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Nov. 30, 2009

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Following a 10-year hiatus, the Western Washington University men's basketball team renews its rivalry with Simon Fraser University on Wednesday (7 p.m.) on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.

The game will be video streamed live and available free at http://www.greatnorthwest.tv and broadcast live on KBAI Radio (930 AM).

The 7-1 Vikings, winners of their last six games, have not played the Clansmen in an official, counting contest since back-to-back meetings to end the 1998-99 season. The two schools first met in 1967.

Simon Fraser, located in Burnaby, B.C., is in the first of a two-year candidacy period to become the first Canadian affiliate of NCAA Division II and will be a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference beginning with the 2010-11 school year.

Western is on the road Saturday (7:30 p.m.) for its third meeting of the young season with Grand Canyon University, this time at Phoenix, Arizona, before taking a break for fall quarter final examinations. The Vikings have won the first two contests with the Antelopes, 94-70 at Los Angeles, Calif., in the Disney Tip-Off Classic, and 70-55 on Saturday to tie for the championship at the WWU Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic.

Western began the Randall tourney Friday with an 86-23 win over Academy of Art, tying a school record for least points allowed that was set on Jan. 19, 1963 in a 45-23 win over Saint Martin's. The Vikings established a school record in the first half by holding the Urban Knights to six points.

Western is allowing the opposition just 57.6 points per game on 38.8 percent (172-of-443) field-goal shooting. The Vikings are averaging nearly 10 more rebounds a contest and are making good use of their free-throw opportunities, hitting 76.9 percent (160-of-208).

Senior forward Derrick Webb tops three Western players averaging double-figure points with a 12.9 average. He has made 39-of-43 free throws (90.7 percent) and is second on the team in rebounds at 5.8 per contest.

Senior point guard Morris Anderson leads the Vikings in assists (4.1) and steals (2.9), and is averaging 10.8 points. He has missed just one of 24 free throws (95.8 percent), making his last 23 straight (school record is 37, Jared Stevenson, 1997-98), and is shooting 37.1 percent (13-of-35) on 3-pointers.

Senior forward Zach Bruce paces the squad in rebounds with a 7.9 average, and is scoring at a 10.0 clip on 56.5 percent field-goal accuracy (35-of-62).

The Randall Classic co-championship was Western's eighth time tying or winning the title in the 11-year history of the tourney. The Vikings have won their last 14 games at the Randall Classic and 19 of 22 overall.

Bruce, Webb and senior center Dave Vanderjagt were named to the all-tournament team. Vanderjagt had 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots in the Academy of Art contest.

It is the third time this season that the Vikings have shared a team tourney title, the others coming at the Disney Tip-Off Classic and the Seattle Pacific Tip-Off Classic.

Vanderjagt has started the last four games, replacing senior Michael Duty, who fractured a finger on his non-shooting left hand against Northwest on Nov. 16 and is out indefinitely. Duty was averaging 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, being the MVP at the Disney Classic.

Bruce and Anderson were SPU Classic all-tourney picks, and Webb was a Disney Classic all-star.

Senior guard Harold McAllister has been outstanding off the bench for the Vikings, connecting on 11-of-18 3-point attempts (61.1 percent).

Simon Fraser is 8-3, winning five of its last six games with the lone loss during that stretch being in overtime. Point guard Sean Burke leads four Clansmen averaging double-figure points with a 13.4 average.

The Vikings hold a 41-23 series advantage over Simon Fraser.

Grand Canyon, 2-7 (Dec. 4 host Saint Martin's), has not beaten Western in four series meetings.

Head coach Brad Jackson, who is in his 25th season directing Western, has an all-time victory total of 452.

THREE-DOT NOTES: 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 Great Northwest Athletic Conference 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 scored a team season-best 30 points in an 83-68 win at Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 15, 2009. He had 13 assists versus Northwest, the most by a Viking player since 1989. 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.

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 (452-258) and winning percentage (.637). Jackson ranks No.18 among active NCAA II coaches in victories and No.38 in winning percentage.

Jackson was named GNAC Coach of the Year last year, directing the Vikings to their 17th post-season playoff appearance and 10th 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.

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

GAME SUMMARIES:

Nov. 27 - WESTERN 86, Academy of Art 23 at Bellingham, Wash.

Western matched a school record for fewest points allowed in a game, defeating Academy of Art, 86-23, in first-day action at the 11th WWU Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic held at Carver Gym. The 23 points tied the fewest allowed by the Vikings in the post-World War II era, a mark matched only in a 45-23 victory over Saint Martin's on Jan. 19, 1963, and was the fewest allowed since the introduction of a shot clock in the 1985-86 campaign. Vanderjagt had a game-high 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots for Western. AAU fell to 0-3. Guard Phillip Samuels had six points for the Urban Knights, who shot just 19.6 percent (11-of-56) from the field. The Vikings scored the first 19 points, holding AAU off the scoreboard until Samuels hit a jumper from the foul line with 10:40 left in the first half. The Vikings led 31-6 at halftime, setting a school record for fewest points allowed in a half. All 11 Western players who played scored, with Blanche getting 12 points, and guard Morris Anderson notching 11 points and five assists. Western shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the field, including 60 percent (18-of-30) in the second half, and had a 52-25 advantage in rebounds, with Mitchell grabbing a game-high nine. Western's previous low for points allowed in the shot-clock era was 32 in a 110-32 victory over Golden State Baptist last season.

Nov. 28 - WESTERN 70, Grand Canyon 55 at Bellingham, Wash.

Webb had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Bruce added 19 points and eight rebounds, combining for 13 of their team's first 15 second-half points to help Western defeat Grand Canyon, 70-55, in final-day action at the 11th WWU Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic held at Carver Gym. Grand Canyon, which fell to 2-7, was led by the 14 points of forward Brad Carroll. Guard T.J. Benson added 12 points and forward Justin Wesolowski had 11. The score was tied 29-29 at halftime, and Western was up by just four, 43-39, after a baseline dunk by Grand Canyon's Steven Morin with a little over 10 minutes left. But the Vikings went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes, with Bruce getting two baskets and Webb and McAllister each hitting two free throws, pushing the margin to 12, 51-39, with seven minutes to go. Grand Canyon never got closer than nine points after that. The Vikings shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the field in the second half after hitting just 37.5 percent (9-of-24) in the opening period. Western had a 40-19 advantage in rebounds. The Vikings made 25-of-31 free throws (80.6 percent) with Webb converting 9-of-10.