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WWU continues historic journey, hosts Saint Martin's and Western Oregon
Feb. 12, 2013
WWU Basketball Team on 22-0 Roll - Q13 FOX BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Continuing its history making season, the Western Washington University men's basketball team makes two home appearances this week at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus, meeting Saint Martin's University on Thursday, Feb. 14 (7 p.m.) and Western Oregon University on Saturday, Feb. 16 (7 p.m.) in a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests. The games will be carried live on KBAI Radio (AM 930 - Bellingham, www.930kbai.com) with Doug Lange providing the play-by-play and Mark Scholten handling the color commentary. A webcast and live stats are also available at www.wwuvikings.com. The Vikings, the defending national champions, are ranked No.2 for the fourth straight week in the National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll after posting road wins last week over Northwest Nazarene, 70-59, and arch-rival Central Washington, 92-82. They have been ranked among the Top 10 in all 11 weekly polls this season, bettering the school record of 10 set during the 2005-06 campaign. WWU's current No.2 rating matches the school's highest ever. The Vikings were ranked No.2 one time during the 2005-06 campaign for a total of five counting four this season. Overall, they are working on a school-record 19 straight Top 25 weekly rankings. WWU, unbeaten in 22 games this season, has won 28 straight overall, beginning with six to end its 2011-12 national title run. Both the start and streak broke school records set during the 1971-72 campaign as well as conference marks. The Vikings lead the GNAC standings at 13-0, two and one-half games ahead of second-place and No.5 nationally ranked Seattle Pacific. The Vikings are 11-0 at home this season and are working on a 21-game winning streak at Carver Gym. That tied the school record set from 1970 to 1972 and is four shy of the conference standard set by Humboldt State between Nov. 24, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003. WWU's first-half conference start of 9-0 was just the second in GNAC history and only the fourth for either half. The Vikings were undefeated during the second half of league play in 2001-02. Seventeen of WWU's wins this season have been by 10 or more points, the other margins being seven in overtime, six, four, three and one. The Vikings rank among the top 20 nationally in seven team statistical categories. They are No.3 in 3-point percentage defense (28.0), No.5 in scoring margin (18.8), No.7 in scoring offense (87.1), No.8 in field-goal percentage (50.2), No.11 in rebound margin (8.5), No.13 in blocked shots (5.1) and No.17 in 3-point percentage (40.0). WWU leads the GNAC in scoring offense, scoring margin, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage (.746), 3-point percentage defense, steals (8.9), offensive rebounds (13.4) and blocked shots.
Senior guard John Allen, who was ill and did not score in 18 minutes Saturday at Central Washington, paces the Vikings in points per game at 16.7, second in the GNAC. He also leads the team in assists at 4.0, fourth in the conference, and treys at 2.2 (48). He is shooting 87.5 percent (42-of-48) at the free-throw line. Allen was picked as the preseason GNAC Player of the Year and was a Division II Bulletin Super 16 selection. He has scored 1,266 career points, which ranks 14th among WWU leaders, and needs seven to move into 13th (Rory Blanche, 1,273, 2008-12) Allen had 38 points in a 91-81 win at Western Oregon on Jan. 17. It was his sixth career outing with 30 or more with the school record being nine. He scored a career-high 43 points, the second-highest figure in school history and four off the school record, against Simon Fraser on Jan. 2, 2011. Senior forward Paul Jones is averaging 14.6 points, eighth in the league, and 6.1 rebounds, ninth in the GNAC. He is third among GNAC field-goal shooters at 57.5 percent (126-219). Jones scored 18 points in an 86-85 win over Central Washington on Jan. 10, including the buzzer-beating winning layup, and had his fourth double-double of the season versus the Wildcats on Feb. 9, finishing with 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Junior guard Richard Woodworth is averaging 11.0 points after scoring 45 on 16-of-26 floor accuracy in last week's two wins to earn GNAC co-Player of the Week accolades. He ranks among the GNAC top 10 in two categories, leading in 3-point accuracy (50.9 percent, 27-of-53) and being fifth in free throw shooting (85.9 percent, 55-of-64). Rounding out the starting five, which senior center Chris Mitchell is averaging 9.1 points and 6.1 rebounds, and junior forward Austin Bragg, a transfer from Clark CC, is averaging 9.3 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds, third in the GNAC. Bragg has had a GNAC and team-best five double-doubles in points and rebounds this season, including a 20-point, 11-rebound effort against Seattle Pacific on Feb. 2. Mitchell, who was recently named a first-team Capital One Academic All-District choice, is third among league leaders in blocked shots at 1.2 (27) and Bragg is fifth at 1.1 (25). Outstanding contributions off the bench have come from senior guard Rico Wilkins, who is averaging 9.8 points on 41.7 percent 3-point shooting (35-of-84); junior guard Cameron Severson, who is averaging 7.7 points on 54.4 floor accuracy (62-of-114) and 4.7 rebounds; and sophomore forward Anye Turner, a transfer from South Puget Sound CC, who is third in the league in blocks at 1.2 (27) and is hitting 61.2 percent (30-of-49) of his field goals. Wilkins has had 10 double-figure point games this season, scoring 24 at Central Washington on Feb. 9, and Severson nine. Saint Martin's is 7-13 overall and 3-9 in league play. The Saints have dropped five of their last six games. Coach Keith Cooper (10th year, 113-155) has two returning starters, 6-5 senior forward Roger O'Neill (15.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1,102 career points) and 5-10 senior guard Brady Bomber (7.2 ppg, 3.8 apg), a graduate of Lynden High School. Another solid player back is 6-2 senior guard Eric Taylor (11.3 ppg). Two top SMU transfers are 5-10 junior guard Evan Coulter (10.5 ppg, graduate of Burlington-Edison High School) from Whatcom CC and 6-8 junior center Rei Jensen (9.3 ppg,6.8 rpg, 1.5 bpg) from Mount Hood CC. WWU leads the series, 123-6, winning the last six meetings. The Vikings won 104-56 at Lacey on Jan. 19. Western Oregon is 9-11 overall (Feb. 14 at Simon Fraser) and 4-8 in conference play, losing eight of its last 12 games following a 7-3 start. The Wolves are led by 6-5 redshirt freshman Andy Avgi, who is averaging 15.7 points on 57.3 percent field-goal shooting and 5.4 rebounds. A solid transfer for second-year coach Brady Bergeson (27-21) is 6-1 junior guard Rodney Webster (10.6 ppg) from Fresno City College. Two freshmen making big contributions are 6-1 guard Devon Alexander (10.0 ppg, 2.4 spg) and 6-6 forward Jordan Wiley (9.4 ppg) WWU leads the series, 38-14, winning 91-81 at Monmouth, Ore., on Jan. 17. SENIOR APPRECIATION DAY - MARCH 2: Six WWU seniors will be honored prior to the Vikings' final home regular season game on Saturday, March 2, versus Simon Fraser. The game is being televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network at CBSSports.com. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. with the senior festivities scheduled to begin at 12:20 p.m. The half dozen seniors are guard John Allen, forward Damien Fisher, forward Paul Jones, center Chris Mitchell, forward Cameron Mitchell and guard Rico Wilkins. TOP 10 RANKING: WWU has been ranked among the Top 10 in all 11 weekly polls this season, breaking the school record of 10 set during the 2005-06 campaign. The Vikings' current No.2 rating, its fourth straight this season, matches the school's highest ever. WWU was ranked No.2 one time during the 2005-06 season. In all, WWU is working on a school-record string of 19 straight Top 25 weekly rankings. 20 WIN SEASONS: WWU reached 20 wins for the 15th time in school history in Tony Dominguez' first year as head coach. Brad Jackson accomplished that feat 12 times during his 27 years as coach and Chuck Randall did it twice in 18 seasons. TWO UNBEATENS LEFT: WWU is one of two unbeaten Division II teams remaining in the country. The other is No.1-rated Metro State (20-0). They are the only undefeated squads in the three NCAA divisions. STREAKS AND START: The Vikings are working on a school and GNAC-record 28-game winning streak over the last two seasons. WWU also has won 21 straight home games (11-0 this season), tying the school standard set in 1970-72 and four shy of the conference standard. The Vikings' unbeaten start of 22-0 broke the school record of 21 set in 1971-72. WILKINS NOMINEE FOR "DARK HORSE DUNKER" COMPETITION ON ESPN: WWU senior guard Rico Wilkins is one of the nominees for the "State Farm Dark Horse Dunker" competition. The nominees are under-the-radar players who have what it takes to compete against the D-I field in Atlanta. The winner will participate in the Denny's Slam Dunk Competition at the State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships in Atlanta at 7 p.m. ET April 4 on ESPN. Sixteen dunkers have been selected to compete in the "State Farm Dark Horse Dunker" Facebook bracket, which is a five-week knockout competition. Fans will determine the winner by voting during each round at the official Facebook page (facebook.com/CollegeSlam). Wilkins is facing-off against Northwood's Ra'Shad James in round one. To watch James and Wilkins in action and to vote for them or any of the other competitors visit (facebook.com/CollegeSlam). Voting for round one ends Monday, Feb. 25. Wilkins, who won the slam-dunk contest at the school's annual Viking Jam in October, is coming off the bench to average 9.8 points on 41.7 percent 3-point shooting (35-of-84) for the defending NCAA Division II national champion Vikings, who are unbeaten in 22 games this season and ranked No.2 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll. Two years in a row, the State Farm Dark Horse Dunker moved on to win the entire Denny's Slam Dunk Competition. Last year, James Justice from Martin Methodist College won the 16-player Dark Horse Dunker bracket before bringing down the house in New Orleans, while Jacob Tucker of Illinois College was named the 2011 champion. Both dunkers are now members of the Harlem Globetrotters. THREE-DOT NOTES: The Central Washington game was televised live regionally on ROOT Sports before a sellout crowd of 2,320 ... Allen and Jones have each had 17 double-figure point games this season, and Woodworth 15 ... Allen was named Most Valuable Player at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic and he and Woodworth were co-MVPs at the WWU Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic ... Also picked all-tournament at South Point was Mitchell ... Allen, Bragg, Jones and Woodworth have each earned GNAC POW recognition this season, Allen twice. The Vikings received one first-place vote in the NABC Preseason Top 25 while being picked No.6 ... WWU was tabbed No.8 nationally in the Division II Bulletin preseason poll ... The Vikings will host Simon Fraser, the NCAA's first international member, in a nationally televised game on the CBS Sports Network (CBSSports.com) on March 2 (1 p.m.) ... WWU, which is the GNAC's defending regular season champion, was picked second behind Seattle Pacific in the league's preseason coaches' poll. WWU tied for the GNAC title in 2002 and 2005, won it outright in 2009 and took the regular-season crown in 2012. WWU EARNS GNAC TEAM HONOR TWICE: The Vikings earned GNAC Team of the Week honors for Dec. 30-Jan. 5 and Jan. 27-Feb. 2, both while posting wins over Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific. MSUB was the last team to beat WWU, winning 82-78 on March 2, 2012, in the GNAC tournament semifinals at Lacey. ALLEN 1,000 AND BEYOND: John Allen became the 23rd Viking to reach the 1,000 plateau in career scoring, and just the fifth who did not play four seasons at WWU to accomplish that feat, on Dec. 8 vs. Quest BC. Allen currently ranks 14th at 1,266, and is 16th in assists at 297. His six games with 30 points or more rank second in school history to Mike Franza (1970-73), who had nine. PRE-SEASON HONORS: John Allen was picked as the preseason GNAC Player of the Year and was a Division II Bulletin Super 16 pick. Besides Allen, Paul Jones and Richard Woodworth were named to the GNAC preseason all-conference team. COACH DOMINGUEZ: Tony Dominguez (22-0, first rookie coach in school history to win 20 games), who was named GNAC Coach of the Month for January, is in his first season as head coach at WWU after being an associate head coach the previous two seasons and an assistant 17 years overall, all at WWU. During that stretch, the Vikings posted a 317-165 (.658) record, made six regional appearances and won five conference championships. WWU took the NCAA II national crown in 2012, winning a school record 31 games, and reached the national semifinals in 2001. As an assistant, Dominguez was responsible for recruiting, scouting, coordinating scheduling, and budgeting. He played a major role in the recruiting classes of past 12 seasons. Those teams had a winning percentage of .711 (246-100). FINAL SEASON FOR VISSER: This campaign will be the last for Rob Visser, who is in his 19th year as an assistant for the Vikings. A member of the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame, Visser had 1,026 points, 725 rebounds (fourth) and 168 blocked shots (second) during his three-year career. TOUGH EXHIBITIONS: The Vikings accounted well for themselves in a pair of road exhibition games against NCAA I opponents. They lost 88-78 at Washington on Oct. 24 and fell 105-87 at Duke, which has been ranked No.1 in the AP poll. WWU trailed by just two points, 74-72, against Washington with 4:30 to play, and versus Duke was within 11, 69-58, with 13:58 to go and 14, 99-85, with 2:13 remaining. The 18-point margin was the closest any defending DII national championship team had gotten to Duke since the Blue Devils began inviting those squads for exhibitions six years ago. In the combined second half of the games with Washington and Duke, the Vikings trailed by just four points. John Allen and Chris Mitchell each scored a team-high 17 points against Washington and Paul Jones added 15. Jones led the Vikings versus Duke with 20 points, 14 in the second half. Allen had 17, Woodworth 13 and Rico Wilkins added 12 off the bench. NATIONAL CHAMPS! WWU won the 2012 national championship, defeating Montevallo, Ala., 72-65, on March 24 in a nationally televised game at Northern Heights, Kentucky. The Vikings finished 31-5, the win total being the most in school history. They won their final six games following a loss to Montana State Billings in the GNAC Tournament semifinal after winning the league's regular-season crown. It was the first NCAA basketball title at any level for a school from the state of Washington since Puget Sound won the NCAA II championship in 1976. Brad Jackson, who was the unanimous DII National Coach of the Year, resigned in late August to become an assistant at University of Washington, ending a 27-year, 518-win coaching tenure at WWU. WEST REGION AT NCAA II ELITE EIGHT: A representative of the West Region has either won the national men's basketball title or been runner-up in each of the last four years. WWU won the title in 2012 after BYU Hawaii reached the final in 2011, and Cal Poly Pomona took the crown in 2010 after getting to the final in 2009. RADIO BROADCASTS: Selected WWU games are being broadcast this season on KBAI Radio (930 AM) with Doug Lange handling the play-by-play and Mark Scholten providing the color commentary. They also can be heard on the internet at www.wwuvikings.com. ON THE WEB: All Viking home games are being video streamed live and are available free at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wwu.portal#. For up-to-date statistics, box scores of every game, records, stories, etc., see the WWU Athletic web page at www.wwuvikings.com. Up-to-date league standings and statistics can be found on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web page at www.gnacsports.com. PROBABLE WWU STARTERS & TOP RESERVES: G Richard Woodworth, 6-3, **Jr., Bellevue, WA/Newport G John Allen, 6-1, **Sr., Brier, WA/Mountlake Terrace/WSU C Chris Mitchell, 6-9, ***Sr., Everson, WA/Nooksack Valley F Austin Bragg, 6-9, Jr., JC, Longview, WA/Mark Morris/Clark CC F Paul Jones, 6-4, *Sr., Kent, WA/Kent-Meridian/Whatcom CC MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIES: Feb. 7 - WWU 70, Northwest Nazarene 59 at Nampa, Id. Allen and Woodworth combined for 39 points as WWU tied the school's unbeaten start record that had stood for 41 years by defeating Northwest Nazarene, 70-59, in a GNAC contest at Johnson Sports Center on the NNU campus. The Vikings, ranked No.2 nationally, improved to 21-0, tying the WWU standard set in 1971-72. It was their 27th straight win overall, a school and conference record. WWU, which leads the GNAC at 12-0, ended the contest with a 31-12 run after the Crusaders had led, 47-39, with 12:53 remaining. Allen finished with 20 points and Woodworth had 19, Allen having 11 and Woodworth nine during the closing run. NNU fell to 9-11 overall and 3-9 in league play. It was the seventh straight loss following a 9-4 start for the Crusaders, who got 15 points from Kenny Jones. Woodworth drove the lane for a layup to put the Vikings ahead for good, 54-52, with 5:59 left. The Vikings made 11 of their last 12 free throws, Allen hitting five, Turner four and Woodworth two. NNU opened the second half with an 11-2 run for its biggest lead of eight, 47-39. Woodworth scored eight of his 10 first-half points in the first 3:17 as WWU took a 10-4 lead to open the game. The Vikings led by as many as 10, 35-25, following an 11-2 run with 3:33 remaining in the period. But NNU scored the last seven points to trail by just three, 35-32, at halftime. WWU upped its series advantage to 23-8 with its 11th win in the last 14 meetings. The Vikings had a 32-27 rebound advantage with Allen grabbing eight. Feb. 9 - WWU 92, Central Washington 82 at Ellensburg Woodworth tied for game-high honors with a career-high 26 points and Wilkins came off the bench to score 24 as WWU remained undefeated with a 92-82 triumph over arch-rival Central Washington in a GNAC contest before a crowd of 2,355 at Nicholson Pavilion on the CWU campus. The Vikings, ranked No.2 nationally, are now 22-0, eclipsing the previous best start in school history of 21-0 in 1971-72. Jones added 16 points and a game and career high16 rebounds for WWU, which leads the GNAC at 13-0, and has won a school and conference-record 28 straight games dating back to last season. Forward Mark McLaughlin had 26 points for CWU, which slipped to 13-8 overall and 7-6 in the GNAC. Kevin Davis came off the bench to contribute 20 points and 13 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive boards. The big contributions of Woodworth and Wilkins helped the Vikings overcome the limited action of their leading scorer on the season, Allen, who was suffering from the stomach flu and did not score in 18 minutes of play. WWU trailed much of the first 13 minutes, being down 24-23 with seven minutes left in the first half. The Vikings then went on an 11-1 run, taking a 34-25 advantage on two Turner free throws with 4:42 left in the first half, and led the rest of the way, holding a 42-33 advantage at halftime. WWU ensured it maintained the lead by shooting 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field in the second half, with Woodworth, Wilkins and Jones combining to go 14-of-20. The Wildcats were within four early in the period, but were never closer than seven in the final 17 minutes, and trailed by as much as 17. Woodworth was 9-of-14 from the field and Wilkins 8-of-15, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. The Vikings held CWU to 36.9 percent (31-of-84) from the floor and 5-of-20 (25.0 percent) from beyond the arc. KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A volatile week for ranked teams in the NCAA Division II ranks spared the top four teams, as Metropolitan State will stay atop the rankings for a fourth consecutive week and the three that followed a week ago also retained their positions in the new NABC/Division II rankings. Metropolitan State kept its perfect record intact over a three-day span - its game on Friday had to be finished on Sunday due to a broken backboard - as did Western Washington as it picked up a key road win at Central Washington Saturday. West Liberty and Cal Poly Pomona also kept pace with a pair of victories as well. But with losses suffered by 13 of last week's top 25 teams, the changes begin at No. 5. Seattle Pacific moved up a spot and Florida Southern and Alabama Huntsville both moved up two places as a result of losses by Minnesota State and Indiana (Pa.). Minnesota State fell three places to No. 8, while the next two spots are occupied by East Stroudsburg and Saint Anselm. ESU is at its highest point ever in the rankings, while Saint Anselm is making its first appearance among the top ten since Nov. 30, 2004. The second ten begins with Indiana (Pa.), followed by Indianapolis and Bellarmine of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, a league that has five teams in this week's Top 25. Winston-Salem State and Winona State hold the next two positions, followed by the first return entry to the rankings in Saint Leo at No. 16. The Lions are the first of four consecutive teams outside last week's Top 25 that are part of this week's along with No. 17 Gannon, No. 18 Drury and No. 19-ranked Dixie State. Lincoln Memorial comes in at No. 20, followed by newcomer Wisconsin-Parkside, Fort Lewis, Southern Indiana, North Alabama and Washburn. NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Feb. 12, 2013 - Regular season poll #11) Record Points Pvs 1. Metropolitan State, Colo. (13 first place votes) 21-0 397 1 2. Western Washington (3 first place votes) 22-0 387 2 3. West Liberty, W.Va. 22-1 365 3 4. Cal Poly Pomona 19-1 355 4 5. Seattle Pacific, Wash. 17-3 333 6 6. Florida Southern 18-2 322 8 7. Alabama-Huntsville 18-3 304 9 8. Minnesota State 19-3 277 5 9. East Stroudsburg, Pa. 19-2 273 13 10. Saint Anselm, N.H. 18-3 255 15 11. Indiana, Pa. 18-3 242 7 12. Indianapolis, Ind. 17-4 203 21 13. Bellarmine, Ky. 17-4 196 11 14. Winston-Salem State, N.C. 17-4 157 24 15. Winona State, Minn. 21-4 144 12 16. Saint Leo, Fla. 17-4 135 NR 17. Gannon, Pa. 19-4 127 NR 18. Drury, Mo. 17-4 105 NR 19. Dixie State, Utah 16-4 93 NR 20. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 16-4 84 16 21. Wisconsin-Parkside 16-5 74 NR 22. Fort Lewis, Colo. 15-4 61 20 23. Southern Indiana 16-5 57 10 24. North Alabama 17-4 44 24 25. Washburn, Kan. 15-5 43 17Dropped out: Adams State (14), Harding (18), Wayne State, Mich. (19), Kentucky Wesleyan (23), Dominican, N.Y. (25). Others receiving votes: Midwestern State (Texas) 31, Cal State-San Bernardino 27, Newman (Kan.) 19, Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 14, Wayne State (Mich.) 13, Franklin Pierce (N.H.) 12, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 10, Wingate (N.C.) 8, Adams State (Colo.) 7, Harding (Ark.) 6, Morehouse (Ga.) 6, Colorado Mesa 5, Benedict (S.C.) 3, Augustana (S.D.) 2, Fairmont State (W.Va.) 2, Dominican (N.Y.) 1, Rollins (Fla.) 1. Great Northwest Athletic Conference 2012-13 Men's Basketball Report Week 14 (Feb. 12, 2013)
Conference All
W L W L H A N
Western Washington 13 0 22 0 11-0 9-0 2-0
Seattle Pacific 10 2 17 3 8-1 8-1 1-1
Alaska Anchorage 8 5 15 6 12-2 3-4 0-0
Alaska Fairbanks 8 5 13 8 8-3 4-2 1-3
Central Washington 7 6 13 8 6-3 4-3 3-2
Montana State Billings 5 7 12 11 7-4 3-7 2-0
Western Oregon 4 8 9 11 7-5 1-6 1-0
Northwest Nazarene 4 9 10 11 6-4 3-7 1-0
Saint Martin's 3 9 7 13 4-4 1-6 2-3
Simon Fraser 1 12 6 15 5-6 1-8 0-1
LAST WEEK: Thursday - Alaska Anchorage 52 at Saint Martin's 60; Alaska Fairbanks 80 at Western Oregon 77; Simon Fraser 70 at Central Washington 86; Western Washington 70 at Northwest Nazarene 59. Saturday - Alaska Anchorage 79 at Western Oregon 73; Alaska Fairbanks 68 at Saint Martin's 67 (ot); Western Washington 92 at Central Washington 82; Seattle Pacific 78 at MSU Billings 69; Simon Fraser 75 at Northwest Nazarene 81. THIS WEEK: Thursday - Central Washington at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m.; Northwest Nazarene at MSU Billings, 5:15 p.m.; Saint Martin's at Western Washington; Western Oregon at Simon Fraser. Saturday - Alaska Fairbanks at Alaska Anchorage; Central Washington at MSU Billings, 7:30 p.m.; Northwest Nazarene at Seattle Pacific, 7:30 p.m.; Saint Martin's at Simon Fraser; Western Oregon at Western Washington. ALL-TOURNAMENT: SPU (Nov. 9-10) - David Downs, SPU (MVP); Jobi Wall, SPU; Mark McLaughlin, CWU. UAA (Nov. 9-10) - Teancum Stafford, UAA (MVP); Kyle Fossman, UAA; Liam Gibcus, UAA; Stefan Tica, UAF. BYU Hawaii (Nov. 16-17) - David Downs, SPU; Mark McLaughlin, CWU; Patrick Simon, SPU. UAF (Nov. 16-17) - Pat Voeut, UAF (MVP); Stefan Tica, UAF; Sergej Pucar, UAF. Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 21-24) - Kyle Fossman, UAA; Teancum Stafford, UAA. Chico State (Nov. 23-24) - David Downs, SPU; Jobi Wall, SPU. Corban Capital City (Nov. 23-24) - Andy Avgi, WOU (MVP); Jordan Wiley, WOU. WWU Chuck Randall Classic (Nov. 23-24) - John Allen, WWU (Co-MVP); Richard Woodworth, WWU (Co-MVP). South Point Classic (Dec. 18-19 at Las Vegas) - John Allen, WWU (MVP); Chris Mitchell, WWU. POLLS: NABC (Feb. 12) - 2. Western Washington, 5. Seattle Pacific. (Note: The first official NCAA West Regional poll, which will eventually determine the five at-large teams that will join the GNAC, CCAA and PacWest champions in the regionals will be released Wednesday, Feb. 20). DOUBLE-DOUBLES (Through Feb. 10): 5 - Austin Bragg, WWU. 4 - Jarrell Crayton, MSUB; Anto Olah, SFU; Paul Jones, WWU; Rei Jensen, SMU. 3 - Sergej Pucar, UAF; Kevin Rima, NNU; Brandon Magee, CWU. 2 - David Gebru, SFU; Liam Gibcus, SFU; Chris Mitchell, WWU; Sam Johnson, MSUB; David Downs, SPU. 1 - 17with 1. NATIONAL STATISTICS (Through Feb. 10): Team (Top 30): Scoring -7. Western Washington 87.1; 8. Central Washington 86.4. Scoring Defense - 22. Seattle Pacific 62.0. Scoring Margin - 5. Western Washington 18.8; 6. Seattle Pacific 14.6. Field Goal PCT. - 8. Western Washington 50.2; 29. Seattle Pacific 48.6. Three-Point Field Goals - 7. Alaska Anchorage 9.7; 22. Seattle Pacific 8.7. Three-Point Percentage - 8. Seattle Pacific 41.8; 13. Alaska Anchorage 40.8; 17. Western Washington 40.0. Three-Point Field Goal Defense - 3. Western Washington 28.0. Rebound Margin - 6. Seattle Pacific 10.4; 11. Western Washington 8.5. Assists - 7. Alaska Anchorage 18.6; 10. Seattle Pacific 18.3; 21. Alaska Fairbanks 16.6. Assist/Turnover Ratio - 3. Seattle Pacific 1.51; 9. Alaska Anchorage 1.38. Blocks - 13. Western Washington 5.1; 23. Northwest Nazarene 4.5. Fewest Turnovers - 4. Saint Martin's 10.3; 28. Seattle Pacific 12.1. Individuals (Top 30): Scoring - 7. Mark McLaughlin, CWU, 23.5. Three-Point Field Goals - 21. Jobi Wall, SPU, 2.95; 29. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 2.81. Three-Point PCT. - 3. Jobi Wall, SPU, 47.2; 11. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 44.7. Free Throw PCT. - 2. Jonathan Hawkins, NNU, 93.2; 27. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 86.9. Assists - 19. David Downs, SPU, 5.7. Steals - 24. Devon Alexander, WOU, 2.40. Assist/Turnover Ratio - 4. Kalob Hatcher, MSUB, 3.06; 11. Jordan Starr, CWU, 2.67; 15. Brady Bomber, SMU, 2.59; 18. Riley Stockton, SPU, 2.53; 26. Jalen Little, UAA, 2.39. GNAC RED LION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Richard Woodworth, Western Washington (G, 6-3, 185, Jr., Bellevue, WA - Newport) and Sergej Pucar, Alaska Fairbanks (C, 6-11, 265, Jr., Belgrade, Serbia) .... Woodworth scored 26 points as the Vikings ran their win streak to 28 games with a 92-82 win at Central Washington Saturday. In two games, Woodworth netted 45 points, hitting 16 of 26 shots, including four of nine three-pointers. He also had eight rebounds and team-highs of five assists and four steals .... Pucar led the Nanooks to a road sweep at Western Oregon (80-77) and Saint Martin's (68-67 in overtime) scoring 36 points. Pucar made 13 of 22 field goal attempts, including four of eight three-pointers. He also had nine rebounds, three assists and two steals as the Nanooks moved into a tie for third place in the GNAC standings with Alaska Anchorage going into a contest this coming Saturday against their arch-rivals in Anchorage. HONORABLE MENTION: Will Bond, Saint Martin's; Kevin Davis, Central Washington. TEAM NOTES Alaska Anchorage: Teancum Stafford led the Seawolves in scoring (37) and blocked shots (3) and ranked second in rebounding (14) as UAA split two road games. Stafford also hit on seven of 13 three-point shots. Kyle Fossman chipped in with 28 points. Alaska Fairbanks: In addition to Pucar's 36 points (See Player of the Week notes), the Nanooks got 26 points from Dominique Brinson and 24 points from Pat Voeut in winning two nail-biters, defeating Western Oregon 80-77 and Saint Martin's 68-67 in overtime. Brinson made six of 14 from the arc. Andrew Kelly had 25 rebounds in the two wins. Central Washington: Kevin Davis had 35 points, 22 rebounds and six blocks as the Wildcats split two home games. He made 14 of 20 shots and had 12 of his 22 rebounds off the offensive glass. Mark McLaughlin had 47 points and 16 rebounds. Montana State Billings: Omar McDade led the Yellowjackets with 21 points in a 78-69 home loss to Seattle Pacific. McDade made five of eight treys, but the rest of the team was just two of 16 from the arc. MSUB had just four turnovers, but was outrebounded by the Falcons 40-22. Northwest Nazarene: Kenny Jones scored 30 points and Kevin Rima had 27 points and 21 rebounds as the Crusaders split two contests. Jordan Nicholes and Jonathan Hawkins had 25 and 23 points, respectively. Saint Martin's: Will Bond scored 32 points, Roger O'Neill netted 30 and Evan Coulter scored 29 as the Saints nearly pulled off a sweep of the Alaska schools. Bond made six of 11 three-pointers and O'Neill had 15 rebounds and seven assists. Seattle Pacific: David Downs scored 21 points and Corey Hutsen had 19 as the Falcons improved to 9-2, including 8-1 on opponents' home courts. Hutsen made eight of nine field goal attempts. Simon Fraser: Taylor Dunn led the Clan with 29 points and 11 rebounds in road losses at Ellensburg and Nampa. Dunn, who played his freshman season at CWU, had 18 points and seven rebounds against the Wildcats. Anto Olah, Matt Raivio and Dillon Hamilton had 23, 21 and 20 points, respectively. Western Oregon: Kolton Nelson made 14 of 22 shots in single-digit home losses to Alaska Fairbanks (80-77) and Alaska Anchorage (79-73). Nelson finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds, while Andy Avgi had 31 points and 14 rebounds. Western Washington: With John Allen ill and being held scoreless in 18 minutes, Rico Wilkins came off the bench to score 24 points to help lead the Vikings to a 92-82 win over Central Washington before 2,355 fans at Nicholson Pavilion. In two games, Wilkins had 30 points, making six of 10 three-pointers. Paul Jones had 25 points and 18 rebounds. PERFECT STARTS: Western Washington is just the second team in GNAC history to complete the first half of its conference season unbeaten. Alaska Anchorage accomplished that feat in the 2007-08 season. Only two teams have gone 9-0 in the second half - the 2001-02 Western Washington team which didn't qualify for the playoffs and the 2007-08 Central Washington squad. WWU's women also finished the first half 9-0, the first time men's and women's teams at the same school had been unbeaten at the midway point of their conference schedules.
Team (Year) 1st 2nd Fin. Alaska Anchorage (2007-08) 9-0 16-2 Central Washington (2007-08) 9-0 15-3 Western Washington (2001-02) 9-0 15-3 Western Washington (2012-13) 9-0 TBA GNAC FINISHES AT .726: GNAC teams completed the non-conference portion of their schedules with a .726 winning percentage (61-23), the second best mark in the 12-year history of the conference. Conference teams were 36-20 in Division II contests, including 25-14 in regional counters (16-12 against the PacWest, 2-1 against CCAA teams and 7-1 in games against schools that count as regional counters due to the NCAA "contiguous" state rule). Nine of the 10 conference teams posted winning records in the non-conference portion of their schedules. The 10th school - Saint Martin's - finished with a .500 non-conference record. GNAC (2) vs. CCAA (1): UAF 1-0, SPU 1-1. CCAA (1) vs. GNAC (2): San Francisco State 1-0, Chico State 0-1, CSU Monterey Bay 0-1. GNAC (16) vs. PacWest (12): SPU 4-0, WWU 2-0, CWU 3-1, SMU 2-1, NNU 2-2, WOU 1-2, MSUB 1-3, SFU 1-3. PacWest (12) vs. GNAC (16): Grand Canyon 2-0, Fresno Pacific 1-0, Dominican 1-0, Dixie State 1-0, Azusa Pacific 2-1, Chaminade 2-1, Hawaii Hilo 1-2, Academy of Art 1-3, BYU-Hawaii 1-3, Point Loma Nazarene 0-1, Hawaii Pacific 0-2, Notre Dame de Namur 0-3.
Playoff Region Elite 8 Year Non-Conference Berths W-L W-L 2001-02 43-48 (.473) 2 2-2 2002-03 51-39 (.567) 2 1-2 2003-04 58-35 (.624) 3 5-2 1-1 2004-05 60-31 (.659) 3 3-3 2005-06 65-27 (.707) 5 5-4 1-1 2006-07 57-44 (.564) 3 1-3 2007-08 60-36 (.625) 3 4-2 1-1 2008-09 62-36 (.633) 3 1-3 2009-10 73-24 (.753) 3 1-3 2010-11 48-34 (.585) 3 2-3 2011-12 59-29 (.670) 4 6-3 3-0 2012-13 61-23 (.726) ??? ??? ??? Totals (10 years) 34 31-30 6-3PREVIOUS RED LION PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Week of Nov. 5-11: David Downs, Seattle Pacific (G, 6-2, Jr., Kirkland, WA - Bellevue Christian) was named the Most Valuable Player leading the Falcons to the team title in Sodexo Tip Off Classic at Brougham Pavilion. Downs scored 31 points and also had a team-high nine assists as SPU debuted with 20- and 19-point victories. Downs made eight of 14 shots, including four of eight treys. He also led SPU with three steals and had just two turnovers. Week of Nov. 12-18: Pat Voeut, Alaska Fairbanks (G, 5-11, Jr., Bellingham, WA - Whatcom CC) scored 46 points and also had 19 assists, nine rebounds and five steals leading the Nanooks to the team title in the GCI Alaska Invitational at Fairbanks. Voeut, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, made 17 of 26 shots, including three of six three-pointers. Week of Nov. 19-25: Andy Avgi, Western Oregon (F, 6-5, Fr., Woodburn, OR) scored 52 points and also had 15 rebounds in earning MVP honors in the Capital City Classic. Avgi, who leads the GNAC in field goal percentage shooting 71.0 percent (44 of 62), made 20 of 25 shots (including 10 of 11 against Corban), including his only three-pointer. He also blocked two shots and had three steals. Week of Nov. 26-Dec. 2: Devon Alexander, Western Oregon (G, 6-1, Fr., Fontana, CA) came off the bench to score 48 points, including 28 in a 118-113 triple overtime win over Central Washington Saturday as the Wolves extended their win streak to six games with a pair of home victories. Alexander scored nine of WOU's 13 points in the decisive third overtime period. He also had 13 steals, including a GNAC-record tying eight (for conference contests) in a 92-84 win against Northwest Nazarene Thursday. In the two contests, Alexander made 16 of 29 shots, including four of six three-pointers. He also converted on 12 of 13 foul shots, grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists. Week of Dec. 3-9: Kenny Jones, Northwest Nazarene (G, 6-2, Sr., Los Angeles, CA) scored 43 points in wins over College of Idaho and New Hope Christian. Jones had 27 against the Coyotes, making nine of 16 shots as NNU extended its win streak over its county rivals to seven. He then netted 16 points and had four steals in a 20-point win over New Hope Christian. Week of Dec. 10-16: Jarrell Crayton, MSU Billings (F, 6-7, Sr., Bellevue, NE - Boise State) had 14 points and 14 rebounds accounting for 23.0 and 36.8 percent of team totals in a 71-61 loss at Grand Canyon. Crayton made seven of 13 shots and also had a pair of steals. Crayton's rebound total was the most for a MSUB player since Robert Mayes grabbed 15 against SPU on Feb. 18. Week of Dec. 17-23: John Allen, Western Washington (G, 190, Sr., Brier, WA - Mountlake Terrace) scored 47 points leading the Vikings to wins over 14th ranked Drury (72-69) and Central Oklahoma (103-74) in the South Point Holiday Hoop Classic in Las Vegas. Allen, who was named the tournament's MVP, made 14 of 28 shots, including nine of 17 three-point shots. He also had six assists and three steals. The two wins extended WWU's win streak to 15, matching the second longest in school and GNAC history. Week of Dec. 24-30: Paul Jones, Western Washington (F, 6-4, Sr., Kent, WA - Whatcom CC) scored 26 points and also had six rebounds and a pair of blocks to lead Western Washington to a 98-62 win over Thompson Rivers Sunday as the Vikings extended their win streak to 16. That is the second longest win streak in GNAC history and is also the second longest in WWU school history. The Vikings have also won 15 straight home games, which equals the sixth longest streak in conference history. Week of Dec. 31-Jan. 6: Pat Voeut, Alaska Fairbanks (G, 5-11, 170, Jr., Bellingham, WA - Whatcom CC) and Roger O'Neill, Saint Martin's (F, 6-5, Sr., Edmonds, WA - Meadowdale) ... Voeut scored 31 points in a pair of road wins as the Nanooks snapped a 17-game losing streak on opponents' home courts with victories at Central Washington (82-75) and Northwest Nazarene (74-55). Voeut converted on 12 of 20 shots and also led his team in assists (8) and steals (6). O'Neill tied his career high with 24 points in a 71-59 home win against Western Oregon Saturday. He scored SMU's first nine points of the game and finished the first half with 16 points as the Saints built a 39-23 lead at the break. Week of Jan. 7-13: Dominique Brinson, Alaska Fairbanks (G, 6-2, 180, Sr., Juneau, AK - College of the Redwoods) scored 44 points, including 28 in a 89-56 win over Western Oregon, as the Nanooks ran their win streak to six games with a pair of home victories. Brinson blistered the nets for a 61.5 percentage (16 of 26) converting on nine of 17 treys. He made six of eight from the arc against the Wolves while also adding seven rebounds and six assists in Saturday's victory. Week of Jan. 14-20: John Allen, Western Washington (G, 6-1, 190, Sr., Brier, WA - Mountlake Terrace) scored 46 points including 38 in the Vikings' 91-81 road win at Western Oregon Thursday. His 38 points against the Wolves was most by a GNAC player in nearly two years. In the two games he made 17 of 29 field goals attempts, including 6 of 10 three-pointers. He also had 10 assists, eight rebounds and three steals. Week of Jan. 21-27: Jobi Wall, Seattle Pacific (W, 6-6, 215, Jr., Arvada, CO) scored 43 points, acquiring all but four from the arc where he made 13 of 19 (68.4 percent). Wall had a career-high 28 points in Thursday's 78-72 overtime win over Western Oregon, connecting on eight of 10 treys, one shy of the school-record. He made five of nine three-pointers and had 15 points in Saturday's 82-54 rout of Saint Martin's. Week of Jan. 28-Feb. 3: Kyle Fossman, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-0, 180, Jr., Haines, AK) and Austin Bragg, Western Washington (F, 6-8, Jr., Longview, WA - Mark Morris) ... Fossman scored 41 points, leading the Seawolves to wins over Central Washington (98-69) and Northwest Nazarene (73-72). He made 14 of 28 shots, including seven of 13 three-pointers extending his string of games with a three-pointer to 27. He also had 12 rebounds, posting a career-high nine against the Wildcats, and a team-best four steals. Fossman currently ranks 37th in GNAC history in three-pointers made (134) and sixth in three-point percentage (46.0) ... Bragg, who leads the GNAC in double-doubles with five, scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds in Saturday's overtime win over Seattle Pacific. On Thursday, he blocked four shots to key WWU's defensive effort in an 86-69 win against MSU Billings. Over his last five games, he is shooting 68.4 percent from the field (26-38) and 89.5 percent from the foul line (17-19). He has had at least one block (13 total) and at least one steal (14 total) in seven consecutive games. 2012-13 GNAC TEAMS OF THE WEEK Aug. 27-Sept. 2 - Montana State Billings (Women's Soccer). Sept. 3-9 - Western Washington (Volleyball). Sept. 10-16 - Northwest Nazarene (Men's Soccer). Sept. 17-23 - Central Washington (Volleyball). Sept. 24-30 - Central Washington (Football). Oct. 1-7 - Western Oregon (Women's Soccer). Oct. 8-14 - Simon Fraser (Men's Soccer). Oct. 15-21 - Alaska Anchorage (Men's & Women's Cross Country). Oct. 22-28 - Western Oregon (Volleyball). Oct. 29-Nov. 4 - Western Washington (Women's Soccer). Nov. 5-11 - Simon Fraser (Women's Basketball). Nov. 12-18 - Alaska Fairbanks (Men's Basketball). Nov. 19-25 - Alaska Anchorage (Men's Basketball). Nov. 26-Dec. 2 - Seattle Pacific (Men's Basketball). Dec. 3-9 - Northwest Nazarene (Men's Basketball). Dec. 10-16 - Northwest Nazarene (Women's Basketball). Dec. 17-23 -Western Washington (Women's Basketball). Dec. 24-30 - MSU Billings (Women's Basketball). Dec. 31-Jan. 6 - Western Washington (Men's Basketball). Jan. 7-13 - Alaska Fairbanks (Men's Basketball). Jan. 14-20 - Saint Martin's (Women's Basketball). Jan. 21-27 - Alaska Anchorage (Women's Basketball). Jan. 28-Feb. 3 - Western Washington (Men's Basketball). Feb. 4-10 - Simon Fraser (Women's Basketball). |
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Center Austin Bragg scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds as nationally ranked and undefeated Western Washington University jumped to an early lead and rolled to a 104-56 victory over Saint Martin's University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contest Saturday at Marcus Pavilion on the SMU campus.
Guard John Allen poured in a season-high 38 points and forward Paul Jones added a career-high 27 as nationally ranked and undefeated Western Washington University defeated Western Oregon University, 91-81, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball contest Thursday at the New P.E. Building on the WOU campus.
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