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March 9, 2010

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Host and No.1 seed Western Washington University will play arch-rival and No.8 seed Central Washington in the final game of Friday's opening round at the West Regional of the NCAA Division II National Men's Basketball Tournament being held on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium. The pairings were announced Tuesday morning.

The Vikings, 25-5 overall, are 13-1 at home this season. Central is 16-10. The contest is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

The Western-Central game can be heard on KBAI (930 AM) Radio and all regional contests can be viewed via video stream.

In other first round action, No.3 seed and Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Seattle Pacific (22-5) plays No.6 seed and Pacific West Conference co-champion BYU Hawaii (20-5) at 12:30 p.m., No.2 seed and California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament champion Cal State San Bernardino (22-7) meets No.7 seed Humboldt State (22-7) at 2:30 p.m., and No.4 seed Cal Poly Pomona (22-6) plays No.5 seed Dixie State (20-5) at 5:30 p.m.

Cal Poly Pomona and Humboldt State tied for the CCAA regular-season title, and Dixie State was the PacWest co-champion.

It is the second consecutive year Western has been an NCAA II tournament host. Last year, the Vikings hosted a sub-regional as the No.2 seed in the West, falling to Seattle Pacific, 82-77, in the opening round.

Western, rated No.15 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, was No.2 in the region behind Seattle Pacific in the final regular-season rating Mar. 3. But the No.18 Falcons dropped a pair of games in Alaska last weekend, opening the door for the Vikings to host.

The Vikings have six seniors, five of whom start, and their top three scorers, who all played together at Highline Community College, earned GNAC all-star recognition.

Western guard Morris Anderson (Federal Way) and forward Derrick Webb (Port Orchard/South Kitsap) were both first-team picks, Anderson being a unanimous choice and a repeater.

Webb, who has scored double-figure points in a team-high 25 games, leads the Vikings in scoring at 16.1 points a game and is second in rebounding at 6.1 a contest.

Anderson averages 14.7 points and a team-high 5.2 assists. He leads the GNAC in steals (2.4 avg.) and free-throw percentage (86.7 percent), hitting a school-record 39 consecutive free throws earlier this season.

Forward Zach Bruce (Oceanside, CA), who received all-GNAC honorable mention, averages 10.7 points and team-high 6.4 rebounds, and is shooting 55.1 percent from the field.

Completing the Vikings' starting lineup are guard Andrew Ready (Chicago, IL/Westinghouse), who contributes 8.1 points; and 7-foot center Dave Vanderjagt (Townsville, Australia), who averages 5.5 points and a team-high 1.0 blocks.

The sixth senior, reserve guard Harold McAllister, averages 6.7 points while shooting 51.4 percent on 3-pointers (37-of-72), and sophomore forward Rory Blanche (Ashland, OR) averages 8.4 points in just 18 minutes a game off the bench.

Western coach Brad Jackson is in his 25th season, with a career record of 470-262. He entered the season ranked No.18 among active NCAA II coaches in career victories, and No.38 in winning percentage (64.2). Jackson has directed WWU to 11 20-win seasons and 18 post-season appearances.

This is the fifth NCAA tournament appearance for the Vikings, and the fourth time Western has been at home for the post-season. The Vikings won the West Regional and eventually reached the national semifinals in 2001, and also earned tourney berths in 2005, 2006 and 2009.

Western has defeated the Wildcats twice this season, claiming an 84-70 triumph at Ellensburg on Jan. 23, then winning, 90-86, in Bellingham on Feb. 28 in a contest televised live by FSN Northwest.

Cal Poly Pomona is the defending regional champion, reaching the NCAA II national title game last season. The Broncos lost the championship game of the CCAA tournament Saturday to Cal State San Bernardino, 58-52.

The winners of the opening-round games meet in semifinal contests Saturday at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., with the regional championship Monday at 7 p.m. The regional champion advances to the NCAA II Elite Eight at Springfield, Mass., on March 24-25, 27.

Tickets for the West Regional go on sale Tuesday at 11 a.m. They can be purchased by calling 360-650-2583 or on-line at www.wwuvikings.com. Reserved tickets are $10, general admission is $8 and student/youth/senior/WWU faculty with ID are $5. Tickets are good all day on multiple-game dates.

2010 NCAA DIVISION II WEST REGIONAL

host Western Washington University
Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium
Bellingham, Wash.

March 12 (Fri.)
Game #1 - No.3 seed Seattle Pacific (22-5) vs.
          No.6 seed BYU Hawaii (20-5) - 12:30 p.m.
Game #2 - No.2 seed Cal State San Bernardino (22-7) vs.
          No.7 seed Humboldt State (22-7) - 2:30 p.m.
Game #3 - No.4 seed Cal Poly Pomona (22-6) vs.
          No.5 seed Dixie State (20-5) - 5:30 p.m.
Game #4 - No.1 seed Western Washington (25-5) vs.
          No.8 seed Central Washington (16-10) - 7:30 p.m.

March 13 (Sat.)
Game #5 - Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 - 5 p.m.
Game #6 - Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 7 p.m.

March 15 (Mon.)
Game #7 - Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 7 p.m.

Home team is highest seed in each game

March 24-25, 27 (Wed., Thu., Sat.)
at Springfield, Mass. (MassMutual Center)
host American International College and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Ticket Information 413-787-6600 or 800-639-8602

WWU NCAA II APPEARANCES:

2001
West Regional at Bellingham, Wash.
Defeated Cal State Bakersfield, 95-86 in overtime, in semifinals
Defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 58-55, in final
Elite Eight at Bakersfield, Calif.
Defeated Queens, 89-85, in quarterfinals
Lost to Washburn, 96-90, in semifinals

2005
West Regional at Bellingham, Wash.
Defeated Brigham Young-Hawaii, 80-69, in first round
Lost to Alaska Fairbanks, 88-66, in semifinals

2006
West Regional at Seattle, Wash.
Defeated Humboldt State, 100-86, in first round
Defeated Chaminade, 101-91, in semifinals
Lost to Seattle Pacific, 81-77, in final

2009
West Sub-Regional at Bellingham, Wash.
Lost to Seattle Pacific, 82-77, in first round

SPINNING THE WEBB: Forward Derrick Webb's 40 points versus Western Oregon on Jan. 28 was the fourth-best effort in school history and was just the seventh time a Viking had reached the 40-point plateau. He has scored double figures in a team-best 25 games this season, including one stretch of 21 straight. Webb followed up his 40-point effort, the most ever by a Viking at Carver Gym, with 33 at Montana State Billings on Jan. 30 for a total of 73 points in two games, the third highest total in school and GNAC history. He made a school and GNAC-record 10 3-pointers in the Western Oregon contest, going 10-of-12, and set another school standard by making six straight treys. In the two games, Webb was 14-of-19 from 3-point range, 73.7 percent.

THREE-DOT NOTES: Anderson, Bruce and Webb played together at Highline CC, helping the Thunderbirds to an NWAACC championship as freshmen and the semifinals as sophomores ... The Vikings have had 13 20-win seasons in all, 11 under Coach Jackson and two in 1970-71 and 1971-72 under Coach Chuck Randall ... Western won the school's first outright GNAC title last year after tying for crowns in 2002 and 2005.

The Vikings had a 12-game winning streak, the fourth longest in school history and the third best in GNAC archives, snapped in a 94-86 triple overtime loss at Saint Martin's on Jan. 7. The contest was the third longest in WWU history behind two four-overtime games. Western bounced back with a 93-60 win over Western Oregon on Jan. 9, setting school and GNAC records for fewest turnovers in a game with three ... Western reached the century mark in scoring in both of its GNAC five weeks ago, tying a school record with 17 3-pointers in defeating Western Oregon at home, 112-78, on Jan. 28; and winning 100-75 at Montana State Billings on Jan. 30. It was the first time that the Vikings posted back-to-back 100-point games since late in the 2005-06 season.

Western senior forward Michael Duty suffered a season-ending injury in mid-November, fracturing a finger on his non-shooting left hand. Duty was averaging 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in four games, being named MVP at the Disney Classic ... The Vikings won or tied for the title in all four of their tournament appearances this season ... During one stretch early this season, Western held its opponents to 55 or fewer points in four straight games, the first time that has happened since the early 1950s.

Anderson was the GNAC Player of the Week for Dec. 28-Jan. 2 ... Duty was the MVP at the Disney Tip-Off Classic with Webb also being named all-tournament. Anderson and Bruce were all-tourney picks at the Seattle Pacific Classic; Bruce, Webb and Vanderjagt were on the WWU Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic all-tournament team and Anderson was the WWU Great Western Shootout MVP with Webb being another all-tourney choice ... Webb missed all of last season because of a broken wrist suffered during preseason practice ... Both Bruce and senior guard Andrew Ready did not play last season after being top reserves in 2007-08. Bruce was a redshirt and Ready took a year off from school to work.

MO PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Western point guard Morris Anderson received honorable mention recognition on The Sporting News 2009-10 Preseason NCAA Division II All-America Team. He is one of two returning starters from last season's 21-6 team that won the school's first outright GNAC title and earned an automatic berth in the West Regional of the NCAA II National Tournament.

Anderson averaged 12.6 points, 6.1 assists and 5.4 rebounds in 2008-09, earning GNAC Newcomer of the Year and first-team all-star honors. He ranked ninth nationally in steals (2.7) and No.12 in assists with the third highest average in school history.

Anderson nearly had triple-doubles in two of Western's final three regular-season games. He had 15 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in an 85-68 win over Central Washington; and 11 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in a 76-68 victory at Montana State Billings.

This season, Anderson came close to a triple double on Feb. 4 against Saint Martin's, finishing with 13 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds.

SILVER ANNIVERSARY FOR COACH JACKSON: Brad Jackson is in his 25th season, the longest tenure of any coach in Western history in any sport. He is the most successful men's coach in school history, both in total wins (470-262) and winning percentage (64.2). Jackson ranks No.18 among active NCAA II coaches in victories and No.38 in winning percentage.

Jackson, who was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year last year, has coached the Vikings to 18 post-season playoff appearances and 11 20-win season during his tenure. 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.

HOME SWEET HOME: Western is 13-1 on its home floor this season and has won 75.6 percent (472-152) of its games at Carver Gym over 48 seasons.

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: All Viking home games are being video streamed live and are available free at http://www.greatnorthwest.tv. 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.

PROBABLE WESTERN STARTERS & TOP RESERVES:

G Morris Anderson, 6-3, *Sr., Federal Way, WA/Federal Way/Highline CC
G Andrew Ready, 6-1, *Sr., Chicago, IL/Westinghouse/Bakersfield College
C Dave Vanderjagt, 7-0, *Sr., Townsville, Australia/Townsville St/Montana
F Zach Bruce, 6-8, *Sr., Oceanside, CA/Oceanside/Highline CC
F Derrick Webb, 6-3, *Sr., Port Orchard, WA/South Kitsap/Highline CC

G Harold McAllister, 6-0, ***Sr., Vancouver/Mountain View
G Cameron Severson, 6-4, *So., Petersburg, AK/Petersburg
F  Rory Blanche, 6-6, *So., Ashland, Ore/Ashland
F Chris Mitchell, 6-8, R-Fr., Everson/Nooksack Valley
G Richard Woodworth, 6-3, Fr., Bellevue/Newport
Inj - F Michael Duty, 6-6, *Sr., Seattle, WA/O'Dea/Bellevue CC
*letters

CENTRAL WASHINGTON: The Wildcats are 16-10, losing three of their last four games. They lead the GNAC in scoring offense, averaging 84.8 points.

Central has five players scoring in double figures, led by second-team GNAC all-star 6-1 junior guard J.C. Cook (14.7 ppg), a transfer from Clackamas CC where he was the NWAACC Southern Region MVP last season.

The lone returning starter from last year's 18-7 team that qualified for the NCAA II West Regional is 5-10 senior guard Jon Clift (11.5 ppg), who received all-GNAC honorable mention.

Also back for coach Greg Sparling (15th year, 254-166) is 6-9 junior center Chris Sprinkler, who was another second-team all-GNAC pick. He is averaging 12.8 points, a team-high 7.6 rebounds and a conference-best 2.2 blocks.

Western is 15-7 in the last 22 series meetings, but trail overall, 151-89. The Vikings won both regular-season meetings, 84-70 at Ellensburg on Jan. 23 and 90-86 at Bellingham on Feb. 28.