Men's Basketball Falcons Host Alaska Schools in Hoops Homestand
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Dan Lepse, SID 206.281.2772 voice | 206.281.2266 fax | [email protected] | www.spufalcons.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE • January 4, 2012 Men’s Basketball Falcons Host Alaska Schools in Hoops Homestand 2011-12 Schedule & Results (10–3, 2–2 GNAC) SPU men entertain Fairbanks on Thursday and #18 Anchorage on Saturday Oct. 27 at #16 Arizona (exhibition) 69–68 Thursday, Jan. 5 –– Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST Nov. 4 at Washington (exhibition) 60–77 Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash. • Dixie State Classic (St. George, Utah) • Saturday, Jan. 7 –– (#18) Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific, 7:00 p.m. PST Nov. 11 at Dixie State W 58–42 Brougham Pavilion • Seattle, Wash. Nov. 12 vs. Colorado Mesa W 67–55 • Webcast for both games: www.PennAtlantic.com | • LiveStats: www.sidearmstats.com/spu/mbball • Sodexo GNAC/PacWest Challenge (Brougham Pavilion) • Nov. 18 Hawaii Pacific W 70–52 Seattle Pacific hosts its first men’s basketball games of the 2012 calendar year this week. Nov. 19 #3 BYU-Hawaii W 76–65 The Falcons (10-3, 2-2 GNAC) entertain Alaska Fairbanks (4-9, 1-2) at Brougham • GCU Thanksgiving Classic (Phoenix, Ariz.) • Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. Pacific Time. The Nanooks lost seven of their last Nov. 25 at Grand Canyon L 58–67 eight games against SPU. On Saturday, Jan. 7, the Falcons clash with 18th-ranked Alaska Nov. 26 vs. Academy of Art W 63–33 Anchorage (9-2, 3-0) at 7 p.m. The Seawolves lost in their last seven visits to Seattle. Dec. 1 Simon Fraser * W 68–57 Projected Starters: Seattle Pacific Falcons ( 10–3, 2–2 GNAC ) W-wing, P-post, PG-point guard Dec. 3 Western Washington * L 71–79 Pos.-No. Name Hgt. Wgt. Yr. Hometown (# assists) Points Rebs. Dec. 9 at Chaminade W 61–57 W – 23 Jobi Wall 6-6 215 Jr. Arvada, Colo. 11.5 4.5 Dec. 10 at BYU-Hawaii W 89–76 Dec. 13 Dominican W 68–43 P – 32 Jake Anderson 6-6 210 Sr. Burlington, Wash. 4.2 3.1 Dec. 29 at Western Oregon * L 58–64 P – 14 Andy Poling 6-11 240 Jr. Portland, Ore. 16.8 8.4 Dec. 31 at Saint Martin’s * W 56–41 PG – 2 David Downs 6-2 185 So. Kirkland, Wash. 15.2 # 2.9 Jan. 5 Alaska Fairbanks * 7:00 pm W – 21 Jeff Dorman 6-2 190 Sr. Vancouver, Wash. 5.2 2.1 Jan. 7 #18 Alaska Anchorage * 7:00 pm Dynamic Defense: Seattle Pacific’s defense ranks No. 6 nationally by surrendering just Jan. 12 at Central Washington * 7:00 pm 56.2 points per game, over five points fewer than the school-record figure of 61.8 points Jan. 14 at Northwest Nazarene * 6:00 pm opponents were limited to in 1962-63. Academy of Art lost 63-33 to SPU on Nov. 26, the Jan. 21 at Montana State Billings * 6:00 pm lowest opponent point total allowed since 1951 when Saint Martin’s was held to 31. The Jan. 26 Saint Martin’s * 7:00 pm Falcons have an 8-0 record when keeping opponents under 60 points. SPU is holding Jan. 28 Western Oregon * (Homecoming) 4:00 pm opponents to 38.6-percent shooting (No. 15 nationally). BYU-Hawaii is the only team to Feb. 2 at Alaska Anchorage * 8:00 pm shoot 50 percent against the Falcons, converting 51 percent (29 of 57) of its shots on Dec. Feb. 4 at Alaska Fairbanks * 3:00 pm Feb. 9 Northwest Nazarene * 7:00 pm 10. The Falcons held four foes under 50 points. Along with scoring defense, SPU also Feb. 11 Central Washington * 7:00 pm leads the league in 3-point field goal defense by limiting foes to 29.3 percent. Feb. 18 Montana State Billings * 7:00 pm Recent Recap: SPU drew a split of two GNAC road games last week. The Falcons were Feb. 23 at Western Washington * 7:00 pm within one with one minute to play, but ended up losing 64-58 at Western Oregon (Dec. Feb. 25 at Simon Fraser * 7:00 pm 29). Andy Poling paced SPU with 17 points and nine rebounds. He was even better on Dec. Feb. 29 GNAC Tournament first round (Lacey, Wash.) 31, registering 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 56-41 win at Saint Martin’s. Mar. 2 GNAC Tournament semifinal (Lacey, Wash.) That was Poling’s fourth double-double. SPU finished with an 8-1 record in non-conference Mar. 3 GNAC Tourament championship (Lacey, Wash.) games, including a 76-65 home win over then third-ranked BYU-Hawaii on Nov. 19. * GNAC game Pacific Times are listed for all games Notable: The Falcons won all 10 games when they led with five minutes left to play ... NCAA Division II Rankings (Jan. 2) Sophomore David Downs leads the GNAC in free throw accuracy at 87.5 percent (56 of 65) ... SPU boasts a 9-1 record when posting a better field goal percentage than opponents. 1. Metro State 14. Missouri Southern 2. Southern Indiana 15. Bowie State GNAC Race: The Falcons are seeking to win the GNAC championship for the fourth time 3. Lincoln Memorial 16. Midwestern State in seven years. They captured the 2010 and 2006 league titles outright and shared the 2007 4. Kentucky Wesleyan 17. Findlay crown with Seattle University. SPU was projected to finish second in this year’s GNAC 5. Bellarmine 18. Alaska Anchorage standings by the annual coaches poll, receiving four of 10 first-place votes en route to a 6. Cal Poly Pomona 19. Moorhead State 94-point total. Alaska Anchorage also got four first-place votes and was picked first by 7. West Liberty 20. Indiana (Pa.) 8. Fort Hays State 21. Augustana one point over the Falcons. Western Washington was selected third, garnering the two 9. Tarleton State 22. Arkansas Tech remaining first-place votes, and defending champion Central Washington was fourth. SPU 10. Winona State 23. Western Washington is aiming for its fifth GNAC title since the league was formed in 2001-02. 11. Northern Kentucky 24. Benedict Next Week: The SPU men begin a three-game road trip next week with visits to Central 12. Colorado Mines 25. West Georgia Washington (Jan. 12) and Northwest Nazarene (Jan. 14). 13. Alabama-Huntsville Seattle Pacific Men’s Basketball (Jan. 4, 2012) Page 2-2 Scouting Alaska Fairbanks (4-9, 1-2 GNAC): 2012 GNAC Standings By the Numbers > The Nanooks feature Stefan Tica, whose (as of Jan. 2) GNAC Pct. Overall The number of Final Four appearances by 16.1-point average ranks fifth among 1. Western Oregon 4–0 1.000 11–2 2 SPU, which placed third in 2000 and 2006. GNAC players. Nico Matthews leads 2. Western Washington 3–0 1.000 12–2 the league with 3.0 steals per game and Alaska Anchorage 3–0 1.000 9–2 The Falcons have won four Great Northwest is No. 2 with 4.8 assists per game. 4. Seattle Pacific 2–2 .500 10–3 4 Athletic Conference championships since Montana State Billings 2–2 .500 7–5 the league was formed in 2001-02, winning > Mick Durham is in his first year as head coach at UAF. The former Montana State 6. Alaska Fairbanks 1–2 .333 4–9 league titles in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2010. 7. Central Washington 1–3 .250 7–5 head coach spent the last three years as Northwest Nazarene 1–3 .250 7–5 an assistant at New Mexico State. Current streak of consecutive NCAA Division Saint Martin’s 1–3 .250 5–8 7 II Tournament appearances for the Falcons. > The Falcons lead the series 49-15 and 10. Simon Fraser 0–3 .000 5–6 won seven of the last eight meetings. Figure that SPU outrebounded opponents Second-year SPU coach Ryan Looney has a 3-1 record against Alaska Fairbanks. 7.0by last season to rank No. 9 nationally. > Scouting Alaska Anchorage (9-2, 3-0 GNAC): The number of players on the 15-man You might expect a defensive battle as SPU boasts the GNAC’s stingiest defense, SPU roster from high schools in the state > 10 yielding just 56.2 points per game while the Seawolves limit foes to 59.2 points to of Washington. rank No. 2. On the other side of the ledger, UAA is third in the league in scoring (82.5 SPU’s team field goal percentage last ppg) and the Falcons are 10th (66.4 ppg.) 49.2 season that ranked No. 17 nationally. > The Seawolves lead the all-time series 33-25. The teams split the 2011 regular-season series with each winning at home. UAA was a 78-61 victor on Jan. 8 and the Falcons The number of assists in 2011 by fresh- won the rematch 78-73 on Feb. 3. The Seawolves won the rubber match at home, a 128man David Downs, a figure that ranked 72-67 decision on March 2 in the 2011 GNAC Tournament semifinals. No. 21 among SPU single-season leaders. > The SPU men won the last seven games against the Seawolves played in Seattle. That’s how many wins SPU compiled > In his second season at SPU, Ryan Looney has a 2-3 record against the Seawolves. 146over the last seven seasons, a figure Terrific Transfer: The Falcons frontline is bolstered by the addition of transfer Jobi Wall, that is 12 more victories than any other a 6-foot-6 junior who led all scorers with 24 points in the win at Arizona (Oct.