This week...
Thr., Jan. 4, 9:15 p.m. PST -- MEN'S BASKETBALL at HAWAII HILO, Afook-Chinen Auditorium, Hilo, Hi.
Sat., Jan. 6, 9:30 p.m. PST -- MEN'S BASKETBALL at CHAMINADE, McCabe Gymnasium, Honolulu, Hi.

Complete 2000 Schedule

Return to paradise...
For the 15th-ranked Falcons of Seattle Pacific University, the first men's basketball game of the new millennium will be played in paradise, or at least the soggy side of it. Seattle Pacific (0-1, 7-2), which won all five of its games in December, resumes Pacific West Conference play Thursday night (Jan. 4) at Hawaii Hilo (0-0, 5-3) and then moves to Oahu Saturday (Jan. 6) to face Chaminade (0-0, 6-3) before returning home. Next week features the only two home games in January, beginning with Seattle University Jan. 11.

A different path...
The Falcons began fitting the pieces in place last month, and now resemble the teams of the past few years which went deep into the NCAA Division II postseason. Yet none of the five straight victories came against Div. II opposition (two were NAIA members, three from Div. III). Meanwhile the Hawaiian teams they will be facing have already battled with several D-I programs. Chaminade, for instance, has won six in a row since dropping its first three games, including two losses to current top-20 teams Arizona and Connecticut. Hawaii Hilo, following three D-I defeats, has won five straight.

Aloha means good-bye...
For the past nine years Coach Ken Bone (11th year) has had the pleasure of taking his teams to Hawaii regularly for PacWest games. But this trip marks the end of that era for the Falcons who will be part of a new conference next season, and there is not a Hawaiian school among their nine fellow members. Under Bone, SPU has gone 7-9 in games on the Islands, including a pair of impressive wins at Hawaii Pacific and BYU Hawaii last season. Those two teams will visit Brougham Pavilion during the first week of February.

Need a game or waiver...
While the weather promises to be pleasant in Hawaii this week, the same could not be said for much of the mainland during the final week of 2000. In fact, severe cold and ice in the Southern plains prevented Harding University from traveling to Seattle from Arkansas to play SPU at last week's Oak Harbor Freight Lines Holiday Classic. As a consequence, the Falcons dropped below the 22 required games vs. Div. II teams needed for postseason consideration. During the next few days, Bone and athletic director Tom Box will petition the NCAA for a waiver while, at the same time, attempt to reschedule the game with Harding for later this month. In the only game over the holidays, Seattle Pacific handed Puget Sound its first defeat of the season, 76-60.

Stone turns in a gem...
If one of his resolutions for 2001 is to raise his game, then forward Brannon Stone (Jr., 6-9, Oak Harbor, Wa.) has given himself a hard act to follow. Stone sparked the win over UPS with 22 points on perfect shooting, hitting all eight of his field goals--including four 3-pointers--and four free throws. After hitting just 38 percent of his field goals in the first five games, Stone has locked-in on his target, hitting 67 percent in the last four outings, including 12-18 treys, and all 13 of his foul shots. While he averaged 17.8 points in those wins, he also raised his averages for assists (averaging 5.0), blocks (3.0) and steals (2.8). Stone, whose all-around skills gained a national audience during last year's run to the Final Four, ranks among the PacWest leaders in six categories: blocked shots (1st, 2.6), assists-turnover ratio (2nd, 3:1), free throw accuracy (5th, .870), assists (8th, 4.0), steals (1.9) and 3-point accuracy (10th, .500).

Center of attention...
It used to be that Stone was also among the conference rebounding leaders, but this season the Falcons have become the top boarding team in the PacWest because he has a great deal of help. Center Eric Sandrin (Jr., 6-10, Bothell, Wa./Shorecrest-Portland) leads SPU with an average of 6.3 rebounds, and has been difficult to defend due to his versatility. Sandrin has proven adept on the drive and also stepped outside the arc to hit 8-14 3-pointers. Overall he's shooting 61 percent--fifth in the conference--and averaging 15.9 points.

Hub & the other G-Dub...
Forward John Hubbard (Sr., 6-5, Inglewood, Ca./Grays Harbor CC), the conference's No. 4 scorer (18.4), is coming off a uncharacteristic poor shooting (4-15) display vs. Puget Sound but still managed to score in double figures for the 11th consecutive game, dating back to last season. While Hubbard was expected to be the Falcons' foremost scorer this season, his understudy, Gene Woodard (So., 6-5, Edmonds, Wa./O'Dea), is a welcome surprise. Woodard has earned a top reserve role and the No. 3 spot in conference field-goal accuracy (.639) by being very productive (6.9 points, 2.5 rebounds) off the bench.

Series, opponent notes...
The Falcons have won only once (1996) in five trips to Hilo, but still lead the series 7-5. A year ago in Brougham, SPU won 84-64. The Vulcans have played each of their first nine games at home, and lead the PacWest in steals (11.4)...Chaminade defeated Hawaii Hilo on the road last month to begin their win streak. The Silverswords are 4-3 vs. SPU at home while the Falcons lead the series 11-4. Chaminade leads the conference in field-goal percentage defense (.429) and 3-point defense (.287) while Seattle Pacific is the offensive leader in both categories (.537, .503).

Put-backs...
SPU has won its last five games by an average margin of 24.6 points with sizzling shooting (57 percent overall, 78 percent at the line) while opponents have managed just 42 percent from the field and have been out-rebounded by an average of 12.2...Reserve guard Adam Harris (So., 6-0, Fox Island, Wa./Gig Harbor), like Woodard, has made the most of his opportunity. Harris is eighth in conference 3-point shooting (.538, 7-13) and has averaged 7.6 points and hit 6-9 treys during the win streak...Starting guard Nick Johnson (Jr., 6-3, Burlington, Wa./Burlington-Edison) continues to lead the nation in 3-point shooting (74 percent), connecting on 17-23.

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 calling (206) 281-2085 in advance. Brougham Pavilion 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
4 Abe Fox Jr-2V 6-8 3.2/2.2 reb Port Townsend, Wa. Averaging 12.4 minutes; 12 pts v Linfield
10 Adam Harris So-1V 6-0 5.0/1.1 ast Fox Island, Wa. Gig Harbor grad scored 8 points v Linfield
11 Aaron Bellessa* So-1V 6-2 2.0/3.3 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 9.1/3.6 ast Marysville, Wa. 8-15 3-pointers
21 Brannon Stone* Jr-2V 6-7 13.7/5.0 reb Oak Harbor, Wa. All-tourn. at WWU; 2.6 blks, 1.9 stls
22 Jesse Keely So-TR 6-7 1.9/1.7 reb Fircrest, Wa. Played in 7 games
23 Nick Johnson* Jr-2V 6-3 10.8/5.0 reb Burlington, Wa. Career-hi 24 pts v Tarleton St.; 74% 3-ptrs
30 Gene Woodard So-1V 6-4 6.9/2.5 reb Edmonds, Wa. Career-high 20 pts at Linfield; 64% FG
32 John Hubbard* Sr-1V 6-5 18.4/3.3 reb Inglewood, Ca. MVP of WWU tournament; 20 3-pointers
34 Eric Sandrin* Jr-TR 6-10 15.9/6.3 reb Bothell, Wa. All-Vitamilk tourn.; 61% FG, 1.2 blks
40 Daniel Sandrin So-TR 6-7 3.9/3.0 reb Bothell, Wa. Averaging 13.6 minutes; 59% FG
42 Chris Cohen Fr-RS 6-8 1.5/1.5 reb Saint Helens, Or. Played in 6 games
*projected starter
Coach: Ken Bone (SPU '83) 11th year (215-88/.710)