SEATTLE – After sweeping last weekend's games, the Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team hits the road for two more conference contests. The first happens at Western Oregon on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. followed by a meeting with #3 Saint Martin's on Saturday at 5:15 p.m.
QUOTABLE
"Everybody knows it's hard to win on the road. Our focus is playing our best basketball. Understanding that being away from home provides challenges that we have to navigate. We will use our experience of our past road games to hopefully breakthrough this weekend."– interim head coach Keffrey Fazio
BIG TRUCK, BIG GAMES
Trace Evans was critical in Seattle Pacific's weekend sweep. The Falcons opened the weekend with an 83-63 victory over Simon Fraser last Thursday. Evans scored 14 points with four rebounds and four assists. On Saturday, the big man from down under led everyone in both points and rebounds with 18 and nine. The Falcons defeated Western Washington 89-74 on their home court. Evans finished the weekend with 32 points while going 15-for-24 from the field with 13 rebounds, five assists, and one block.
Evans has been one of the most efficient scorers in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. He's hitting on 61.2 percent of his attempts from the field while averaging 10.9 points per game. He sits just outside the top 10 in the conference in rebounding, with 5.8 boards per game.
TWO AND OWEN
Owen Moriarty had a breakout weekend for the Falcons. He scored a career-high 18 points in SPU's win over Simon Fraser. He mirrored that performance on Saturday with 17 points in the team's victory over the Vikings. Moriarty was incredibly efficient throughout the weekend, going 12-for-16 from the field including a 6-for-10 performance from 3-point range. He added four rebounds and four assists to a strong weekend.
THE ONE AND ONLY
Maui Sze provided a big lift with his best weekend of the year. He was knockdown from deep, going 7-for-9 from 3-point range against SFU and WWU last weekend. The sharpshooting performance was timely as well. He hit back-to-back-back 3-pointers that were part of a 13-7 run for the Falcons midway through the second half.
THE UNSELFISH BUCKET
Shaw Anderson's sensational season continues as the Falcons near the midway point of conference play. The GNAC Preseason Player of the Year has lived up to the hype, making 131 field goals this season. It's the most in the GNAC and is the fourth-most in the nation this season.
SHOOTING IT WELL
The Falcons have found a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. Effective field goal percentage is the sum of 3-point field goals made divided by two and field goals made, all divided by field goals attempted. The Falcons own an EFG percentage of 57.4. It's the best in the conference and ranks 18th in the country.
HITTING FROM DEEP
The Falcons are shooting 38.9 percent from 3-point range this season. They're second in the conference and 27th in the country. Kyle Luttinen leads the conference with 45 made 3-pointers for a league-best 2.5 3-pointers per game. He's tied for 20th in the country in made 3-pointers.
ABOUT WESTERN OREGON
Western Oregon checked in at No. 8 in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, after going 12-14 overall and 9-9 in conference play to tie for fourth in 2022-23. Fifth-year head coach Wes Pifer welcomes back GNAC Honorable Mention Cameron Benzel, who averaged 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds a season ago. Jahville Collins (9.2 ppg) and Qiant Myers (6.0 apg) are the other returning starters for the Wolves this season.
The Wolves are 4-9 this season, with a 1-4 record in GNAC play. They picked up a 67-58 win over Simon Fraser on Jan. 6. Defense has been an issue, as they've allowed 78.8 points per game and are -6 in scoring margin. The Wolves feature four players averaging double-figures in scoring. Myers leads the group with an impressive 16.3 points per game. Benzel puts in 13.6 points per game while leading the team in rebounds with 7.3 boards per game.
ABOUT #3 SAINT MARTIN'S
Two-time reigning regular-season champion Saint Martin's was selected by the GNAC coaches as the preseason favorite for the 2023-24 season, as the Saints will take a shot at one of the rarest feats the conference has seen. SMU became the fourth team in GNAC history to win back-to-back titles, claiming the 2021-22 crown during a modified schedule and following with a record of 15-3 in GNAC play last season.
It's been a dominant 2023-24 for Saint Martin's as they enter the weekend with a 14-1 record and are 4-1 in conference. The Saints are +17.8 in scoring margin this season and keep teams under 70 points per game defensively. Their only loss came to Northwest Nazarene in overtime at home on Nov. 30. NNU picked up the 80-79 OT win. Five players score in double-figures for the Saints. Kyle Greeley leads the Saints with 17.2 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 rebounds per game.
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