SEATTLE – Three games remain in the regular season for the Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team, with one on the schedule for this weekend. The Falcons travel to face Montana State University Billings on Saturday at 6 p.m. PST.
QUOTABLE
"We need to build off the effort we gave against Western Oregon on Saturday, but do a better job taking care of the ball," head coach Grant Leep said. "We all know how good of a team MSUB is. I'm looking forward to working with our team this week to keep getting better. We have learned so much over the past few weeks, and we are excited for the opportunity in front of us on Saturday."
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons need a bounce back after falling to both Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. The Saints outpaced the Falcons 94-76 on their home floor last Thursday. Shaw Anderson led the Falcons with 19 on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. He added three rebounds and three assists to his night. Ben Baker-McCann provided a huge lift off the bench for the Falcons. He dropped 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting in 12 minutes on the floor. He tied Evans with a team-high five rebounds.
SPU shot 50 percent (28-for-56) for the game. They struggled from deep, knocking down just six 3-pointers for the game. The Saints could not miss on their home floor, going 40-for-70 (57.1 percent) for the game, while adding 20 team assists.
Last Saturday's game featured massive momentum swings for both the Falcons and the Wolves. WOU found a way to get past SPU 80-74. Ultimately, The Falcons needed to take better care of the basketball. They turned it over 19 times, as the Wolves scored 22 points off turnovers. The Wolves also got a huge boost from their bench, as the reserves scored 33 points, while the SPU reserves scored just 14 points.
Anderson led the Falcons with 24 points on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting. He did damage from the free throw line, hitting 13 of his 15 attempts. He added two assists, two rebounds, and two blocks for a solid night.
Baker-McCann once again provided a boost off the bench. He finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points while pulling down 10 rebounds, four coming on the offensive end.
NCAA DII WEST REGION RANKINGS
The NCAA announced its first regional rankings on Wednesday afternoon. The alphabetical list featured the Falcons along with fellow GNAC members Saint Martin's and MSU Billings. The top eight teams from each region advance to the regional round of the NCAA Tournament.
AMONG THE BEST
The Falcons have proven to be one of the best shooting teams in the country throughout the 2022-23 season. SPU is fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 51.3 percent.
INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS
Anderson has put together a career year for the Falcons. He leads the league with 19.8 points per game. He also plays more minutes than everyone at 34.8 per game. Zack Paulsen (12.3), Kelton Samore (10.4), and Syon Blackmon (8.6) make up the four Falcons inside the top 40 in scoring in the GNAC.
Samore has been incredibly efficient, hitting on 63 percent of his shot attempts. The mark is second best in the conference. Teammate Trace Evans has been solid as well, shooting at a 54.6 percent clip for eighth-best in the conference.
The SPU offense has flowed through Maui Sze this season. He leads the team with three assists per game and ranks eighth in the conference. Sze also cashes in from 3-point range, hitting 45.5 percent of his attempts from deep. It's the fourth-best clip in the conference.
THE D2SIDA WEST REGION POLL
SPU has held a firm spot in the D2SIDA West Region Poll throughout the season. For the third week in a row, the team ranks ninth. 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 MSU BILLINGS YELLOWJACKETS (19-6, 13-2 GNAC)
The Yellowjackets join the Saints as one of two teams to already own a spot in the GNAC Tournament in Bellingham, Wash. March 2-4. MSUB owns a 7-1 record on their home floor. They'll enter Saturday's game after falling to Saint Martin's 84-61.
The Falcons were successful in their first meeting against the Yellowjackets on Jan. 21. SPU knocked off then-ranked #24 MSUB 72-59. The Falcons used a 14-2 start to open the game and create separation from the Yellowjackets. Six Falcons scored nine or more points, as the team led the entire game.
The Yellowjackets get it done defensively, holding teams to just 67.5 points per game. It's the second-lowest total in the GNAC. Carrington Wiggins is the team's best player. Wiggins trails only SPU's Anderson in points per game with 18.2. Wiggins also ranks second in the conference in steals at 1.8 per game.
Bilal Shabazz joins Wiggins as a premier player for the Yellowjackets. He ranks inside the top 10 with 12.7 points per game. Shabazz ranks second in the league in rebounds with 8.5 per game.
