Wednesday, March 11, 2020

FALCONS, VIKINGS PREPARE FOR WEST REGIONALS TRIP: While emerging as the top two teams from the GNAC, Seattle Pacific and Western Washington are underdogs by the numbers when the teams open their runs in the NCAA Division II Men’s  Basketball West Regional, which begins on Friday at UC San Diego’s RMIAC Arena.

The Falcons, the GNAC regular-season champions, enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed. They will face No. 4 Chico State in the quarterfinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Western Washington, which finished second in the regular-season standings and won the GNAC Championships, enters as the No. 8 seed. That means that the Vikings will face No. 1 seed and tournament host UC San Diego on Friday at 5 p.m.

Seattle Pacific is 2-4 against the teams in the West Regional field, but the Falcons are a much different team than most of those teams saw early in the season. The Falcons took losses to three of those teams in a season-opening four-game losing streak, which included a 64-58 loss to Chico State on November 8. That skid yielded to a near GNAC record 14-game winning streak. Since that losing streak, Seattle Pacific has gone 22-3.

Sophomore guard Divant’e Moffitt, a First Team All-GNAC selection, leads Seattle Pacific and ranks fourth in the GNAC in scoring with 17.1 points per game. He also ranks seventh in the conference with 3.41 assists per game.

Junior guard Harry Cavell shared GNAC Defensive Player of the Year honors and averages 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Freshman Shaw Anderson was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year after averaging 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while starting all 29 games thus far. Both players also received Second Team All-GNAC honors. Head coach Grant Leep, in his fourth season at the helm, was named the GNAC Coach of the Year.

Like the Falcons, Western Washington struggled early against non-conference opponents and went 1-4 against teams in the regional. And also like the Falcons, the Vikings are a different team than those non-conference foes saw early on. Western Washington enters the tournament having won six of its last seven games.

Among the three non-conference West Region losses early in the season was a 76-69 loss to UC San Diego on November 9.
The Vikings are led by senior Trevor Jasinsky, who earned his second consecutive First Team All-GNAC selection and was named the MVP of the GNAC Championships. Jasinsky enters the regional averaging 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while ranking third in the GNAC with 33.73 minutes played per game.

Freshman guard D’Angelo Minnis was an Honorable Mention All-GNAC selection and is averaging 12.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Jalen Green also earned honorable mention accolades as he averages 13 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Senior forward Logan Schilder is second in the GNAC and 18th in Division II with two blocked shots per game.

UC SAN DIEGO & COVID-19 (Updated Mar. 11, 4:25 pm PDT): The UC San Diego men's basketball team will host the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball West Regional at RIMAC Arena beginning Friday, March 13. On Wednesday afternoon, the NCAA announced that all winter championships – including this weekend's Regional – will be conducted without fans.
 
Here is the NCAA statement.

Each member of the team's official travel party (20 maximum) will receive up to six complimentary tickets for entrance via a pass list. Family members of participating student-athletes should work with their institution on access to the pass list.

ALL-TOURNAMENT PERFORMERS: The following GNAC players have earned all-tournament team honors during the 2019-20 season...

GNAC/CCAA Challenge (Nov. 8-9, Bellingham): Jalen Green (WWU), Logan Schilder (WWU), Wilfried Balata (SFU).
Alaska/Hawaii Challenge (Nov. 9-10, Anchorage): Tobin Karlberg (UAA), Oggie Pantovic (UAA), Shadeed Shabazz (UAF).
Otter Classic (Nov. 15-16, Seaside, Calif.): Shadeed Shabazz (UAF).
SF State Gator Invitational (Nov. 29-30, San Francisco): Darius Lubom (WOU, Most Valuable Player), Dalven Brushier (WOU).
Chuck Randall Classic (Nov. 29-30, Bellingham): D’Angelo Minnis (WWU, Most Valuable Player), Luke Lovelady (WWU), Jasdeep Singh (SFU), Wilfried Balata (SFU).
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic (Nov. 29-30, Anchorage): Niko Bevens (UAA), Tyler Brimhall (UAA), Oggie Pantovic (UAA).
D2 Power Invitational (Dec. 19-21, Honolulu): First Team - Jasdeep Singh (SFU). Second Team - Oggie Pantovic (UAA), Wilfried Balata (SFU), Demonte Malloy (SMU).

GNAC TEAMS IN THE NCAA WEST REGIONAL
SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific is the GNAC regular-season champion and enters the NCAA West Regional with a 22-7 overall record.

• The No. 1 seed and host of the GNAC Championships, the Falcons were stunned in the tournament semifinals by No. 5 seed Alaska Anchorage on Friday, 86-85. Seattle Pacific roared back from a 15-point halftime deficit to challenge late, but could not convert on a pair of game-winning opportunities over the final minute of the game. The Falcons shot 48.3 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line.

• Sophomore guard Divant’e Moffitt, a First Team All-GNAC selection, led Seattle Pacific with 28 points as all five starters scored in double figures. He made 8 of 17 from the field and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line. Senior guard Gabe Colosimo added 17 points on 5 of 7 from the field, 2 of 3 from three-point range and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line.

• Moffitt leads the Falcons and is fourth in the GNAC in scoring with 17.1 points per game. He ranks seventh in the GNAC with 3.41 assists per game.

• Junior guard Harry Cavell, the GNAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team All-GNAC selection, is averaging 13.5 points per game and ranks eighth in the GNAC with 6.7 rebounds per game.

• Forward Shaw Anderson was the unanimous selection for GNAC Freshman of the Year and was a Second Team All-GNAC selection. He averaged 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game and has started all 29 games this season.

• Seattle Pacific is second in the GNAC with 79.5 points per game and is averaging 33.4 rebounds per game. The Falcons lead the GNAC and rank 15th in Division II with a .497 field goal percentage while also ranking second in Division II with a .807 free-throw percentage. The team is 19th in Division II with a .401 three-point percentage.

• With the GNAC Championships semifinals loss, Seattle Pacific slipped to one vote in the NABC Division II Coaches Rankings. The Falcons were ranked at No. 25 last week.

• This is Seattle Pacific’s 29th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and the 15th in the school’s GNAC era. The Falcons advanced to the semifinals of the 2019 NCAA West Region, falling 67-63 to conference rival Saint Martin’s. Seattle Pacific advanced to the national semifinals in 2000 and 2006, placing third both times.

• The Falcons are 2-4 against teams in the West Regional and 1-3 against non-conference teams. All of the non-conference losses came in the Falcons’ 0-4 start, which soon yielded to a 14-game win streak that fell just short of the GNAC record. The Falcons took a 75-53 loss to Chico State on Nov. 8, a  64-58 loss to Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 9 and a 72-57 loss to Azusa Pacific on Nov. 15. The one non-conference win was a 96-89 victory at Point Loma on Nov. 30. Seattle Pacific split the season series against Western Washington, winning 74-65 in Seattle on Jan. 23 and losing 73-68 in Bellingham on Feb. 22.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The GNAC champion and the recipient of the GNAC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, Western Washington enters the tournament with a 20-10 overall record.

• At the GNAC Championships, Western Washington scored a 76-64 win over No. 6 seed Alaska on Friday and an 81-76 victory over Alaska Anchorage in the finals on Saturday. The Vikings averaged 78.5 points and 32 rebounds per game in the two contests.

• Senior forward Trevor Jasinsky was named the GNAC Championships MVP after he averaged 19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in two games. In Friday’s semifinal against Alaska, Jasinsky finished with a team-high 24 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. He connected on 8 of 14 from the field and 5 of 9 from three-point range. Against Alaska Anchorage, Jasinsky finished with 15 points and four rebounds to go with three assists. A two-time First Team All-GNAC selection, Jasinsky is averaging 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He ranks third in the GNAC with 33.73 minutes played per game.

• Freshman guard D’Angelo Minnis scored 14 points in both contests as he connected on 7 of 19 from the field and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line. Minnis is averaging 12.3 points per game. Minnis and sophomore forward Jalen Green were Honorable Mention All-GNAC selections.

• Senior guard Siaan Rojas was the Vikings’ top scorer against Alaska Anchorage with 16 points, making 5 of 10 from the field and 4 of 8 from three-point range. Rojas finished the GNAC Championships with a total of 24 points and enters the West Regional averaging 10.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

• Western Washington is third in the GNAC in scoring with 79.5 points per game and ranks second with 37.1 rebounds per game. The Vikings lead the GNAC and rank fourth in Division II with 5.1 blocked shots per game while ranking third nationally with 154 total blocks. Senior forward Logan Schilder is second in the GNAC and is 18th in Division II with two blocks per contest.  Western Washington also ranks 30th in Division II with 490 free throws made.

• Western Washington is making its ninth overall NCAA Championships appearance and the eighth in the school’s GNAC era. The Vikings’ last appearance was in 2017, with the Vikings bowing out in the quarterfinals in a 96-83 loss to Chico State. Western Washington won the Division II national championship in 2012 and advanced to the national semifinals in 2013.

• Western Washington is 1-4 against competing teams in the West Regional and 0-3 against non-conference opponents. The Vikings took non-conference losses to UC San Diego on Nov. 9 (76-69), Cal Poly Pomona on Nov. 12 (86-65) and Azusa Pacific on Nov. 16 (90-80). The Vikings split the season series with Seattle Pacific, falling 74-65 in Seattle on Jan. 25 and winning 73-68 in Bellingham on Feb. 22.