SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team starts its second time through the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents this weekend when the Falcons host Central Washington on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. followed by a match up against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday at 2 p.m.
QUOTABLE
"It's the start of the second time facing our conference opponents. We need to use what we have gained until this point and put it to use. I think we are a good basketball that has not reached our ceiling, and the hope is we start accessing that level from here on out." interim head coach Keffrey Fazio
THURSDAY IS PINK NIGHT
When Central Washington visits on Thursday, it will be Seattle Pacific's Pink Game in support of the battle against breast cancer. A table will be set up in the Brougham lobby with information about the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, which works with and supports survivors, caregivers, and others who are battling to eradicate not only breast cancer, but all forms of cancer affecting women.
During warm-ups, the Falcons will wear pink shirts, and they will have pink socks on during both warm-ups and the game. The SPU men also are taking part with their own pink warm-up shirts and pink socks for their 7:30 p.m. contest against Central. Halftime will have a game featuring a 7th grade club team from Mercer Island.
Click on this link for a story about SPU assistant coach Karen Byers and her personal breast cancer journey.
HOME SWEET HOME
February features three home weekends for the Falcons. It begins on Thursday against CWU followed by a game on Saturday against NNU. The Falcons are back home on Feb. 15 and 17 against Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. Then on Feb. 24, the Falcons celebrate senior day against Montana State University Billings at 2 p.m. SPU has been excellent on their home floor, going 7-1 inside Royal Brougham Pavilion.
ONE ROUND DOWN, ONE TO GO
The Falcons completed their first time through the GNAC schedule last Saturday against MSU Billings. The Yellowjackets lead the conference with an 8-1 record with Saint Martin's following closely at 7-2. SPU is tied with Western Washington at 4-5 for sixth in the GNAC. The Falcons own the tiebreaker over the Vikings after picking up an 89-74 victory on Jan. 13.
SHOOTING IT WELL
After facing all nine conference opponents, the Falcons fare well in a handful of statistical categories. SPU leads the GNAC in field goal percentage, hitting 48.6 percent of their attempts. They also lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage with 38.2 percent of their shots falling. They also lead in field goals made with 84 for an average of 9.3 makes per GNAC game.
EFFICIENCY DOWN LOW
Trace Evans ranks second in the GNAC in field goal percentage. The big man is hitting on 60.1 percent of his attempts while averaging 10.5 points per game.
CLIMBING THE LIST
Shaw Anderson enters the weekend with a chance to move into second all-time in scoring in program history. After scoring 20 points at MSU Billings last Saturday, Anderson's career total sits at 1,752 points. He's chasing 1,786 points from David Downs (2011-14), and 1,797 points from Dustin Bremerman (2003-07).
Anderson is second in the GNAC and 24th nationally with 20.2 points per game. Anderson enters the week No. 14 in GNAC history and No. 4 in SPU history with 1,752 points across his stellar career.
ABOUT CENTRAL WASHINGTON
The Wildcats enter the weekend at 13-5 with a 6-3 in GNAC play. Their conference record has them tied for third with Northwest Nazarene in conference standings. Anjaylo Lloyd is having an excellent season scoring 14.3 points per game, the eighth most in conference. Lloyd is shooting a conference-leading 95 percent from the free throw line. Hector Samaad is the league's best rebounder, with 8.6 per game. He also blocks 1.5 shots per game, the most in the GNAC.
SPU took on CWU in Ellensburg, Wash. on Jan. 6. Anderson led all scorers with 25 points, but it wasn't enough for the Falcons to get past the Wildcats. They fell 73-66. Jadin Penigar had a strong night for the Falcons as well with 15 points and seven rebounds. The Wildcats received a massive boost from their bench. The group scored 31 points to just 10 points from the Falcons. SPU shot better (41.7 percent), made more 3-pointers (seven), and had a better free throw percentage (81.8) than the Wildcats, but it wasn't enough.
ABOUT NORTHWEST NAZARENE
The Nighthawks are 10-7 with a 6-3 conference record. They're tied with CWU for third in the GNAC standings. Tru Allen (12.9 ppg), Ryzin Bergersen (12.8 ppg), and Gabriel Murphy (12.5 ppg) rank 14th, 16th, and 17th in the conference in scoring. Murphy's 7.8 rebounds per game are third most in the GNAC. Defensively, Allen is the league's leader in steals with 2.6 per game. Bergersen is tied for second with 1.7 steals per game.
The Falcons and Nighthawks first met on Jan. 4 in Nampa, ID. SPU had a chance to tie the game in the closing moments but fell 55-52. Anderson led the Falcons with 13 points, with a perfect 8-for-8 performance from the free throw line. Owen Moriarty went 4-for-4 from the free throw line on his way to 10 points. He added two rebounds and two assists. Maui Sze did a bit of everything for the Falcons. He scored five points, corralled seven rebounds, had two assists, and nabbed a steal for an impressive all-around performance.
SPU SOCIAL
Seattle's only NCAA Division II Scholarship Program | #GoFalcons
