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March 8, 2009

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Western Washington University men's basketball team is a No.2 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Division II National Tournament and will host a sub-regional on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14 on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The Vikings, 21-5 overall and the champions of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, face No.7 seed and GNAC rival Seattle Pacific (18-9) in an opening-round contest at 7 p.m. Friday. That game follows a matchup between two California Collegiate Athletic Association schools at 5 p.m. as No.3 Cal Poly Pomona (20-7) meets No.6 Cal State San Bernardino (20-9). The winners meet in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. Saturday.

BYU-Hawaii hosts the other side of the West Regional. The 25-1 Seasiders, the region's top seed, play No.8 Humboldt State (20-11). In the other game at Laie, Hawaii, No.4 Cal State Dominguez Hills (21-7) faces No.5 Central Washington (18-6).

The winners of the two sub-regionals meet for the regional championship on Tues., March 17, at the site of the highest remaining seed. The winner there advances to the NCAA II Elite Eight at Springfield, Mass., on March 25-28.

The Vikings last met Seattle Pacific on Thursday, claiming a 76-75 come-from-behind triumph at Seattle. That was one of two victories over tourney teams in the final week of the season that propelled Western into the No.2 seed, as it concluded the regular season with an 85-68 victory over Central Washington on Saturday to claim the GNAC championship outright.

It is the first NCAA tournament appearance for the Vikings since 2006, when they fell to Seattle Pacific in the regional final. Western also received tournament berths in 2001 and 2005, hosting the regional tournament both times, and reaching the national semifinals in 2001.

"To have an opportunity for post-season play was something we set out to do at the beginning of the year, and we're very excited to be in this position," said Western coach Brad Jackson. "It's also great to have the chance to play in front of our fans and in familiar surroundings."

Leading the way for Western, which led the GNAC in scoring at 87.8 points a game, is the talented backcourt duo of senior Ira Graham (Fontana, CA) and junior Morris Anderson (Federal Way). Graham averages a team-high 18.7 points and also contributes 3.2 assists. Anderson averages 12.9 points and 5.6 rebounds, and leads Western with 6.2 assists and 2.8 steals, ranking among the top 10 nationally in the latter two categories.

Senior center Calin Schell (Chelan) averages 11.2 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds while shooting 59.1 percent from the field. Senior forward Steve Alford (Bakersfield, CA/South) averages 10.6 points and is the team's leading 3-point shooter (43-of-91, 47.3 percent).

Junior forward Michael Duty (Seattle/O'Dea) rounds out Western's five double-figure scorers at 10.3 points a game. Duty has been replaced in the starting lineup over the last four games by senior David Brittinen (Hoquiam), who contributes 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds and shoots a team-high 63.5 percent from the field.

Seattle Pacific, which reached the national semifinals in 2006, is making its fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The Falcons are likely to be without their leading scorer, sophomore guard Chris Banchero. Banchero, who averages 15.7 points and 3.6 assists a game, missed the final two contests of the regular season, both losses, with a broken wrist.

"We're playing a team with great tradition, one that we have the utmost respect for," Jackson said. "It's a very tough draw. All three teams (in the sub-regional) are teams we've faced and with whom we're very familiar."

Junior guard Brandon Larrieu averages 14.0 points a game. Junior center Rafael Moreira averages 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds and had 20 points in Thursday's loss to Western, and forward Casey Reed, the team's lone senior, contributes 11.4 points.

The Vikings are 12-2 at home this season, one of those losses being 86-84 to Seattle Pacific on Jan. 17.

Western has played both of its possible second-round opponents. The Vikings defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 73-67, at Seattle Pacific on Nov. 21, and fell to Cal Poly Pomona, 73-60, at Las Vegas on Dec. 19, in Western's lowest point output of the season and its only regulation loss by more than two points.

Cal State San Bernardino earned the CCAA's automatic berth by winning the conference tournament. The Coyotes finished in a three-way tie for first in the league's regular-season standings at 15-5 along with Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills.

"At this point in the season, everybody you play is good, every opponent has had a great year and will come in at the top of their game," Jackson said. "As much as anything, it comes down to mental preparation, recognizing nothing will come easy and that you'll have to fight the entire game."

Western is hosting the sub-regional as a No.2 seed because of a directive passed by the NCAA in February calling for the first two rounds of a region to be held at two sites if all seven teams in the region have to fly to the host site. The West Region is the only region where that directive has been enacted this year.

Tickets for the sub-regional go on sale Monday at 11 a.m. They can be purchased by calling 360-650-2583 or on-line at www.wwuvikings.com. Reserved tickets are $10 and will not be available to the general public until Wednesday at 2 p.m., general admission is $8 and student/senior tickets are $5. Friday's tickets are good for both games.

2009 NCAA DIVISION II WEST REGIONAL

Sub-Regional - Bellingham, Wash.
(host Western Washington, Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium)

March 13 (Fri.)
Game #1 - No.3 seed Cal Poly Pomona (20-7) vs. No.6 seed CSU San Bernardino (20-9) - 5 p.m.
Game #2 - No.2 seed WESTERN (21-5) vs. No.7 seed Seattle Pacific (18-9) - 7 p.m.@

March 14 (Sat.)
Game #3 - (Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2) - 7 p.m.@

Sub-Regional - Laie, Hawaii.
(host Brigham Young Hawaii, Cannon Activities Center)

March 13 (Fri.)
Game #1 - No.4 seed CSU Dominguez Hills (21-7) vs. No.5 seed Central Washington (18-6) - 5 p.m.
Game #2 - No.1 seed BYU Hawaii (25-1) vs. No.8 seed Humboldt State (20-11) - 7:30 p.m.

March 14 (Sat.)
Game#3 - (Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2) - 7:30 p.m.

March 17 (Tue.)
Title game - (Sub-Regional winners at site of highest remaining seed)

NCAA II ELITE EIGHT

March 25-26, 28 (Wed., Thu., Sat.) at Springfield, Mass.
(host American International College and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - Ticket Information 413-781-6500)

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