SEAWOLVES START WITH 2 WINS: Alaska Anchorage got its 2023-24 campaign off on the right foot, twice defeating Cal Maritime in its first two games of the season at home. UAA won 86-70 in the opener before improving the margin to the tune of 88-53 in the rematch last week at the Alaska Airlines Center. UAA will face its first test against Division II opposition against Chaminade on Friday and Hawaii Pacific on Saturday in Fairbanks.

Read More: Seawolf Men Head North For Clashes With Hawaii Foes (UAA Preview)

FALCONS HAND FAZIO WIN NO. 1: First-year Seattle Pacific head coach Keffrey Fazio earned his first-career win last Sunday, with the Falcons taking out Daemen 87-77 in the finale of the D2CCA Canadian Tip-Off Classic in Langley, B.C. Guard Julian Mora earned all-tournament honors, while GNAC preseason player of the year Shaw Anderson delivered a 30-point performance in his team’s first win of the season.

Read More: Anderson Scores 30 In Win Over Daemen (SPU Recap)

VIKINGS VIKTORIOUS TWICE: Western Washington won its first two games of the year, topping Daemen 83-72 last Friday and following with a 97-93 shootout win over St. Edward’s the next day. The Vikings fell 93-82 in their tournament finale against Hawaii Hilo, and will look to bounce back this week with matchups against Cal State Dominguez Hills (Friday, 5:30 p.m. PST) and Cal Poly Humboldt (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. PST) in California. Guard Kai Johnson and forward Nic Welp garnered all-tournament recognition in their season debuts for WWU.

Read More: Vikings Improve To 2-0 W/97-93 Victory (WWU Recap)

Nic Welp – Western Washington

Entering his third season with the Vikings, junior forward Nic Welp notched his first double-double of the year with 18 points and a dozen rebounds in WWU’s firework show against St. Edward’s. Welp was an efficient 6-for-8 from the floor and made 5 of 6 free throws while adding three assists and a steal in 30 productive minutes. Overall in the three-game set across the border Welp averaged 11.3 points and 7.7 boards. After starting just one game in his first two seasons, look for Welp to blow away his averages of 6.1 points and 4.9 rebounds from his sophomore campaign in 2022-23.

GNAC IN THE NABC NATIONAL RANKINGS

The NABC Division II rankings are released every Monday throughout the 2023-24 season.

Saint Martin’s represented the GNAC in the NABC preseason rankings and was the first team listed among others receiving votes outside of the top-25.

The 2023-24 GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships will be held March at Nicholson Pavilion on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. The top-six teams in the final GNAC regular-season standings will advance to the single-elimination tournament. The winner of the event will earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships.