SEATTLE – The Seattle Pacific University men's basketball team returns to Royal Brougham Pavilion for Great Northwest Athletic Conference games this weekend. The Falcons host Western Washington on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. followed by a game against Simon Fraser on Saturday at 2 p.m.
QUOTABLE
"We're looking to build on the success we had on the road this past week," head coach
Keffrey Fazio said. "Looking forward to having a great week of practice and preparing for two big home games. Conference play is a continuum. Teams continue to improve week after week, and we are on the same mission. We're going to strengthen the things we do well, and we're going to work on the areas of improvement."
LAST TIME OUT
The Falcons returned to conference play last weekend against #22 Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. The Falcons fell to the Saints 71-53 before beating Western Oregon 81-68.
Owen Moriarty led the Falcons with 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting against the Saints. He was perfect from the free throw, making all three of his attempts.
Mason Landdeck was the only other Falcon in double-figures, finishing with 12 points.
Jaxon Nap entered the contest as the conference's best rebounder, leading the league with nine per game. He grabbed 14 rebounds against the Saints on Thursday. It was Nap's fifth consecutive game with double-figures in rebounds.
Four Falcons scored in double-figures against the Wolves last Saturday. Moriarty put together a fantastic night for the Falcons. He turned in a game-high 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting, with a 7-for-9 performance from the free throw line. He added five rebounds, two blocks, and three steals to his state line in the SPU win.
Jonas La Tour had his season's best rebounding performance on Saturday. He pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Falcons. La Tour scored 12 points to secure his first double-double as a Falcon. La Tour led the Falcons in assists with four as well.
Nap was a rebound away from his sixth consecutive game with double-figure rebounds. He pulled down nine while pouring in 19 points. He went 7-for-11 from the field in his efficient scoring performance.
Henry Sandberg was the final Falcon to score in double-figures against the Wolves. He scored 10 points while going 4-for-5 from the field.
FINDING THEIR RHYTHM
The Falcons are finding their rhythm offensively as they get into conference play. They're shooting 47.2 percent from the field and rank third in the GNAC. SPU is averaging 76.1 points per game. It's the fifth-best average in the league.
SPU is maintaining possession well. They've turned it over 180 times this season. It's the third-fewest turnovers in the GNAC.
The Falcons rank fourth in the conference in rebounding. They're pulling down 37.6 rebounds per game. Most of those rebounds are coming defensively. SPU is grabbing 28.8 defensive rebounds per game. It's the second most in the conference.
FREE THROW LINE SUCCESS
Moriarty's second season with the Falcons has seen a significant jump offensively. A season ago, Moriarty averaged 10.4 points per game. In 2024-25, he averaged 17.2 points per game. Moriarty leads the Falcons in scoring and ranks second in the conference. The scoring boost has come from success at the free-throw line. Moriarty made 77.3 percent of his attempts last season. This year, he's shooting 88.7 percent and ranks fourth in the GNAC in free throw percentage. He ranks 40th in the country as well.
Moriarty has a chance to be historically good from the free-throw line this season. His current 88.7 free throw percentage would rank sixth all-time in SPU history. Ralph Steele set the record in 2004 when he went 82-for-90 from the free throw line for a 91.1 free throw percentage.
A MONSTER ON THE GLASS
Nap's debut season for the Falcons has been solid. He's averaging 9.9 points per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field. Nap's eye-popping contributions come on the boards. He's averaging 9.4 rebounds per game. Nap has had double-digit rebounding performances in five of his last six games. The stretch includes 17 rebounds against MSU Billings (Dec. 7) and 14 rebounds against Saint Martin's (Jan. 2).
Nap leads the GNAC in rebounding by a wide margin. Kye Dickson (NNU) and Jalai O'Keith (UAF) are tied for second with 7.5 rebounds per game. Nap nearly has two more rebounds per game than the next closest players on the list. Nap is 23rd in the country in rebounds per game. He's also tied for 27th in the country with four double-doubles this season.
EFFICIENT IN THE PAINT
Trace Evans has put together a consistent season for the Falcons. He's shooting 67.5 percent from the field while averaging 15.1 points per game. Evans leads the GNAC in field goal percentage and ranks 10th in the country.
ABOUT WESTERN WASHINGTON
The Vikings were picked to finish sixth in this year's GNAC preseason coaches poll. WWU missed the GNAC Tournament last year, going 17-12 overall and finishing 9-9 in conference play to place seventh. Tijan Saine had a notable debut season scoring 10.9 points and garnering GNAC Freshman of the Year accolades. Will Wilson averaged 15.8 points per game last season is back with the Vikings. WWU enters the weekend 8-6 but has yet to pick up a win in the conference this season.
ABOUT SIMON FRASER
The Red Leafs were picked to finish sixth in this year's GNAC preseason coaches poll. SFU went 6-23 overall and finished ninth in the GNAC standings with a league record of 4-14 last year. Elliot Dimaculangan and Eric Beckett are key returners after averaging 12.0 points and 9.0 points, respectively last season. The Red Leafs are 4-10 this season and haven't won a GNAC game early in the conference schedule.
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