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Feb. 23, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

UPDATE: Having fallen one-half game out of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference lead, the Western Washington University men's basketball team plays host to Western Oregon on Wednesday (7 p.m.) on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium, then travels to Montana State Billings on Saturday (7 p.m. MT). Both games are GNAC counters.

The Vikings, No.3 in the latest NCAA Division II West Region rating, are 17-5 overall and tied for second with Central Washington in the GNAC standings at 9-3 behind Seattle Pacific at 10-3.

Western's three weeks atop the conference standings were its first there since the 2005-06 season. It has never won an outright GNAC title, tying for crowns in 2002 and 2005.

Last week, Western split a pair of games at home where it is 10-2 this season, defeating Alaska Fairbanks, 96-80, before being upset 88-77 in overtime by Alaska Anchorage. The Vikings have been beaten by just two points each in three of their other four losses.

Western has dropped two of its last three games, giving up an average of 84.3 points during that stretch while hitting just 8-of-35 (22.9 percent) on 3-pointers. For the season, the Vikings have allowed just 71.9 points and shot 33.5 percent (119-of-355) from beyond the arc.

Senior guard Ira Graham is averaging 18.6 points per game, which leads Western and ranks fifth among league scorers. A first-team GNAC all-star last season, he has scored double figures in all but two games, shooting 53.6 percent (143-of-267) from the field and averaging 3.3 assists.

Graham has scored 1,359 points during his four-year career, ninth among WWU leaders. He needs 77 points to move into eighth place.

Junior point guard Morris Anderson ranks sixth nationally and leads the GNAC in steals (2.9 avg.). He is second in the league in assists (5.9) and eighth in free throw shooting (81.4 percent, 57-of-70), while averaging 12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Senior center Calin Schell is averaging 11.0 points on 57.8 percent (96-of-166) field-goal shooting, and leads the team in both rebounds (7.7 avg.) and blocked shots (1.2) He ranks fifth among GNAC leaders in both rebounds and blocks and is ninth in floor accuracy. Over half (86) of his 170 boards have come on the offensive glass where he tops the league.

Junior forward Michael Duty is averaging 10.8 points and 4.5 rebounds; and senior forward Steve Alford is averaging 10.5 points on 45.5 percent (35-of-77) 3-point accuracy, which ranks second in the GNAC.

Reserve senior post-player David Brittinen is averaging 8.1 points and 1.1 blocks, while shooting 63.3 percent (69-of-109) from the field. He ranks third in the league in floor accuracy and sixth in blocks.

Western is averaging a league-best 88.0 points per game. The Vikings also top the GNAC in scoring margin (plus-16.2), rebound margin (plus-9.0), blocks (5.6), assists (18.6), steals (9.6) and 3-point percentage defense (32.6).

Western ranks among the top 10 nationally in six team statistical categories, being seventh in blocks and rebound margin, eighth in fewest fouls (15.2) and scoring, ninth in scoring margin and 10th in assists.

Western Oregon is 9-15 overall and 3-10 in GNAC action, winning just twice over the last 12 games. One of those victories was by one point, 72-71 over Montana State Billings, and the other by two points over the Vikings, 85-83, on Feb. 14 at Monmouth, Ore.

WOU returns three starters from last year's 15-12 team. They are second-team GNAC all-star 6-8 senior forward Travis Kuhns (17.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.9 apg), 6-7 junior center Mike McLaughlin (11.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 51.7 FG Pct.) and 6-5 senior guard Sam Kelly (10.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg).

A top newcomer for coach Craig Stanger (4th year, 43-62) is 6-2 freshman guard Blair Wheadon (11.7 ppg, 3.1 apg).

Western holds a 32-12 series advantage over the Wolves.

Montana State Billings, which won only one game last year (1-28) and finished last (1-17) in the GNAC, has begun to turn things around under new head coach George Pfeifer (19th year, 312-262), who directed NCAA I Idaho for the last three seasons following 15 years at Lewis-Clark State College ID.

Pfeifer's squad is 9-14 overall (Feb. 25 host Seattle Pacific) and 4-8 in league play with nine of its losses being by five or less points. The Yellowjackets, who have dropped their last five games, are 9-5 at home this season.

MSUB has a number of standout transfers, led by 6-2 senior guard Michael Hall, a starter at Idaho last season, who is averaging 17.6 points per game. Another NCAA I transfer is 6-6 junior forward Travis Bunker from Wyoming, who averages 13.8 points, 8.3 rebounds (3rd in GNAC) and 3.8 assists.

The Yellowjackets also picked up two players from Western Oklahoma State College, 6-7 junior center Derrick Wright (15.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 52.2 FG Pct.) and 6-0 sophomore guard Mario Burns (10.6 ppg, 6.7 apg, 4.5 rpg, 1.9 spg).

Western edged MSUB, 72-67, on Jan. 8 at Bellingham in the league opener for both schools. The Vikings have won eight of nine series meetings.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Feb. 25 (Wed.) WESTERN OREGON*# (BELLINGHAM - 7 p.m.)
Feb. 28 (Sat.) at Montana State Billings* (Billings, MT - 7 p.m. MT)
March 5 (Thu.) at Seattle Pacific*# (Seattle - Brougham Pavilion - 7 p.m.)
March 7 (Sat.) CENTRAL WASHINGTON*# (BELLINGHAM - 7 p.m.)

Home games (all caps) on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium
#broadcast on KBAI Radio (930 AM) and via the internet at wwuvikings.com
*Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest

THREE-DOT NOTES: Brad Jackson is just three games short of his 700th as the Vikings' head coach ... Schell was a first-team College Sports Information Directors of America/ESPN The Magazine College Division District 8 Academic All-Star ... Western's No.25 national ranking two weeks ago was the program's first since early in the 2006-07 campaign ... The Vikings' sweep of an Alaska road trip in early February was just the sixth since the league began in 2001. Western becomes the first GNAC school to accomplish the feat twice, the first time being in 2002 ... Brittinen missed one game after having an appendectomy on Jan. 20.

During one stretch this season, the Vikings had three straight GNAC Player of the Week honorees, including Alford for Jan. 18-24, Anderson for Jan. 25-31, and Graham for Feb. 1-7 ... Western's 75-54 victory at Central Washington on Jan. 24 was just its third in school history at Ellensburg by 20 or more points. The others were 75-54 on Feb. 20, 1960 and 43-17 on Feb. 16, 1917 ... Anderson scored 30 points, the most by a Vikings' player this season, in an 83-68 win at Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 15.

Western grabbed 76 rebounds against Multnomah on Jan. 3, setting a GNAC record and coming within two of the school record established against Oregon Tech on 2/6/71 ... Anderson's 13 assists versus Northwest on Nov. 29 were the most by a Viking since Dec. 2, 1989, when Manny Kimmie had 15 in a 116-56 triumph over Northwest.

DEE-FENSE: Western has had two memorable defensive efforts this season, those coming in a 69-54 win at Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 5 and a 110-32 victory over Golden State Baptist on Jan. 10. The 54 points scored by Alaska Anchorage last Thursday were the fewest allowed by Western in a league game since an 81-53 triumph over Central Washington on Feb. 15, 2001, while the Vikings were a member of the Pacific West Conference. The 32 points scored by Golden State Baptist on Jan. 10 were the lowest total allowed by Western since the introduction of the shot clock in the 1985-86 season, and the fewest in any game since the 1961-62 campaign.

COACH JACKSON: Brad Jackson is in his 24th year and is the most successful men's coach in school history, both in total wins (441-256) and winning percentage (.633). He ranks No.19 among active NCAA II coaches in victories and No.35 in winning percentage. In 2001, Jackson directed Western to a 27-4 record and the semifinals of the NCAA II National Championship, being named NABC/NCAA II West Region, Northwest small college and Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year. Five times named district/region Coach of the Year, Jackson has directed Western to 16 post-season playoff appearances, including district/region/conference championships and national tournament appearances in 1988, 1994, 2001, 2005 and 2006. He has had nine 20-win campaigns (1986-90, 1993-94, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2004-05, 2005-06).

RADIO BROADCASTS: Selected Western 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: For up-to-date statistics, box scores of every game, records, stories, etc., see the Western 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. Some Viking home games are being video streamed live at www.justin.tv/vikingtv.

PROBABLE WESTERN STARTERS & TOP RESERVES:

G Ira Graham, 6-2, ***Sr., Fontana, CA/Fontana
G Morris Anderson, 6-3, Jr.-JC, Federal Way, WA/Federal Way/Highline CC
C Calin Schell, 6-7, ***Sr., Chelan, WA/Chelan
F Michael Duty, 6-6, Jr.-JC, Seattle, WA/O'Dea/Bellevue CC)
F Steve Alford, 6-5, *Sr., Bakersfield, CA/South/Bakersfield College

F David Brittinen, 6-7, ***Sr., Hoquiam, WA/Hoquiam
C Dave Vanderjagt, 7-0, Jr.-TR, Townsville, Australia/Townsville State/Montana)
G Cameron Severson, 6-4, Fr., Petersburg, AK/Petersburg
*letters

LAST WEEK'S GAME SUMMARIES:

Feb. 19 - WESTERN 96, Alaska Fairbanks 80 at Bellingham

Anderson and Graham combined for 30 of their 33 points after halftime as Western overcame a 10-point second half deficit to defeat Alaska Fairbanks, 96-80, in a GNAC contest at Carver Gym. Anderson had 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, and Graham, who also had a game-high six assists, scored 15 of his 16 points after the intermission. Alaska Fairbanks fell to 6-14 overall and 3-8 in the conference, suffering its seventh loss in the last nine games despite a game-high 23 points from guard Jon Moe and 21 by guard Emmanuel Jenkins. Western trailed by 10, 61-51, with under 13 minutes to play, but then went on a 15-4 run to take a 66-65 lead with 9:12 to go. Graham hit two 3-pointers in the charge and Brittinen capped the run with a dunk. The Nanooks rallied briefly to take a 70-66 lead on a Moe 3-pointer, but the Vikings then took over, taking the lead for good at 71-70 on two Graham free throws that were part of a 13-2 run that put Western up, 79-72, with 3:57 left. Western shot 64.7 percent (22-of-34) from the field in the second half after hitting just 35.9 percent (14-of-39) in the first half. Brittinen finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Schell had 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Severson added 12 points. Alaska Fairbanks led the entire first half, jumping to a 16-6 lead 5:07 into the game. Moe had 16 points in the opening period, hitting four 3-pointers, helping the Nanooks hold a 40-37 lead at halftime. The Vikings had a 51-33 rebound advantage. Moe finished 9-of-20 from the field, 5-of-12 from 3-point range.

Feb. 21 - Alaska Anchorage 88, WESTERN 77 OT at Bellingham

Led by the 25 points of center Jeremiah Trueman, Alaska Anchorage prevailed 88-77 in overtime against Western in a GNAC contest at Carver Gym. The Vikings were led by the 25 points of Graham. UAA improved to 13-12 overall and 7-5 in conference play. Brandon Walker added 15 points for the Seawolves, nine of them in the extra period. Western trailed by four, 69-65, with 1:17 left in the second half, but Graham hit two free throws, then Anderson blocked Trueman's layup attempt and at the other end of the floor fed Duty for a reverse layin to tie the game with 18.3 seconds left. UAA played for the last shot of regulation, but Western's Brittinen blocked Lonnie Ridgeway's attempt with four seconds left. The ball ended up with Anderson, but his attempt from just inside the halfcourt line at the buzzer hit the front iron, forcing overtime. The Seawolves scored the first seven points of overtime, with a 3-pointer by Walker giving them a 76-69 advantage with 2:23 left. Western got no closer than four points after that. Schell had 15 points for Western before fouling out late in the second half, and Duty added 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds. The Vikings had a 43-31 advantage in rebounds, but shot only 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the field. Western led only once in the first 30 minutes, but used a 17-2 run over a five-minute span to take a 59-50 lead with 6:30 left, but UAA responded with 14 straight points to move back in front, 64-59, with 3:42 to go. Kenny Barker had 16 points and six assists for the Seawolves, and Kevin White added 13 points.