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Feb. 26, 2013

Link to national telecast

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - With its historic win streak at an end, the Western Washington University men's basketball team closes out its regular season Saturday (1:05 p.m.), March 2, against Simon Fraser University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.

The game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network (Comcast Channel 412, 633 HD) at CBSSports.com with Jason Knapp handling the play-by-play, Lisa Byington the color commentary and Cat Anderson as the sideline reporter.

It is the Vikings' third appearance on national TV in less than a year. Last season's national semifinal game was televised on the CBS Sports Network and the title contest on CBS TV.

The contest also can be heard on KBAI Radio (930 AM-930kbai.com) with Doug Lange and Mark Scholten calling the action. A webcast and live stats are also available at www.wwuvikings.com.

Six WWU seniors will be honored in a ceremony beginning at 12:20 p.m. They are guard John Allen, forward Damien Fisher, forward Paul Jones, center Chris Mitchell, forward Cam Severson and guard Rico Wilkins.

Last week, the Vikings had a school and conference record 30-game winning streak snapped in a 77-73 loss at Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday. They bounced back Saturday with a 63-57 win at Alaska Anchorage.

WWU, the defending national champion, dropped one spot to No.3 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll after five weeks at No.2, the school's highest ever. The Vikings have been rated among the Top 10 in all 13 weekly polls this season, also a school best. Overall, they are working on a school-record 21 straight Top 25 weekly rankings.

WWU, 25-1 this season, was ranked No.1 in last week's inaugural West Region rating. Both the 24-0 start and streak broke school records set during the 1971-72 campaign.

The Vikings, who lead the league with a 16-1 record, already have clinched a first-round bye in third annual GNAC Tournament which takes place next week at Lacey. Despite the streak and national title, they have yet to win a GNAC tourney game, losing in the first-round in 2011 and falling in the semifinals in 2012.

Nineteen of WWU's wins this season have been by 10 or more points, the other margins being seven in overtime, six twice, four, three and one.

Senior guard John Allen paces the Vikings in points per game at 17.8, second in the GNAC. Overall, he leads the team and ranks among the league's top 10 in three categories, being fifth in both treys (2.3) and free-throw shooting (85.9 percent, 55-of-64), and sixth in assists (4.0)

Allen was picked as the preseason GNAC Player of the Year and was a Division II Bulletin Super 16 selection. He has scored 1,360 career points, which ranks 10th among WWU leaders, and is 15th in assists (310) and his free-throw percentage of 89.2 (214-of-240) is on school-record pace.

Allen has had three 30-plus point games this season and seven career contests with 30 or more. The school record is 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 14.5 points, eighth in the league, and 6.6 rebounds, 10th in the GNAC. He is fourth among conference field-goal shooters at 57.6 percent (147-255).

Jones scored 18 points in an 86-85 win over arch-rival Central Washington on Jan. 10, including the buzzer-beating winning layup, and versus the Wildcats on Feb. 9, finished with 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. He has had five double-doubles in points and rebounds this season.

Junior guard Richard Woodworth is averaging 10.5 points. He ranks seventh among GNAC leaders in both 3-point accuracy (45.5 percent, 30-of-66) and free throw shooting (84.9 percent, 62-of-73).

Rounding out the starting five are senior center Chris Mitchell, who is averaging 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds, and junior forward Austin Bragg, a transfer from Clark CC, who is averaging 9.0 points and a GNAC-leading 7.3 rebounds. Bragg has had a GNAC and team-best six double-doubles in points and rebounds this season, including a 20-point, 11-rebound effort against Seattle Pacific on Feb. 2.

Mitchell, who was a first-team CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District choice, is third among league leaders in blocked shots at 1.3 (35) and Bragg is fourth at 1.3 (33).

Outstanding contributions off the bench have come from senior guard Rico Wilkins, who is averaging 8.7 points on 41.3 percent 3-point shooting (38-of-92); junior guard Cameron Severson, who is averaging 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds, shooting 57.5 percent from the floor (77-of-134) and 88.3 percent (53-of-60) at the line; and sophomore forward Anye Turner, a transfer from South Puget Sound CC, who is fifth among GNAC leaders in blocks at 1.2 (30) and is hitting 58.5 percent (31-of-53) of his field goals.

Severson has 11 double-figure point games this season and Wilkins 10.

Simon Fraser is 6-19 overall and 1-16 in GNAC play, losing its last nine games and 18 of 19 following a 5-1 start. The Clan is the NCAA's first international member and is in its first year as a full member of that organization.

Prior to that, SFU was a member of the NAIA and Canadian Interuniversity Sports.

Three transfers pace the Clan coached by James Blake (3rd year, 13-56). They are 6-4 junior guard Taylor Dunn (12.0 ppg) from Clackamas CC, 6-1 junior guard Elijah Matthews (12.1 ppg), a transfer from Division II Pfeiffer, and 6-6 junior forward Anto Olah (13.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg) an Australian from Yuba JC.

WWU holds a 47-23 series advantage, winning the last nine meetings. The Vikings won 93-76 at Burnaby, B.C., on Dec. 1. David Gebru (17.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) scored 34 points for SFU in that contest, the most by an opposing player against WWU this season. Gebru's campaign ended after seven games because of a suspension for violating team rules.

GNAC RACE: The Vikings have already clinched no worse than a tie for their second-straight GNAC regular-season championship and have secured the No.1 seed and with it a first-round bye in the third annual GNAC Tournament which takes place next week at Lacey. WWU tops the GNAC standings at 16-1, one game ahead of second-place and No.4 nationally ranked Seattle Pacific (21-3, 14-2), but holds the tiebreaker based on its series sweep over the Falcons. A win over Simon Fraser would give the Vikings the best GNAC record ever posted. The current mark of 16-2 has been accomplished three times by WWU last season, Alaska Anchorage in 2007-08 and Central Washington in 2010-11. The GNAC title is the fifth overall for WWU, which also won conference titles in 2002, 2005 and 2009 when they weren't separated as to regular season and tournament. The Vikings have yet to win a conference tournament game, losing in the quarterfinals, 77-75 to Northwest Nazarene, in 2011 and in the semifinals following a first-round bye to Montana State Billings, 82-78, in 2012.

NATIONAL AND GNAC TEAM STAT RANKINGS: The Vikings rank among the top 10 nationally in five team statistical categories. They are No.3 in 3-point percentage defense (28.6), No.5 in scoring margin (17.6), No.8 in scoring offense (85.9) and blocked shots (5.5), and No.9 in field-goal percentage (50.1). WWU also is No.12 in rebound margin (8.0). WWU leads the GNAC in scoring offense, scoring margin, free-throw percentage (75.0), field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage defense, blocked shots and steals (9.0).

WWU EARNS TOP RANKING IN FIRST WEST REGION POLL: WWU received the top ranking in the inaugural NCAA II West Regional poll released Feb. 20. The Vikings are one of three GNAC teams ranked in the poll. Seattle Pacific is third and Alaska Anchorage eighth. Cal Poly Pomona was second in the regional poll, while Dixie State is fourth. The poll will eventually help determine, which five at-large teams join the GNAC, Pacific West Conference and California Collegiate Athletic Association champions in the West Regional playoffs.The regional begins Fri., March 15 at a site to be determined.

CARVER GYM STREAK: The Vikings are 13-0 at home this season and are working on a school record 23-game winning streak at Carver Gym, breaking the standard of 21 set from 1970 to 1972. The streak is two shy of the GNAC record of 25 set by Humboldt State from 2001 to 2003.

TOP 10 RANKING: WWU has been ranked among the Top 10 in all 13 weekly polls this season, breaking the school record of 10 set during the 2005-06 campaign. The Vikings are No.3 this week after five at No.2, which matched the school's highest ever. WWU also was ranked No.2 one time during the 2005-06 season. In all, the Vikings are working on a school-record string of 21 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.

THREE-DOT NOTES: WWU has started the same five in every game this season ... The Central Washington game was televised live regionally on ROOT Sports before a sellout crowd of 2,320 ... Allen and Jones have each had 21 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 Player of the Week recognition this season, Allen being named 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 ... WWU, which is the GNAC's defending regular season champion, was picked second behind Seattle Pacific in the league's preseason coaches' poll.

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.

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 10th at 1,360, and is 15th in assists at 310. He is on school-record pace in career free-throw percentage at 89.2 (214-of-240) and his seven 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, the Vikings' Paul Jones and Richard Woodworth were named to the GNAC preseason all-conference team.

COACH DOMINGUEZ: Tony Dominguez (25-1, first rookie coach in school history to win 20 games and the first in NCAA II history to win his first 24 straight), 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
G Rico Wilkins, 6-0, *Sr., Dallas, TX/DeSoto/Yakima Valley CC
G Cameron Severson, 6-5, ***Sr., Petersburg, AK/Petersburg
F Anye Turner, 6-7, So., JC, Tumwater, WA/Black Hills/South Puget Sound CC
*letters

MOST RECENT GAME SUMMARIES:

Feb. 21 - Alaska Fairbanks 77, WWU 73 at Fairbanks, AK

A school-record 30-game winning streak that lasted nearly a calendar year came to an end as WWU fell to Alaska Fairbanks, 77-73, in a GNAC contest at Patty Center. The Vikings, ranked No.2 nationally and No.1 regionally, fell to 24-1 overall and 15-1 in the GNAC. Allen had a game-high 33 points for WWU. UAF improved to 14-9 overall and 9-6 in the GNAC. Center Sergej Pucar had 26 points and seven rebounds for the Nanooks. Ronnie Baker had 18 points, and guard Dominique Brinson, who hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:10 left, added 13 points. Brinson's trey gave UAF a 69-66 lead and the margin eventually extended to five, 73-68, on a pair of Andrew Kelly free throws with 1:19 left. The Vikings closed the gap to three on a pair of Woodworth free throws with 51 seconds to go, and after Brinson missed the front end of a 1-and-1, WWU had a chance to tie, but Bragg's 3-point try rimmed out with 22 seconds left, and the Nanooks made 5-of-6 free throws to keep the Vikings at bay. It was the first setback for WWU since an 82-78 loss to Montana State-Billings in the GNAC tournament on Mar. 2, 2012. The Vikings then won six straight games to claim the NCAA II national title, and took their first 24 games this year to extend the streak to 30. Both the 30 overall wins and the 24 triumphs to start a season were school and GNAC records. Jones had 11 points for the Vikings, who shot just 37.5 percent (24-of-64) from the field, their second lowest mark of the season. The Nanooks led throughout the first half, using a run of 10 straight points to take a 23-12 lead with 12:14 left in period. UAF led, 36-30, at halftime. The Vikings used a run of 10 straight points, the first eight by Allen, early in the second half to take a 43-40 lead. Their last lead was at 53-51 on a Wilkins 3-pointer with 8:49 remaining. WWU entered the contest third nationally in 3-point percentage defense, holding teams to 27.8 percent behind the arc, but UAF shot 45.0 percent (9-of-20), the best accuracy for a Viking opponent in the last 19 games. The loss snapped an 11-game series winning streak for WWU.

Feb. 23 - WWU 63, Alaska Anchorage 57 at Anchorage, AK

Allen scored 19 points, including a driving layin for the go-ahead basket with 8.9 seconds left, lifting WWU to a 63-57 triumph over Alaska Anchorage in a GNAC contest at the Wells Fargo Sport Complex on the UAA campus. The Vikings, ranked No.2 nationally and No.1 regionally, improved to 25-1 overall and 16-1 in the GNAC, bouncing back from a 77-73 loss at Alaska Fairbanks that snapped a school and conference record 30-game win streak. UAA fell to 17-7 overall and 10-6 in conference play. Teancum Stafford led the Seawolves, who lost for just the third time in 17 home contests this season, with a game-high 23 points. The Vikings had a 43-31 lead with 13 minutes to play, but the Seawolves used a 14-2 run to tie the score at 45-45, and neither team led by more than three points after that until WWU hit four free throws in the final five seconds after Allen had broken a 57-57 tie with his layin. UAA had taken a 57-55 lead on a Stafford basket with 1:21 remaining, but Severson, who finished with 13 points, made two free throws with 1:03 remaining to tie the score. Colton Lauwers then missed a 3-pointer for the Seawolves, and Wilkins tracked down the rebound in the corner with 41 seconds left, setting the stage for Allen, who drove the left-side of the lane and finished off-balance with his right hand. The Seawolves advanced the ball to midcourt and called timeout with six seconds left, but the ensuing in-bounds pass sailed cross-court and out of bounds. Jones had 15 points for WWU, which shot 53.5 percent (23-of-43) from the field. WWU led by just four, 29-25, as time wound down in the first half. But Allen closed the period with a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 32-25 lead at halftime, and then the second half opened with a Jones 3-pointer and an Allen layin, pushing the margin to 12, 37-25, a minute into the second half.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A wild week in NCAA Division II - one in which 17 of the top 25 teams lost at least once, including three of the top four in a span of 24 hours - has led to a new team atop the latest NABC/Division II national rankings.

West Liberty was the only team among the top four to avoid a loss and as a result, moved back into the top spot in the rankings which it had occupied from the start of the season until mid-January. This came after Western Washington lost late Thursday night at Alaska-Fairbanks, followed by last week's No. 1, Metropolitan State, falling Friday evening at Fort Lewis and Cal Poly Ponoma losing at San Francisco State less than an hour later.

Metro State and Western Washington dropped one spot apiece as a result, while Seattle Pacific jumped over Cal Poly Pomona into the No. 4 spot this week. Alabama-Huntsville moved up two places to sixth as did Minnesota State to seventh. Drury, whose 13-game winning streak is tied for the longest active run in Division II along with West Liberty's, is ranked eighth this week and is followed by Saint Anselm and Winston-Salem State to close out the top 10.

The numerous losses suffered by teams in last week's poll also helped Saint Leo - who clinched a share of the Sunshine State Conference title over the weekend - to vault nine spots to No. 11 and Lincoln Memorial seven spots to 12th. Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division champion Wisconsin-Parkside comes in at No. 13, with Florida Southern and Bellarmine taking the next two positions. Indiana (Pa.) is 16th this week, followed by Fort Lewis and Benedict, who is in the rankings for the first time this season.

Southern Indiana and East Stroudsburg round out the Top 20, while the final five teams in the rankings are Winona State, Grand Canyon, Dominican (N.Y.), Livingstone and Augustana. Grand Canyon is in the Top 25 for the first time in seven years, while Livingstone is making its first appearance in the national rankings in the history of its program.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference

2012-13 Men's Basketball Report Week 16 (Feb. 26, 2013)

                        Conference			All
                        W	L	W	L	    H	A	N
Western Washington      16	1	25	1	13-0	10-1	2-0
Seattle Pacific         14	2	21	3	10-1	10-1	1-1
Alaska Anchorage        10	6	17	7	14-3	3-4	0-0
Alaska Fairbanks        10	6	15	9	10-3	4-3	1-3
Montana State Billings  8	8	15	12	9-4	4-8	2-0
Central Washington      7	9	13	11	6-3	4-6	3-2
Northwest Nazarene      5	11	11	13	7-4	3-9	1-0
Western Oregon          5	11	10	14	7-7	2-7	1-0
Saint Martin's          5	11	9	15	5-5	2-7	2-3
Simon Fraser            1	16	6	19	5-8	1-10	0-1

LAST WEEK: Thursday - Simon Fraser 68 at Alaska Anchorage 78; Western Washington 73 at Alaska Fairbanks 77; MSU Billings 74 at Western Oregon 69 (ot); Seattle Pacific 60 at Saint Martin's 46. Saturday - Western Washington 63 at Alaska Anchorage 57; Simon Fraser 61 at Alaska Fairbanks 63; Central Washington 69 at Northwest Nazarene 100; MSU Billings 78 at Saint Martin's 84; Seattle Pacific 82 at Western Oregon 76.

THIS WEEK: Thursday - Alaska Anchorage at Seattle Pacific; Alaska Fairbanks at MSU Billings; Western Oregon at Central Washington, 7:30 p.m.; Saint Martin's at Northwest Nazarene, 7:30 p.m. Saturday - Alaska Anchorage at MSU Billings; Alaska Fairbanks at Seattle Pacific; Saint Martin's at Central Washington, 7:30 p.m.; Western Oregon at Northwest Nazarene, 7:30 p.m.; Simon Fraser at Western Washington, 1 p.m. (end-of-regular-season).

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. 26) - 3. Western Washington (21-0); 2. Cal Poly Pomona (19-1); 3. Seattle Pacific (17-3); 4. Dixie State (17-5); 5. Grand Canyon (18-5); 6. Cal State San Bernardino (15-5); 7. Chaminade (14-5); 8. Alaska Anchorage (13-5); 9. San Francisco State (13-9); 10. Chico State (11-9). Note: Records are versus Division II opponents.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES (Through Feb. 24): 6 - Austin Bragg, WWU. 5 - Paul Jones, WWU; Anto Olah, SFU. 4 - Jarrell Crayton, MSUB; Rei Jensen, SMU; Liam Gibcus, UAA; Kevin Rima, NNU. 3 - Sergej Pucar, UAF; Brandon Magee, CWU. 2 - David Gebru, SFU; Chris Mitchell, WWU; Sam Johnson, MSUB; David Downs, SPU; Ibrahim Appiah, SFU. 1 - 17 with 1.

NATIONAL STATISTICS (Through Feb. 24): Team (Top 30): Scoring -8. Western Washington 85.9; 9. Central Washington 84.9. Scoring Defense - 23. Seattle Pacific 62.0. Scoring Margin - 5. Western Washington 17.6; 6. Seattle Pacific 15.0. Field Goal PCT. - 9. Western Washington 50.1; 26. Seattle Pacific 48.6. Field Goal PCT. Defense - 20. Seattle Pacific 39.9. Three-Point Field Goals - 8. Alaska Anchorage 9.4. Three-Point Percentage - 8. Seattle Pacific 41.1; 12. Alaska Anchorage 40.6; 18. Saint Martin's 39.5. Three-Point Field Goal Defense - 3. Western Washington 28.6. Rebound Margin - 3. Seattle Pacific 10.8; 12. Western Washington 8.0. Assists - 8. Alaska Anchorage 18.3; 13. Seattle Pacific 17.5; 19. Alaska Fairbanks 16.5. Assist/Turnover Ratio - 4. Seattle Pacific 1.52; 10. Alaska Anchorage 1.37; 26. Saint Martin's 1.20. Blocks - 8. Western Washington 5.5; 27. Northwest Nazarene 4.4. Fewest Turnovers - 1. Saint Martin's 10.0; 22. Seattle Pacific 11.5. Fewest Fouls - 30. Seattle Pacific 15.8. Individuals (Top 30): Scoring - 12. Mark McLaughlin, CWU, 22.2. Three-Point PCT. - 5. Jobi Wall, SPU, 46.2; 9. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 45.0. Free Throw PCT. - 1. Jonathan Hawkins, NNU, 93.5; 28. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 87.4. Assists - 25. Pat Voeut, UAF, 5.3; 26. David Downs, SPU, 5.3. Steals - 29. Devon Alexander, WOU, 2.29. Assist/Turnover Ratio - 4. Brady Bomber, SMU, 2.97; 5. Kalob Hatcher, MSUB, 2.93; 9. Riley Stockton, SPU, 2.64.

GNAC RED LION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sergej Pucar, Alaska Fairbanks (C, 6-11, Jr., Belgrade, Serbia) scored 42 points including a career-high 26 as the Nanooks ended Western Washington's 30-game win streak with a 77-73 victory Thursday at The Patty Center. Pucar shot 53.6 percent from the floor (15-28) and made six of 10 treys, as the Nanooks won a pair of games. Pucar also had 15 rebounds and blocked four shots.

HONORABLE MENTION: Riley Stockton, Seattle Pacific; John Allen, Western Washington; Teancum Stafford, Alaska Anchorage; Kenny Jones, Northwest Nazarene; Will Bond, Saint Martin's.

30 POINTERS: John Allen scored 33 points in Western Washington's 77-73 loss at Alaska Fairbanks recording his third 30-point game of the season and the seventh of his career. That is the most of any Viking player during the GNAC era (2001-13). Ryan Diggs had six in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons). Only seven players, led by Parrish West of Alaska Fairbanks (14 between 2009-10 and 2010-11), have had more. Allen is tied with Mark McLaughlin for the most three-pointers in the GNAC this season.

BEST IN THE GNAC: Western Washington equaled the GNAC single-season record for most conference victories with Saturday's win at Anchorage. The Vikings are the fourth team in GNAC history to win 16 games and the first to do it in back-to-back seasons. Alaska Anchorage (2007-08), Central Washington (2010-11) and last year's Viking team all finished with 16-2 conference records. A win Saturday's nationally televised game against Simon Fraser would make WWU the first men's team to win 17 games.

MILESTONES: David Downs scored 35 points in Seattle Pacific's two games increasing his career total to 1,034. He is the 54th player in GNAC history to reach the 1,000-point total and now ranks 53rd on the all-time list.

TEAM NOTES

Alaska Anchorage: Liam Gibcus averaged a double-double (39 points, 20 rebounds) as the Seawolves split two home games. Teancum Stafford had 33 points, including 23 in a six-point loss Saturday to Western Washington. UAA and its opponents had almost identical shooting percentages. The Seawolves made 49 of 104 shots (47.1); its two opponents were 48 of 103 (46.6). Both UAA and its opponents were 14 of 35 on three-pointers.

Alaska Fairbanks: After upsetting Western Washington 77-73 Thursday, the Nanooks needed to score the game's final seven points to defeat Simon Fraser 63-61 Saturday. In addition to Pucar (See Player of the Week notes), UAF was led by Dominique Brinson with 26 points and Ronnie Baker with 24. Pat Voeut had team-highs of 13 assists and six steals.

Central Washington: The Wildcats were outshot 58.3 percent (28-48) to 35.5 (22-62) and outrebounded 42-24 in their loss at Northwest Nazarene. Mark McLaughlin and Dom Williams led CWU with 15 and 14 points, respectively. After playing eight consecutive games earlier this season that were decided by single digits, CWU has been outscored by 29, 38 and 31 points in three of its last seven contests.

Montana State Billings: Jarrell Crayton netted 45 points and also had 17 rebounds as the Yellowjackets split two road games. David Arnold had 27 points and Sam Johnson had 22 in the two contests.

Northwest Nazarene: Kenny Jones had 26 points, seven assists and four steals, and Jonathan Hawkins had 20 points, connecting on four of five three-pointers in the Cruaders' 100-69 rout of Central Washington. Hawkins also made four of four foul shots and currently has a 90.3 career percentage. In addition to Jake Linton of Saint Martin's (92.4 percent between 2005-09), he is the only player in GNAC history to have a career percentage above 90 percent).

Saint Martin's: Will Bond had 38 points, including a career-high 28 in Saturday's 84-78 home win against MSU Billings. Bond made 15 of 26 field goal attempts, including six of nine three-pointers. Roger O'Neill had 32 points. Since being inserted into starting lineup on Feb. 9, Bond is averaging 17 points per game and is shooting 58.5 percent from the field and 60 percent from the three-point line.

Seattle Pacific: Riley Stockton had a pair of double-digit rebound games hauling in 15 in a 60-46 win at Saint Martin's and 11 in a 82-76 victory at Western Oregon. Stockton led or tied all Falcon players in rebounds (26), assists (6), steals (5) and blocks (4) as Seattle Pacific improved to 10-1 on the road. Simon Fraser: Anto Olah tallied a team-high 33 points in road losses in Alaska. Olah also led the Clan in rebounds with 19 and tied for the team lead in assists (5) and steals (4). Ibrahim Appiah contributed 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Western Oregon: Kolton Nelson scored 38 points increasing his career total to 925. Nelson made 14 of 22 field goal attempts and also led the Wolves with 21 rebounds and six blocks. Andy Avgi had 23 points and Devon Alexander chipped in with 21.

Western Washington: John Allen netted 52 points, shooting 50 percent from the floor (18-36) as the Vikings split two games in Alaska. That was twice as many as Paul Jones, who had 26 points, the second highest total on the team. WWU shot just 28.9 percent from the three-point arc, making 11 of 38.

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	6-3

GNAC CAREER LEADERS (Through Feb. 24)

Scoring
	1. 	Austin Nichols, Humboldt State (2001-04)	2501
	24.	John Allen, Western Washington (2010-13)	1360
	37.	Andy Poling, Seattle Pacific (2010-13)	1172
	40.	Roger O'Neill, Saint Martin's (2009-13)	1150
	53.	David Downs, Seattle Pacific (2013-13)	1034
	65.	Kolton Nelson, Western Oregon (200-13)	925

Three-Pointers
	1.	Jake Linton, Saint Martin's (2006-09)	292
	16.	John Allen, Western Washington (2010-13)	188
	26.	David Downs, Seattle Pacific (2010-13)	149
	30.	Kyle Fossman, Alaska Anchorage (2010-13)	142
	38.	Jobi Wall, Seattle Pacific (2011-13)	133

Rebounds
	1.	Fred Hooks, Humboldt State (2001-04)	1268
	26.	Andy Poling, Seattle Pacific (2010-13)	534
	32.	Chris Mitchell, Western Washington (2008-13)	507

Assists
	1.	Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage (2005-08)	880
	8.	Brady Bomber, Saint Martin's (2009-13)	416
	14.	David Downs, Seattle Pacific (2010-13)	367
	23.	John Allen, Western Washington (2010-13)	310

Steals
	1.	Blair Wheadon, Western Oregon (2009-12)	216
	14.	John Allen, Western Washington (2010-13)	150
	25.	Brady Bomber, Saint Martin's (2009-13)	122

Blocks
	1.	Brannon Stone, Seattle Pacific (1999-02)	269
	17.	Chris Mitchell, Western Washington (2008-13)	84
	18.	Kevin Davis, Central Washington (2011-13)	82
	23.	Andy Poling, Seattle Pacific (2010-13)	77

Win Streaks (10 or More)
30	Western Washington (3-9-12 to 2-16-13)
18	Alaska Anchorage (12-7-07 to 2-14-08)
15	Seattle Pacific (11-17-01 to 1-19-02)
15	Western Washington (11-25-05 to 1-25-06)
14	Humboldt State (11-16-01 to 1-12-02)
13	Humboldt State (11-23-02 to 1-16-03)
12	Alaska Fairbanks (1-31-04 to 3-13-04)
12	Western Washington (11-1-09 to 1-2-10)
12	Alaska Anchorage (11-26-10 to 1-13-11)
11	Saint Martin's (11-15-08 to 12-18-08)
11	Central Washington (1-1-11 to 2-12-11)
10	Central Washington (2-2-08 to 3-8-08)
10	Western Washington (1-31-02 to 11-22-02)
10	Humboldt State (1-19-02 to 2-23-02)
10	Western Washington (1-12-12 to 2-16-12)
10	Alaska Anchorage (11-26-11 to 1-5-12)

Home Win Streaks (10 or more)
25	Humboldt State (11-24-01 to 2-27-03)
24	Humboldt State (11-15-03 to 1-13-05)
23	Western Washington (1-18-12 to Current)
19	Western Washington (11-29-01 to 1-16-03)
18	Western Washington (11-25-05 to 11-30-06)
16	Alaska Anchorage (12-7-07 to 3-15-08)
15	Western Washington (11-15-04 to 3-11-05)
13	*Alaska Anchorage (2-12-11 to 1-12-12)
13	Seattle Pacific (3-10-06 to 2-13-07)
12	Alaska Fairbanks (12-6-03 to 11-6-04)
12	Seattle Pacific (11-17-01 to 2-23-02)
12	Seattle Pacific (2-26-05 to 2-16-06)
12	Seattle Pacific (12-13-11 to 12-17-12)
11	Alaska Fairbanks (11-7-02 to 2-13-03)
11	Central Washington (1-1-11 to 3-4-11)
11	Western Washington (11-16-10 to 2-16-11)
11	Seattle Pacific (11-20-04 to 2-5-05)
10	Seattle Pacific (1-15-10 to 12-1-11)
10	Central Washington (2-2-08 to 1-17-09)

Multiple Overtime Games

Four Overtimes Feb. 20, 2003 - *Seattle Pacific 113, Humboldt State 108 Dec. 15, 2006 - +CSU Monterey Bay 126, Western Oregon 122

Three Overtimes Nov. 19, 2004 - *Alaska Anchorage 92, Caldwell 87 Jan. 7, 2010 - *Saint Martin's 94, Western Washington 86 Dec. 1, 2012 - *Western Oregon 118, Central Washington 113

*Home team +Neutral Site (Chico)

PREVIOUS 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.

Week of Feb. 4-10: 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.

Week of Feb. 11-17: David Arnold, MSU Billings (G, 6-2, 195, Sr., Highlands Ranch, CO) scored 46 points, including 35 in a 83-78 win over Central Washington Saturday. Arnold made seven of 11 three-pointers and all eight of his free throw attempts against the Wildcats. Including Thursday's 87-63 win over Northwest Nazarene, Arnold made 10 of 17 three-point shots. He also had seven rebounds and six assists in the two victories as the Yellowjackets moved into fifth place in the GNAC standings.

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). Feb. 11-17 - Alaska Anchorage (Women's Indoor Track) and Western Washington (Men's Indoor Track). Feb. 18-24 - Alaska Fairbanks (Men's Basketball).