SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team plays the final games of the regular season on The Last Frontier this weekend with games featuring postseason implications. The Falcons open their weekend on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. PST with a critical game against Alaska Anchorage followed by the regular-season finale on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. PST against Alaska Fairbanks.
QUOTABLE
"We are at the point of the season where everything matters. If we want to continue into the postseason, we need to win. It starts on Thursday. Our guys understand what is at stake, and now we need to play to win. We're ready for the opportunity and for the moment. This time of the year, it comes down to what team truly wants it more and will do whatever it takes to get it done together." - interim head coach
Keffrey Fazio.
THE SCENARIOS
Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams are competing to make the conference tournament hosted by Central Washington in Ellensburg, Wash. from March 7-9. The top six teams are invited, with the top two seeds earning a bye into the semifinals.
SPU (8-8) enters the weekend in the sixth and final spot in the tournament. Alaska Anchorage (9-7) and Central Washington (9-7) are ahead of the Falcons, while Western Washington (8-9) lurk in seventh.
The fight for the final spot could revolve around the Falcons and the Vikings. SPU plays two games, while WWU takes on Simon Fraser on Saturday. The Falcons and Vikings split their regular season meetings and will turn to the GNAC's second tiebreaker if both teams end with equal win totals.
The GNAC's second tiebreaker compares the records of tied teams in conference games against all teams with a .750 or better conference-game winning percentage. MSUB (13-3) is the only team in the conference that meets the winning percentage. SPU split the season series against the Yellowjackets, while WWU lost both games against MSUB. Therefore, the tiebreaker belongs to the Falcons.
And yes, there is more.
SPU took down the Seawolves on Dec. 2 in Seattle, 80-75. With a win on Thursday, SPU owns the season series and tiebreaker against UAA. The Seawolves play the Yellowjackets on Saturday, and with an Anchorage loss, the Falcons would own the second tiebreaker over them.
One more thing.
SPU split the season series against CWU, thanks to a last-second putback from
Shaw Anderson. If the two teams land on equal win totals on Saturday, the Falcons have the GNAC's second tiebreaker over the Wildcats, with them dropping two games to the Yellowjackets.
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons made the most of their senior day opportunity against Montana State University Billings. They picked up a vital 91-80 victory over the Yellowjackets.
The Falcons did a nice job of keeping pace with the Yellowjackets in the first half. MSUB led 45-41 at the break. Coming out of halftime, the Falcons blew past the Yellowjackets to take control of the game.
SPU went on a 39-17 run over the first 11:49 of the second half. The Falcons were an incredible 13-for-17 during that stretch, including eight made 3-pointers. Anderson led the squad with 11 points, while
Owen Moriarty followed close behind with eight points. The run gave the Falcons an 80-62 lead with 7:04 left in a game they would secure.
Anderson led the Falcons with 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting while making all five free throw attempts. Anderson grabbed four rebounds and led the team with five assists, all coming in the first half. Moriarty put on a shot with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
Kyle Luttinen and
Jonas La Tour led the 3-point barrage for the Falcons. Both players made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points each. Luttinen added five rebounds and two blocks, while La Tour had four assists.
HISTORY ON THE HORIZON
Shaw Anderson is closing in on the program's all-time scoring record. He enters the weekend with 1,920 career points over 113 career games played. Anderson has started every game he's appeared in for the Falcons. With 29 points this weekend, Anderson will pass program great Loren Anderson's (no relation) record. It's currently 1,948 points over 103 games from 1955-58.
When Loren Anderson's time as a student-athlete at SPU was finished, he'd established 13 program records. Shaw has already taken down two of those records. He's made 680 career field goals, besting Loren's 643 field goals. Shaw set the single-game free throw percentage record on Dec. 19, 2023, when the Falcons beat San Marcos 73-66. He made all 16 of his attempts, two more than Loren's 14-for-14 performance against Saint Martin's on Feb. 22, 1958.
SHOOTING IT WELL
The Falcons have established themselves as one of the best shooting teams in the conference. They lead the GNAC with a 49.3 field goal percentage and have gone 791-for-1,604 this season. SPU's dialed in from distance, touting a league-best 39.3 3-point field goal percentage with a conference-best 287 made 3-pointers this season.
INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS
Trace Evans ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage, hitting on 57.7 percent of his attempts. Anderson is ninth in the conference with a 51.2 percent effort while scoring 21.1 points per game, second most in the GNAC.
Maui Sze has made 46.3 percent of his 3-point attempts, the best percentage in the GNAC. He's dished out four assists per game, the third most in the GNAC. Luttinen has made the most 3-pointers in the GNAC with 68.
ABOUT ALASKA ANCHORAGE
The Seawolves enter the weekend in the mix for a GNAC tournament berth. They're 19-8 this season with a 9-7 conference record. They've been stout on their home floor, going 11-2 in the Alaska Airlines Center.
The Seawolves have scored 76.9 points per game while allowing 70.1 points per game. Da'Zhon Wyche leads the group with 15.8 points per game, while Tyson Gilbert (10.4 ppg) and Sawyer Storms (10 ppg) join in averaging double-figures. Storms is the team's leading rebounder with 4.6 boards per game.
ABOUT ALASKA FAIRBANKS
The Nanooks will be on the outside looking in at the GNAC tournament in 2023-24. They're 8-16 with a 6-10 conference record. They've scored 67.7 points per game, but are allowing 76 points per game. Mohamed Abdullahi has played well for the Nanooks, averaging 16.3 points per game and six rebounds per game.
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