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March 2, 2009

Complete Release

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

UPDATE: Needing wins in its final two regular-season games to capture the first outright Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship in school history and with it an automatic berth in the West Regional of the NCAA Division II National Tournament, the Western Washington University men's basketball team travels to Seattle Pacific on Thursday (7 p.m.) and entertains arch-rival Central Washington on Saturday (7 p.m.) on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The Vikings, No.5 in last week's NCAA II West Region rating, are 19-5 overall and tied for first with Central in the GNAC standings at 11-3, one-half game ahead of Seattle Pacific at 11-4.

Western, 11-2 at home this season, tied for GNAC titles in 2002 and 2005. Three of the Vikings' five losses have been by just two points each and two were in overtime.

Last week, the Vikings won two league counters, defeating Western Oregon, 109-72 at Carver Gym, and prevailing 76-68 at Montana State Billings.

Four Western seniors will be making their final regular-season home appearance in the Central game. They are forward Steve Alford, forward David Brittinen, guard Ira Graham and center Calin Schell.

Graham, a first-team GNAC all-star last season, is averaging 18.5 points per game. That leads Western and ranks fourth among league scorers. He has scored double figures in each of the last nine games, being held under 10 just twice this season, and is shooting 53.6 percent (155-of-289) from the field and averaging 3.4 assists.

Graham, who had 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the win over Western Oregon, has scored 1,393 points during his four-year career, ninth among WWU leaders. He needs 43 points to move into eighth place.

Junior point guard Morris Anderson ranks seventh nationally and leads the GNAC in steals (2.8 avg.). He is second in the league in assists (6.3, 10th nationally) and 10th in free throw shooting (81.1 percent, 60-of-74), while averaging 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Anderson nearly had the second triple-double in school history against Montana State Billings, finishing with 11 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

Schell is averaging 11.2 points on 59.3 percent (108-of-182) field-goal shooting, and paces the team in both rebounds (7.8 avg.) and blocked shots (1.2) He ranks fifth among GNAC leaders in both rebounds and blocks and is eighth in floor accuracy. Half (93) of his 186 boards have come on the offensive glass where he tops the league.

Alford is averaging 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds, shooting 47.7 percent (41-of-86) from 3-point range, which ranks second in the GNAC, and 92.0 percent (23-of-25) at the free-throw line.

Brittinen is averaging 8.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks, while shooting 64.5 percent (80-of-124) from the field. He ranks second in the league in floor accuracy and sixth in blocks.

Junior forward Michael Duty is averaging 10.6 points and 4.7 rebounds.

Western is averaging a league-best 88.4 points per game. The Vikings also top the GNAC in scoring margin (plus-16.7), rebound margin (plus-9.9), blocks (5.3), assists (18.8), steals (9.4) and 3-point percentage defense (32.9).

Western ranks among the top 10 nationally in five team statistical categories, being third in rebound margin, sixth in scoring, seventh in scoring margin, eighth in fewest fouls, and ninth in assists.

Seattle Pacific, 18-8 overall, handed Western one of only two home losses this season, 86-84 on Jan. 17.

The Falcons, who are 9-1 at Royal Brougham Pavilion (lost 91-83 to Central Washington on Jan. 31), are led in scoring by 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Chris Banchero (15.7 ppg, 3.6 apg), who did not play in Saturday's 85-72 loss at Saint Martin's because of an injured wrist.

Four other veteran returnees for SPU are 6-0 junior guard Brandon Larrieu (14.0 ppg, 44.7 3-pt. pct., 34-76), 6-5 senior forward Casey Reed (11.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg), 6-4 sophomore forward Jeff Downs (9.5 ppg, 39.7 3-pt. pct., 54-136) and 6-8 junior forward Rob Diederichs (8.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.5 apg).

A top newcomer for coach Jeff Hironaka (6th year, 133-65) is 6-9 junior center Rafeal Moreira (11.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg) from Brasilia, Brazil, a transfer from Eastern Utah.

Central, 17-5 overall (March 5 host Montana State Billings), was the preseason favorite of the GNAC coaches after coming off back-to-back near league title misses.

The Wildcats have six of their top seven scorers back from a year ago including preseason second-team All-American 6-8 senior forward Jake Beitinger (14.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and 6-5 senior guard Matt Penoncello (14.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg), who both started their collegiate careers at NCAA I Eastern Washington.

Beitinger was a first-team GNAC all-star last season and Penoncello received second-team honors. Another returning starter is 6-3 senior forward Johnny Spevak (6.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg).

Three other standout returnees for coach Greg Sparling (14th year, 237-154) are 6-3 senior forward Brandon Foote (13.1 ppg, Bellingham High graduate), 6-0 senior guard Colton Monti (9.6 ppg) and 6-3 senior guard Giovonne Woods (9.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg).

A top newcomer is another player who began his career at Eastern Washington and then transferred to Tacoma CC where he earned all-region recognition last season, 6-9 sophomore center Chris Sprinker (7.4 ppg).

Western triumphed 95-75 at Ellensburg on Jan. 24, just the third time in school history that the Vikings had won by 20 or more points on the road against the Wildcats.

WEST REGION PLAYOFF PICTURE: The announcement of the playoff field will be made Sunday, March 8. Five teams will receive at-large berths and join the GNAC, California Collegiate Athletic Association and Pacific West Conference champions at the NCAA II West Regional. The GNAC and PacWest determine their automatic berths by regular-season standings. The CCAA automatic berth is determined by a post-season tournament. Under new NCAA guidelines established this season, the playoffs could be at two different sites if current West Region leader Brigham Young Hawaii is the only school from Hawaii among the eight teams earning berths.

Regardless of what happens this weekend, Western appears to be a safe bet to earn an at-large berth at regionals. Either the Vikings or Central will get the GNAC's automatic berth. With two victories this week, Western could also possibly get a No.2 seed and earn the right to host a sub-regional if neither Cal Poly Pomona or Cal State Dominguez Hills wins the CCAA tournament.

GNAC AUTOMATIC BERTH SCENARIOS:

1) If Central defeats Montana State Billings and Western defeats Seattle Pacific, the Western-Central winner will be the outright champion and win automatic berth.

2) If Central defeats Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific defeats Western, then ... if Western defeats Central to create a three-way tie at 12-4, Western wins the automatic berth based on two wins against Saint Martin's ... if Central defeats Western, Central is the outright champion.

3) If Montana State Billings defeats Central and Western defeats Seattle Pacific on Thursday and if Central then defeats Western on Saturday, the automatic berth will be determined on relative finishes of Seattle Pacific, Saint Martin's, Montana State Billings and Western Oregon.

If SPU finishes third, Central gets automatic berth based on its two wins over Seattle Pacific. If Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's tie for third and if Montana State Billings finishes ahead of Western Oregon, Western gets automatic berth based on its two wins over Montana State Billings. If Montana State Billings and Western Oregon also finish in a tie, the automatic berth will be awarded to the highest ranked team in this week's regional rankings.

4) If Montana State Billings defeats Central and Seattle Pacific defeats Western, then ... if Central beats Western, Central wins tiebreaker based on two wins over Seattle Pacific ... if Western defeats Central, Seattle Pacific wins tiebreaker based on two wins over Western.

UPCOMING GAMES:

March 5 (Thu.) at Seattle Pacific*# (Seattle - Brougham Pavilion - 7 p.m.)
March 7 (Sat.) CENTRAL WASHINGTON*# (BELLINGHAM - 7 p.m.)
March 13-14, 17 NCAA II West Regional (Dates and sites to be determined)

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: One more victory would give the Vikings their 12th 20-win season in school history and their first in three years ... Western has not been to regionals since making back-to-back appearances in 2005 and 2006. The Vikings' other trip to regionals was in 2001 when they advanced to the national semifinals ... The game at Seattle Pacific will be the 700th of Brad Jackson's 24-year tenure as Western's head coach ... The Vikings trail 71-44 in their series with Seattle Pacific and 151-86 in their series with Central.

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 three 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 became 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 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 (443-256) and winning percentage (.634). 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 Steve Alford, 6-5, *Sr., Bakersfield, CA/South/Bakersfield College
F David Brittinen, 6-7, ***Sr., Hoquiam, WA/Hoquiam

F Michael Duty, 6-6, Jr.-JC, Seattle, WA/O'Dea/Bellevue CC)
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. 25 - WESTERN 109, Western Oregon 72 at Bellingham

Graham scored a game-high 23 points and added eight assists and seven rebounds as Western hit 12 of its first 13 shots from the field and defeated Western Oregon, 109-72, in a GNAC game at Carver Gym. The Vikings shot 63.1 (41-of-65) percent from the field, including 75 percent (9-of-12) on 3-pointers. Both percentages were season highs. Center Travis Kuhns led Western Oregon, which fell to 9-16 overall and 3-11 in the GNAC, with 15 points. The Wolves were outrebounded 44-13 by the Vikings, setting a record for fewest rebounds in a GNAC contest. Western Oregon did not get a rebound until nearly 10 minutes into the game. Each team scored on its first four possessions, but Western Washington took over after that, scoring on 14 of its first 15 trips up the floor to take a 30-18 lead just 8:38 into the game. The margin reached 25, 49-24, on a Graham 3-pointer with 4:20 left in the half. Graham finished 8-of-10 from the field. The Vikings held a 51-32 lead at halftime and had at least a 30-point margin throughout the final 10 minutes. Alford and Brittinen each had 19 points for Western, with Brittinen hitting 7-of-8 field goal attempts and Alford going 5-of-6 on 3-pointers. Schell added 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and Anderson had a game-high 10 assists. It was just Western's second 100-point effort in conference play over the last three seasons.

Feb. 28 - WESTERN 76, Montana State Billings 68 at Billings, Mont.

Anderson nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as Western defeated Montana State Billings, 76-68, in a GNAC contest at Alterowitz Gymnasium. MSUB fell to 9-16 overall and 4-10 in the GNAC despite a game-high 23 points from forward Derrick Wright. It was the seventh straight loss for the Yellowjackets, who also got 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds from Travis Bunker. MSUB took a 35-34 lead 90 seconds into the second half, but the Vikings responded with a 14-3 run to take a 46-38 lead on an Anderson 3-pointer with 16 minutes left. Western led the rest of the way, being up by as much as 11. The Yellowjackets pulled to within three, 71-68, with 2:40 to play, but committed two turnovers and missed a layup on their next three possessions, and the Vikings hit five-of-six free throws in the final 37 seconds to put the game away. Severson came off the bench to lead a balanced Western attack with 12 points. Graham and Schell each had 11 points, and Duty added 10. After falling behind early in the contest, Western took a 15-13 lead on a basket by Alford 8:45 into the game and never trailed the rest of the half, holding a 33-31 lead at halftime. Severson had 10 of his points in the opening period while playing just seven minutes. Western, which edged MSUB, 72-67, on Jan. 8 at Bellingham in the GNAC opener for both schools, has now won nine of the last 10 series meetings.