The Falcon   |   Volume 81, Issue 26

Published 6/02/10   |   Log In

Falcons finish perfect preseason for Looney

Senior Rafael Moreira acknowledges the Orangemen of sixth Ashton Hall during a preseason exhibition game. The Falcons won 82-59 against Simon Fraser.
Photo credit: SCOTT STRANNIGAN/The Falcon.

New play style sparks offense

By CRAIG TOWERS, Sports Writer

Published: November 18, 2009

The roaring sound of cheering from the Orangemen of sixth Ashton Hall at Royal Brougham Pavilion can only mean one thing: basketball season is back at Seattle Pacific University.

First year head coach Ryan Looney has set some lofty goals for this year's basketball team.

"This might seem strange to say from a first year coach, but I want to win the conference and send us to our sixth straight NCAA Tournament," Looney said.

Looney held the head coach position for the men's basketball program at Eastern Oregon University for the past five seasons.

During his time there, Looney compiled a 95-55 record, including a 25-8 record last year and a trip to the semifinals in the 2009 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division II Tournament. SPU Athletic Director Erin O'Connell announced Looney as the head coach on May 26.

Looney's former school is located in La Grande, Ore., which has a population of just over 12,000. Seattle has a population of more than 580,000, a change that Looney is still adjusting to.

"My family and I are still adjusting to city life coming from such a small town," Looney said. "It's also a little different switching from a public institution to a private one."

Looney said that his confidence in this year's men's basketball program results from the team's experience. Nine of the 13 Falcons on the roster are juniors and seniors. Their top three scorers are returning from last year; junior point guard Chris Banchero, senior wingman Brandon Larrieu and senior post Rafael Moreira.

Last season, Larrieu averaged 14.6 points a game and shot over 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Larrieu said he is still getting used to the new coach.

"At first (the transition) was difficult," Larrieu said. "We just had to buy into the system and get used to the different coaching styles."

Coach Looney said he wanted to run a self described "mid-tempo" offense. Rebounding is something Looney wants to emphasize throughout this season.

The Falcons played a faster paced offense in their first two exhibition games. In the first, they won over Simon Fraser University 82-59 on Nov. 6.

SPU's second and final exhibition game resulted in a victory against the Blue Angels, a club team composed of players from different universities around Washington state. The Falcon's scored 116 points while the Blue Angels scored 79. Seattle Pacific shot 51.8 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from the three-point range.

The Falcons look to build off this fast start as the regular season gets underway. They face preseason first-ranked Brigham Young University Hawaii on Dec. 5.

"That's the game we are definitely looking forward to, it gives us a chance to compete with one of the best teams in the country," Larrieu said.

The regular season begins Nov. 20 when Royal Brougham Pavilion hosts the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic. The tip-off includes SPU, Cal State Monterey Bay, Western Washington and Dominican University. SPU plays Dominican on Dec. 20 followed by Cal State the next day.

The Falcons conference play begins Jan. 7 in Nampa, Idaho, where they will take on Northwest Nazarene University.

The Falcons will play each of the eight Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponents twice, once at home and the other away.

SPU finished third in the GNAC last year with a conference record of 11-5. They play the defending conference champions, Western Washington (13-3 in GNAC last year) Jan. 21 in Ellensburg.

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