Upcoming games...
Sat., Dec. 9, 7 p.m. -- MEN'S BASKETBALL v EVERGREEN STATE, Brougham Pavilion, Seattle, Wa.
Wed., Dec. 13, 7 p.m. -- MEN'S BASKETBALL at LEWIS-CLARK STATE, Warrior Gym, Lewiston, Id.

Complete 2000 Schedule

Clam guns at the ready...
For those vowing to see a Seattle Pacific University men's basketball game only when clams are welcome in Brougham Pavilion, their date with destiny has arrived. The 18th-ranked Falcons (3-2) finish final exams and then host the Evergreen State Geoducks (1-5) in a non-conference game Saturday night (Dec. 9). After that will be two games prior to the Christmas break: Wednesday night (Dec. 13) at Lewis-Clark State and Dec. 18 at home versus Willamette.

Do the shuffle...
No matter that his team is nationally-ranked, Coach Ken Bone (11th year) had not been generally pleased with his team's performance, particularly on defense. So following a 99-93 loss at Western Washington in the Pacific West Conference opener he benched three starters. The effect two nights later was a record 43-point road rout of Linfield, 110-67. And yet Bone is still not happy; the Falcons committed 27 turnovers--the highest total in 46 games.

Prime beneficiary...
Benefiting most from Bone's personnel moves was forward Gene Woodard (So., 6-5, Edmonds, Wa./O'Dea), who has been a pleasant surprise so far this season. Woodard, who had played only 85 minutes as a freshman, made a strong showing in an exhibition win over Simon Fraser, and after scoring 10 points and claiming six rebounds in 15 minutes at Western, he was inserted into the starting five. And at Linfield Woodard responded with a career-high 20 points, five rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes. In the first five games, Woodard is shooting 80 percent from the field (16-20) and averaging 9.8 points and 3.5 rebounds.

A point per minute...
Instant offense has been a specialty of forward John Hubbard (Sr., 6-5, Inglewood, Ca./Grays Harbor CC). As the sixth man a year ago, he scored more than a point per minute in nine games and became the highest-scoring non-starter in school history (13.7). At Linfield he was once again coming off the bench, and a motivated Hubbard was locked and loaded when he did enter the contest. He pumped in 23 points in 22 minutes, hitting 9-13 field goals, including 4-5 three-pointers. Hubbard had scored 24 points at Bellingham, and is leading the team with a 19.2 average.

Oh brother...
For the first time in at least 20 years Seattle Pacific started two brothers last week. At Linfield, center Eric Sandrin (Jr., 6-10, Bothell, Wa./Shorecrest-Portland) was joined on the frontline by younger sibling forward Daniel Sandrin (So., Bothell, Wa./Bothell-Portland). Eric, who had drilled four treys--three in the first six minutes--at Western, operated almost exclusively inside in McMinnville and finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Daniel did his share with six points and five boards in 12 minutes. Eric, who had a season-high 24 points vs. the Vikings, is averaging 17.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and shooting 60 percent from the field. Both brothers transferred from Portland last spring.

Role reversal...
The switch in starting point guards was of little consequence since initial starter Aaron Bellessa (So., 6-2, Federal Way, Wa./Decatur) and Darrell Walker (Sr., 6-0, Marysville, Wa./M'ville-Pilchuck-EWU) virtually split the minutes. Walker, who leads the team with 18 assists, got the call for the first time at Linfield and played 16 minutes. Bellessa saw 21 minutes of action and, along with Brannon Stone (Jr., 6-9, Oak Harbor, Wa.), topped the Falcons with six assists.

Adam & Abe...
Woodard made the most of his opportunity and a couple other reserves are following suit. Abe Fox (Jr., 6-8, Port Townsend, Wa.) converted 5-6 shots at Linfield for a career-high 12 points. Adam Harris (So., 6-0, Fox Island, Wa./Gig Harbor), elevated to the No. 4 guard, contributed eight points, his career-high.

Series, opponent notes...
Evergreen State defeated Pacific Lutheran in its last outing to snap a five-game losing streak. The Geoducks have met the Falcons twice before, most recently in '98-99, but not in Seattle. Two years ago SPU defeated TESC 109-82 in Bellingham. Five-foot-8 point guard Trelton Spencer leads the team in scoring (19.5) and has played 244 of a possible 245 minutes in the first six games...Lewis-Clark State came within three points of Washington State at Pullman and defeated Idaho on the road to start the season. The Warriors, who briefly resided in the PacWest in '98-99, last played Seattle Pacific that season, with each team winning at home. SPU leads the series 7-1.

Put-backs...
Seattle Pacific has come out with the hot hands in each of its last two games, shooting 57 percent in the first half of the Western Washington game and 71 percent at Linfield. In the latter, the Falcons finished at 68 percent (22-31), the best figure in 18 games...Nick Johnson (Jr., 6-3, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison) scored 14 points and had six assists vs. Western. Johnson, who has hit 13-15 three-pointers, is averaging 13.2 points, nearly three times his average last year, and shooting 59 percent overall....Stone needs 24 steals to break into the career top five at Seattle Pacific. He already is the all-time leader in blocked shots (188) and should be among the top 10 in rebounding later this season...Bone announced that Adrian Egger (Jr., 6-2, Kirkland, Wa./Eastside Catholic-Olympic CC) has left the team. Egger played in two exhibitions and one regular season outing ...The Falcons stormed to an early 15-point lead at Western but the Vikings narrowed the gap and eventually took the lead with six minutes left. They hit 25-26 free throws while SPU was just 10-18, including 6-12 in the second period.

Ticket information...
Reserved seating tickets for all home games are priced $7 and $6. General admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students, youth and senior citizens. Group rates are available by call (206) 281-2085 in advance. Ticket windows open one hour prior to tip-off.

S-P-U on the W-E-B...
You can follow Seattle Pacific via the world wide web. The Falcons Online features weekly releases, rosters, schedules, updated results, histories and coaching profiles for all 12 varsity sports. You're already here!

PacWest Conference Standings

Personnel notes...
No Player Yr-Exp Hgt '00-01 stats Hometown Notes
1 Jordan Lee Fr-HS 6-0 DNP University Place, Wa. Life Christian grad to redshirt
3 Adrian Egger Jr-TR 6-2 0.0/3.0 reb Kirkland, Wa. Left team; played in 1 reg. season game
4 Abe Fox Jr-2V 6-8 2.8/1.6 reb Port Townsend, Wa. Averaging 13.2 minutes; 12 pts v Linfield
10 Adam Harris So-1V 6-0 3.0/0.8 ast Fox Island, Wa. Gig Harbor grad scored 8 points v Linfield
11 Aaron Bellessa* So-1V 6-2 1.6/2.2 ast Federal Way, Wa. Starter at point guard
12 Garrett Stone Fr-HS 6-4 DNP Oak Harbor, Wa. Younger brother of Brannon to redshirt
15 Nate Bramlette Fr-HS 6-0 DNP Issaquah, Wa. Skyline grad to redshirt
20 Darrell Walker Sr-TR 6-0 9.8/3.6 ast Marysville, Wa. 8-15 3-pointers
21 Brannon Stone* Jr-2V 6-7 10.4/5.0 reb Oak Harbor, Wa. All-tourn. at WWU; 2.2 blks
22 Jesse Keely So-TR 6-7 1.3/1.7 reb Fircrest, Wa. Played in 3 games
23 Nick Johnson* Jr-2V 6-3 13.2/4.2 reb Burlington, Wa. Career-high 24 pts v Tarleton State
30 Gene Woodard So-1V 6-4 9.8/3.5 reb Edmonds, Wa. Career-high 20 points at Linfield
32 John Hubbard* Sr-1V 6-5 19.2/4.2 reb Inglewood, Ca. MVP of WWU tournament
34 Eric Sandrin* Jr-TR 6-10 17.4/6.0 reb Bothell, Wa. All-Vitamilk tourn.; 60% FG
40 Daniel Sandrin So-TR 6-7 4.0/2.8 reb Bothell, Wa. Averaging 13.4 minutes; 67% FG
42 Chris Cohen Fr-RS 6-8 1.0/0.5 reb Saint Helens, Or. Played in 2 games
*projected starter
Coach: Ken Bone (SPU '83) 11th year (211-88/.705)