SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team opens the 2024-25 season at home this weekend when they host the CCAA Crossover. Four teams will play four games, with the Falcons taking on Chico State on Friday and a game against Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday. Both games tip off at 7:30 p.m. Then on Monday, SPU hosts #12 Dominguez Hills at 7 p.m.
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"November is a big month in Division 2 hoops," head coach Keffrey Fazio said. "The games can have a big impact on what March looks like, yet our team is still trying to build who we are becoming. The challenge is to find the perfect balance between understanding both of these important details. Luckily, the majority of these games are on our home floor. We hope that favors us during this busy stretch."
GNAC PRESEASON POLL
The GNAC announced its Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll on Oct. 17, featuring Seattle Pacific selected for a seventh-place finish in the conference.
Central Washington tied for third in last year's GNAC standings at 22-10 overall and 11-7 in league play. The Wildcats earned 90 points, including four first-place votes to top the poll. CWU edged second-place Montana State Billings by five points. The Yellowjackets won last year's GNAC regular-season title at 20-10 overall and 14-4 in league play. Northwest Nazarene rounded out the top three with 70 points.
Alaska Anchorage and Saint Martin's tied for fourth with 69 points and a first-place vote each. Western Washington also received a first-place vote but landed one spot ahead of the Falcons with 52 points. Simon Fraser, Western Oregon, and Alaska Fairbanks round out the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Falcons finished the 2023-24 season with a 17-15 overall record and went 10-8 in conference play. They were dominant at Royal Brougham Pavilion, owning an 11-2 record at home last season. The Falcons finished fifth in the GNAC and qualified for the GNAC Tournament for the 12th time since the tournament began in 2011. It's the most of any team in the conference. It was the sixth consecutive appearance in the GNAC Tournament for SPU.
GNAC PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
The GNAC announced its Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team on Oct. 22, with Seattle Pacific's Owen Moriarty and Jaxon Nap as selections.
Moriarty enters his second season with the Falcons after transferring from nearby Bellevue College. He made an immediate impact for SPU, appearing in and starting 31 games in 2023-24. He averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 49.6 percent from the field. Moriarty totaled 89 rebounds and 56 assists. Defensively, he nabbed 28 steals, the most on the Falcons.
Moriarty had multiple signature moments throughout his first season with the Falcons. He scored a season-high 19 points in a 91-80 win over MSU Billings on Feb. 24. His best game came against Western Oregon when he had season-highs in rebounds (8) and assists (5) in an 82-69 SPU victory.
Nap is new to the Falcons for the 2024-25 season. He joins SPU after two seasons at the University of Montana. Nap appeared in 62 games for the Grizzlies, where he shot 44.9 percent from the field, grabbed 71 rebounds, and dished out 29 assists.
KEY RETURNERS
The Falcons return nine players for the 2024-25 season. Trace Evans figures to be a key piece for the Falcons this season. Evans appeared in and started 32 games last season. Evans averaged 9.3 points per game and had the second-best field goal percentage in the conference at 57.4 percent. He led the team in rebounding with 5.5 per game.
Julian Mora returns after missing last season with an injury. Sharpshooting Jonas La Tour is back as a redshirt sophomore. He made 40.9 percent of his 3-point attempts a season ago. David Zachman, Logan Kinloch, Jacob Gray, Nikias Schoenerstedt, and Brian Caldera are back for 2024-25 as well.
NEW TO THE FALCONS
Mason Landdeck joins the Falcons as a transfer from Le Moyne College. Landdeck played a season at Eastern Washington and Hawaii Pacific previously. He averaged 12.7 points per game, 3.8 assists per game, and pulled down 3.4 rebounds per game with the Sharks. Grant Coleman joins the Falcons as a transfer from Parkland College. The 5-8, 230-pound junior will figure into the Falcons plans.
FIRST-YEAR FALCONS
Henry Sandberg is new to the Falcons a is a first-year player from Gonzaga Prep. Sandberg played four years of varsity basketball and was an All-League Honorable Mention as a sophomore. As a junior, he made Second Team All-League and Second Team All-State. In his final year with Gonzaga Prep, he was named First Team All-League and Defensive Player of the Year. Aengus Sutherland, Isaiah Sonntag, and Cole Holum join Sandberg as players in their first year of college basketball.
READY FOR A BIG STAGE
Recently, SPU added an exhibition game against the University of Washington. The Falcons visit the Huskies on Nov. 13 at 7:00 p.m. It will be the first time the Falcons have played inside Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion since Nov. 1, 2018. The game will be on the Big10+. Tickets for the meeting between the Falcons and Huskies are available now.
ABOUT CHICO STATE
The Wildcats reached the NCAA Regional semifinal last year before finishing the season at 21-9 (15-7 CCAA). Chico was picked fourth in the preseason poll, the same place it finished last year in the standings. The Wildcats will have to replace three graduating All-Conference selections but bring back the 2022-23 CCAA Freshman of the Year JoJo Murphy. Murphy averaged 10.7 points per game and shot 40.4 percent from 3-point range.
ABOUT CAL POLY POMONA
The Broncos are expected to move up in the standings this season. After tying for eighth last year (10-16, 9-13 CCAA), the Broncos were selected seventh in the CCAA Preseason Poll. Caleb Nelson, Michael Ofoegbu, and Jaden Winfield are returning starters for CPP. Nelson averaged 4.1 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game last season. Ofoegbu had 7.9 points per game and nearly four rebounds per game. Winfield scored 9.3 points per game and had four rebounds per game a season ago.
ABOUT #12 DOMINGUEZ HILLS
Cal State Dominguez Hills was the 2023-24 CCAA regular season co-champions after posting a 17-5 conference record (22-8 overall). The Toros will return the CCAA Player of the Year Jeremy Dent-Smith (17.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .468 fg%) along with five other letter winners, including All-CCAA selections Alex Garcia (8.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and DJ Guest (7.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg). CSUDH was just ranked No. 12 in the NABC Div. II preseason poll.
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