By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – The door is wide open not only for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball regular-season title but for all six of the conference tournament berths.
With three weeks left in the regular season, no team has officially clinched a spot in the conference tournament and the race to the regular-season crown remains neck-and-neck.
| This Week's GNAC Men's Basketball Schedule |
| Home Team |
Thursday, Feb. 13 |
Saturday, Feb. 15 |
| Alaska Fairbanks |
BYE |
Alaska Anchorage (3 p.m. AK) |
| Montana State Billings |
Central Washington (7:30 p.m. MT) |
Northwest Nazarene (7:30 p.m. MT) |
| RV Saint Martin's |
Simon Fraser (7 p.m. PT) |
Western Washington (5:15 p.m. PT) |
| Seattle Pacific |
Northwest Nazarene (7:30 p.m. PT) |
Central Washington (2 p.m. PT) |
| Western Oregon |
Western Washington (7:30 p.m. PT) |
Simon Fraser (4:15 p.m. PT) |
The 2025 GNAC Men’s and Women's Basketball Championships will be held March 6-8 at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's University in
Lacey, Wash. The top six teams in the GNAC standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the GNAC Championships (tiebreakers will be applied as necessary). The top two seeds earn byes to the semifinal round. The quarterfinal round will match the Nos. 3 and 6 seeds in one game and the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in the other game. Quarterfinal winners will advance to Friday's semifinals. Semifinal winners will meet on Saturday for the championship. The winners of the GNAC Championships will automatically qualify for their respective NCAA Division II Championships events.
Central Washington (16-6, 10-2 GNAC) enters the week with a one-game lead over Northwest Nazarene (16-4, 9-3) in first place in the conference standings, as those two teams visit red-hot Seattle Pacific (13-11, 9-4) and Montana State Billings (16-10, 7-6) this weekend. One win for the Wildcats will lock up their spot in the GNAC Championships, as the reigning tournament champions are on a path leading up to the hype as preseason favorites. Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Wildcats open with a rematch against the Yellowjackets on Thursday night in Billings (7:30 p.m. MT) after they claimed an 82-69 triumph at home in Ellensburg when the teams last met on Jan. 18. CWU is in pursuit of its second GNAC regular-season title, with the other coming in the 2010-11 campaign in which it went 16-2 in league play. The Wildcats’
Jordan Clark leads Division II basketball in free throw shooting at 94.2%, while
Garrett Anderson is the team’s leading scorer with 14.7 points per game.
Cavin Holden, who averages 2.7 made threes per game, ranks eighth nationally with a 3-point percentage of 45.8.
Both NNU and SPU are two wins away from officially punching their tickets to the conference tournament, and the two will square off on Thursday night at Brougham Pavilion (7:30 p.m. PT) to get this week’s action started. The Nighthawks are coming off a pair of home wins against the Alaska schools last week as they look to keep pace with the Wildcats in the conference title race. The Nighthawks are in search of their first-ever GNAC regular-season title. NNU newcomer
Kye Dickson leads the GNAC with 18.9 points per game and ranks third in the league with 8.1 rebounds per game. Big man
Zane Foster is second in the league in shooting at 65.9%, and preseason all-conference selection
Ryzin Bergersen leads the conference with 2.2 steals per game.
Seattle Pacific was dubbed the GNAC Team of the Week on Monday, as they enter this week winners of six straight contests. The Falcons knocked off Simon Fraser and Western Washington on the road last week to extend their winning stretch and are just a half game behind the Nighthawks in the standings. SPU will have home-court advantage in a pair of games that could significantly rearrange the top third of the conference standings. The four-time GNAC regular-season champion is in search of its first title since 2019-20 and would tie Western Washington for the most GNAC regular-season crowns if it can win its fifth this season. Seattle Pacific’s
Trace Evans ranks 10th nationally in field-goal shooting at 66.1%, while newcomer
Jaxon Nap leads the conference with 9.5 rebounds per game.
Owen Moriarty leads the team and ranks ninth in the league with 15.1 points per game.
Montana State Billings (16-10, 7-6) has won four of its last five games to get back into the playoff picture but needs to find some form of success at home this weekend against the conference leaders to keep pace in the playoff hunt. The Yellowjackets lost to NNU 76-70 and fell to CWU 82-69 when the teams met a month ago, and the Yellowjackets currently have a two-game cushion ahead of Alaska Fairbanks, occupying the final playoff spot. MSUB’s
Kael Robinson ranks sixth in the league with 16.1 points per game and preseason player of the year
Jalen Tot is right behind with 15.9 points per game. Tot is also second in the conference with 2.0 steals per game.
While the conference’s top-three teams all do battle against one another, fourth-place Saint Martin’s will rely on home-court advantage for an opportunity to climb in the standings. The Saints (19-6, 8-4) welcome Simon Fraser (7-16, 3-10) to Marcus Pavilion on Thursday night (7 p.m. PT) and play Western Washington (15-8, 7-6) on Saturday. SMU will focus on taking care of business in its games, while also eagerly watching the results in Seattle and Billings as they enter the week a half game behind the Falcons in the standings. SMU senior point guard
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner enters the week No. 4 in GNAC history with 582 career assists, with his mark of 5.6 assists per game leading the league and ranking him 16th nationally this season.
| GNAC Career Assists Leaders (as of Feb. 12, 2025) |
| Rank |
Player |
Assists |
School |
Career |
| 1 |
Luke Cooper |
800 |
Alaska Anchorage |
2004-08 |
| 2 |
Kevin Tyner |
600 |
Western Oregon |
2002-06 |
| 3 |
Mark White |
594 |
Humboldt State |
2000-04 |
| 4 |
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner |
582 |
Saint Martin's |
2021-25 |
| 5 |
David Downs |
561 |
Seattle Pacific |
2010-14 |
| 6 |
Ryan Webb |
548 |
Seattle |
2003-07 |
| 7 |
Jake Linton |
496 |
Saint Martin's |
2005-09 |
| 8 |
Michael Provenzano |
482 |
Simon Fraser |
2016-20 |
| 9 |
Tony Binetti |
461 |
Seattle Pacific |
2002-06 |
| 10 |
Riley Stockton |
444 |
Seattle Pacific |
2011-15 |
This week’s slate is equally as important for the Vikings, who open up at Western Oregon (4-18, 1-11) on Thursday night in Monmouth (7:30 p.m. PT). WWU is tied with MSUB for the last playoff spot, as it looks to gain momentum and work towards securing its first conference tournament berth since all 10 teams earned spots in 2022. The Vikings extended their winning streak to seven games last Thursday, before a 64-63 loss to the Falcons halted the run. WWU will look for some success on the road this week, before closing the regular season with three straight games in Bellingham from Feb. 22-March 1. WWU’s
Will Wilson is third in the GNAC in scoring at 16.8 points per game while
Garrett Levesque is fourth in shooting at 59.3% and
Grant Kepley is second in 3-point shooting at 46.7%.
Saturday’s rivalry game at the Patty Center in Fairbanks will be one of the biggest tilts of the season, as both Alaska Fairbanks (9-13, 5-8) and Alaska Anchorage (11-15, 4-9) face a must-win contest. The Nanooks are in seventh place and sit two games out of a conference tournament berth, as they look to snap a six-game losing skid. The Seawolves meanwhile are one game behind the Nanooks in eighth place and need to win the majority of their final five regular-season games to get back in the hunt for postseason play. The Nanooks’
Paul Johnson ranks sixth in Division II basketball in 3-point shooting at 45.9% while
Isaiah Saams-Hoy leads the team with 15.9 points per game. For the Seawolves,
Tyler Burraston ranks fifth in Division II basketball with 84 made 3-pointers and 13th with an average of 3.23 made threes per game.
| GNAC In The National & Regional Rankings |
National top-25 rankings are released weekly by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (coach poll) and the D2 College Sports Communicators (media poll). The D2CSC also releases weekly regional top-10 rankings. Additional ranking information, including RPI projections, can be found in real time via
Inkblot Sports online here. The official NCAA regional rankings, which will eventually determine the eight-team field for the 2025 NCAA West Region Championships, will be released towards the end of the season beginning in February, 2025.
| NABC National Top-25 Poll |
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
| Preseason (10/30) |
15. CWU |
RV MSUB |
| Week 1 (11/18) |
16. SMU |
RV WWU |
| Week 2 (11/26) |
17. SMU |
RV WWU |
| Week 3 (12/3) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 4 (12/10) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 5 (12/17 |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 6 (12/31) |
22. SMU |
RV NNU |
| Week 7 (1/7) |
18. SMU |
RV NNU |
| Week 8 (1/14) |
17. SMU |
RV NNU |
| Week 9 (1/21) |
RV NNU |
RV SMU |
| Week 10 (1/28) |
25 SMU |
|
| Week 11 (2/4) |
None |
|
| Week 12 (2/11) |
RV SMU |
|
| D2CSC National Top-25 Poll |
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
| Week 1 (11/11) |
16. SMU |
RV MSUB |
| Week 2 (11/18) |
12. SMU |
RV WWU |
| Week 3 (11/25) |
15. SMU |
RV WWU |
| Week 4 (12/3) |
T25. SMU |
|
| Week 5 (12/10) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 6 (12/17) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 7 (1/7) |
11. SMU |
RV NNU |
| Week 8 (1/14) |
8. SMU |
|
| Week 9 (1/21) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 10 (1/28) |
19 SMU |
|
| Week 11 (2/4) |
RV SMU |
|
| Week 12 (2/11) |
RV SMU |
|
| D2CSC West Region Rankings |
| Poll |
Team 1 |
Team 2 |
Team 3 |
Team 4 |
Team 5 |
| Week 1 (11/4) |
4. CWU |
6. MSUB |
10. SMU |
RV NNU |
RV WWU |
| Week 2 (11/11) |
3. SMU |
4. MSUB |
T6. WWU |
RV CWU |
RV NNU |
| Week 3 (11/18) |
2. SMU |
4. WWU |
6. MSUB |
10. NNU |
|
| Week 4 (11/25) |
3. SMU |
6. WWU |
T7. MSUB |
9. NNU |
|
| Week 5 (12/2) |
4. SMU |
T6. WWU |
8. MSUB |
10. CWU |
RV NNU |
| Week 6 (12/9) |
4. SMU |
6. CWU |
7. MSUB |
9. NNU |
RV WWU |
| Week 7 (12/16) |
T3. SMU |
7. CWU |
8. MSUB |
10. NNU |
RV WWU |
| Week 8 (1/6) |
1. SMU |
T4. NNU |
10. MSUB |
|
|
| Week 9 (1/13) |
1. SMU |
T5. NNU |
10. CWU |
RV MSUB |
|
| Week 10 (1/20) |
4. SMU |
5. NNU |
6. CWU |
|
|
| Week 11 (1/27) |
2. SMU |
5. NNU |
7. CWU |
|
|
| Week 12 (2/3) |
3. SMU |
6. CWU |
8. NNU |
|
|
| Week 13 (2/10) |
4. SMU |
5. CWU |
7. NNU |
RV WWU |
|
| Date |
Player of the Week |
School |
| 11/4 |
Myles Samuels |
Saint Martin's |
| 11/11 |
Will Wilson |
Western Washington |
| 11/18 |
Louis Grante-Halliday |
Western Washington |
| 11/25 |
Irish Coquia |
Simon Fraser |
| 12/2 |
Garrett Anderson |
Central Washington |
| 12/9 |
Bishop Tosi |
Alaska Anchorage |
| 12/23 |
Kye Dickson |
Northwest Nazarene |
| 1/6 |
Sean Evans |
Alaska Anchorage |
| 1/13 |
Jaxon Nap |
Seattle Pacific |
| 1/20 |
Will Wilson |
Western Washington |
| 1/27 |
Kael Robinson |
Montana State Billings |
| 2/3 |
Brendon Johnson |
Montana State Billings |
| 2/10 |
Garrett Anderson |
Central Washington |
Feb. 10 GNAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Garrett Anderson – Central Washington University
Second-career player of the week, second this season.
Anderson led the Wildcats to wins over Alaksa Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks last week with a pair of headline performances. He made 9 of 14 shots on his way to 29 points in the win over the Seawolves, including a 4-for-6 line from 3-point range for his second-most made threes in a game this season. Anderson followed with 17 points and a season-high four assists, while adding eight rebounds in the win over the Alaska Nanooks. Overall on the week Anderson averaged 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shot 58.6% from the floor.
CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta: “Garrett had two great all-around games this weekend. He played great defense, was efficient from the floor shooting 59%, had six assists and led us in rebounding both nights.”
Also Nominated: Bishop Tosi, Alaska Anchorage; Paul Johnson, Alaska Fairbanks; Kael Robinson, Montana State Billings; Yaru Harvey, Northwest Nazarene; Diego Trejo-Delgado, Saint Martin’s; Mason Landdeck, Seattle Pacific; Irish Coquia, Simon Fraser; Garrett Levesque, Western Washington.
| 2024-25 All-Tournament Selections |
D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead
Nov. 1-3 at Billings, Mont. (Montana State Billings, Host)
Alaska Anchorage: Tyler Burraston
MSU Billings: Famous Lefthand; Kael Robinson
D2CCA Canadian Tipoff Classic
Nov. 1-3 at Langley, B.C. (Simon Fraser, Host)
Saint Martin’s: Myles Samuels; Jaden Nielsen-Skinner; Jayshawn Moore
West Region Crossover
Nov. 8-9 at Bellingham, Wash. (Western Washington, Host)
Simon Fraser: Luke Howard
Western Washington: Will Wilson (MVP); Grant Kepley; Trevor White
| 2024-25 GNAC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team |
| Preseason Player of the Year: Jalen Tot, Montana State Billings |
| Name |
School |
Position |
Height |
Year |
Hometown |
Previous School |
| Dillon Barrientos |
Alaska Anchorage |
Guard |
6-1 |
Senior |
Santa Clarita, CA |
College of the Canyons |
| Bishop Tosi |
Alaska Anchorage |
Forward |
6-6 |
Junior |
Anchorage, AK |
Bellevue College |
| Jordan Clark |
Central Washington |
Guard |
6-2 |
Sophomore |
Renton, WA |
Seattle Christian |
| Maverick Sanders |
Central Washington |
Forward |
6-6 |
Sophomore |
Spokane, WA |
Mt. Spokane |
| Famous Lefthand |
Montana State Billings |
Guard |
6-3 |
Senior |
Crow Agency, MT |
United Tribes Tech. Coll. |
| Jalen Tot |
Montana State Billings |
Guard |
6-0 |
Senior |
Dallas, TX |
Dawson CC |
| Ryzin Bergersen |
Northwest Nazarene |
Guard |
6-4 |
Senior |
Boise, ID |
Borah |
| Aaron Murphy |
Northwest Nazarene |
Forward |
6-7 |
Senior |
Tracy, CA |
Modesto Christian |
| Jaden Nielsen-Skinner |
Saint Martin's |
Guard |
5-10 |
Senior |
Salem, OR |
Portland State |
| Myles Samuels |
Saint Martin's |
Guard |
6-5 |
Junior |
West Palm Beach, FL |
Northeast Oklahoma A&M |
| Owen Moriarty |
Seattle Pacific |
Guard |
6-2 |
Junior |
Seattle, WA |
O'Dea |
| Jaxon Nap |
Seattle Pacific |
Guard |
6-7 |
Junior |
Newcastle, WA |
Montana |
| Jason Gallant |
Western Oregon |
Guard |
6-4 |
Senior |
Simi Valley, CA |
Colorado Christian |
| Tijan Saine |
Western Washington |
Guard |
5-11 |
Sophomore |
Everett, WA |
Mariner |
| Will Wilson |
Western Washington |
Guard |
6-4 |
Senior |
Lorton, VA |
Mt. Hood CC |