-72. 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. Samore led everyone with 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting, which included a 3-for-4 performance from distance.
