• News
• |
• Schedule
• |
• Roster
• |
• Stats
• |
• Archives

Dec. 4, 2012

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Riding a 12-game winning streak over the last two seasons, the defending national champion Western Washington University men's basketball team entertains Quest University BC on Saturday (3 p.m.), Dec. 8, in a non-league contest at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.

A webcast and live stats can be found at www.wwuvikings.com. The game also will be broadcast live on KBAI Radio (AM 930, www.930kbai.com) with Doug Lange and Mark Scholten providing the broadcast.

The Vikings, ranked No.6 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, are 6-0 this year. Their 12-game winning streak over the last two seasons is tied for the sixth longest in the 12-year history of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Last Saturday, WWU won its conference opener with a 93-76 victory at Simon Fraser. Junior guard John Allen had 19 points and five assists. Junior guard Richard Woodworth had 17 points, a game-high eight assists and six rebounds, and senior forward Paul Jones added 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Allen leads five Vikings averaging double-figure points at 16.5 per game and has a team-high 26 assists (4.3 avg.). Jones is averaging 15.5 points and has a team-high 10 steals and ranks third among GNAC leaders in field-goal accuracy at 64.3 percent (36-of-56).

Junior forward Austin Bragg, a transfer from Clark CC, is averaging 10.8 points on 57.4 percent (27-of-47) floor accuracy and a team-high 7.0 rebounds. Senior guard Rico Wilkins is averaging 10.3 points off the bench, with senior center Chris Mitchell averaging 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Senior guard Cameron Severson is averaging 9.0 points in a reserve role. He is shooting a GNAC-leading 68.8 percent (22-of-32) from the field.

WWU is outscoring its opponents, 89.7 to 70.8, shooting 52.9 percent (201-of-380) from the floor, which leads the league, 43.7 percent (52-of-119) from 3-point range and 75.7 percent (84-of-111) at the free throw line.

The Vikings are holding opponents to 30.6 percent (76-of-122) from 3-point range and have a 39.8 to 27.8 advantage in rebounds per game. Their plus-12.0 rebound margin tops the league.

WWU ranks fourth nationally in rebound margin, fifth in field-goal percentage and ninth in scoring offense.

WWU, which is the GNAC's defending regular season champion, was picked second behind Seattle Pacific in the league's preseason coaches poll.

Quest, located in Squamish, B.C., and coached by Sean Shook (4thyear), has split its first eight games. The Kermodes are led by third-year 6-2 guard Jose Colorado, Canada's leading scorer at 27.8 points per game. Michael Zayas-Duran, a second-year 6-4 guard and a transfer from Thompson River, is averaging 12.4 points and 8.6 rebounds, and Brodan Thiel, a fifth-year 6-4 forward, is averaging 8.2 rebounds.

Last year, WWU won the first meeting between the two schools, 106-67.

ALLEN NEEDS THREE FOR 1,000: Senior guard John Allen needs three more points to become the 23rd Viking to reach the 1,000 plateau in career scoring, and just the fifth to accomplish that feat in three or less seasons. Allen also ranks 23rd in career assists with 233.

STREAKS: The Vikings are working on a 12-game winning streak over the last two seasons. The string is tied for the sixth longest in the 12-year history of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The WWU record for consecutive wins is 23 (1971-72) ... WWU also has won 13 straight home games and the school standard is 20 (1970-72). The Vikings were 17-1 at home last season, winning their last 10. They are 3-0 at Carver Gym this year.

THREE-DOT NOTES: 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 ... The Vikings will host Simon Fraser, the NCAA's first international member, in a nationally televised game on the CBS Sports Network (CBSSports.com) on March 2 (7 p.m.) ... WWU tied for the GNAC title in 2002 and 2005, won it outright in 2009 and took the regular-season crown in 2012.

PRE-SEASON HONORS: John Allen was picked as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason Player of the Year and was a Division II Bulletin Super 16 pick. Besides Allen, Paul Jones and Richard Woodworth were named to the GNAC preseason all-conference team.

COACH DOMINGUEZ: Tony Dominguez (6-0) 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 coordinating scheduling, scouting 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).

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, ranked No.8 in the Associated Press Preseason Poll, on Oct. 27. 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.

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

LAST WEEK'S GAME SUMMARY:

Dec. 1 - WWU 93, Simon Fraser 76 at Burnaby, B.C.

Allen had 19 points and five assists as WWU defeated Simon Fraser, 93-76, in the GNAC opener for both schools at West Gymnasium. Woodworth had 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Jones added 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for WWU. The Vikings, ranked No.6 nationally, remain unbeaten at 6-0 and have won 12 straight games over the last two seasons. Simon Fraser fell to 5-2 overall despite the game-high 34 points of center David Gebru, a transfer from NCAA I Western Illinois. WWU led by just six, 49-43, with under 16 minutes to go, but in the next three possessions got a 3-pointer and a jumper by Jones, then a 3-pointer by Allen, and grabbed a 57-43 advantage with 14:52 left. The margin was never less than eight after that, and remained in double digits the final nine minutes. Severson had 10 points for the Vikings, who shot 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the field, including 9-of-18 (50 percent) on 3-pointers. The Vikings led much of the first half, but were up by just two, 30-28, with five minutes left in the period before closing with an 11-2 run to take a 41-34 lead at halftime. It was WWU's ninth consecutive victory over SFU.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference

2012-13 Men's Basketball Report Week 4 (Dec. 4, 2012)

		        Conference			All
                        W	L	W	L	    H	A	N
Seattle Pacific         2	0	7	1	2-0	4-0	1-1
Western Oregon          2	0	6	2	4-2	1-0	1-0
Western Washington      1	0	6	0	3-0	3-0	0-0
Alaska Anchorage        1	1	7	2	7-2	0-0	0-0
Central Washington      1	1	5	2	1-0	2-1	2-1
Northwest Nazarene      1	1	4	3	1-0	2-3	1-0
Alaska Fairbanks        1	1	5	4	4-1	0-0	1-3
Simon Fraser            0	1	5	2	4-1	1-0	0-1
Montana State Billings  0	2	4	4	1-1	1-3	2-0
Saint Martin's          0	2	3	4	1-2	0-0	2-2

LAST WEEK: Monday - Walla Walla 74 at Central Washington 92. Thursday - MSU Billings 65 at Alaska Anchorage 79; Seattle Pacific 72 at Alaska Fairbanks 60; Central Washington 81 at Saint Martin's 75; Northwest Nazarene 84 at Western Oregon 92. Saturday - Seattle Pacific 85 at Alaska Anchorage 79; MSU Billings 73 at Alaska Fairbanks 80; Central Washington 113 at Western Oregon 118 (3ot); Northwest Nazarene 66 at Saint Martin's 65; Western Washington 93 at Simon Fraser 76.

THIS WEEK: Tuesday - College of Idaho at Northwest Nazarene, 7:07 p.m. Friday - South Dakota Mines at MSU Billings, 7:30 p.m.; New Hope Christian at Northwest Nazarene, 8 p.m.; Saint Martin's at Willamette. Saturday - Alumni at MSU Billings, 2 p.m.; Evergreen State at Seattle Pacific; Western Oregon at Utah State, 7:05 p.m.; Quest at Western Washington, 3 p.m.

COMING UP LATER IN DECEMBER: 11 - Evergreen State at Central Washington. 12 - Shorter at Western Oregon. 14 - MSU Billings at Grand Canyon, 7:30 p.m. 15 - Northwest Indian at Alaska Anchorage. 16 - Northwest Indian at Alaska Anchorage (exh). 17 - Multnomah at Alaska Fairbanks, 7:30 p.m.; Rocky Mountain at MSU Billings, 7:30 p.m.; Warner Pacific at Seattle Pacific; Simon Fraser at Dominican. 18 - Multnomah at Alaska Fairbanks, 7:30 p.m.; Great Western Shootout (Western Washington vs. Drury, 5 p.m.; Central Washington vs. Central Oklahoma, 7 p.m.; Saint Mary's vs. West Florida, 9 p.m.); Lynn Classic (Lynn vs. Saint Martin's, 7:30 p.m.). 19 - Great Western Shootout (Western Washington vs. Central Oklahoma, 5 p.m.; Saint Mary's vs. Drury, 7 p.m.; Central Washington vs. West Florida, 9 p.m.); Montana Western at MSU Billings, 7:30 p.m.; Lynn Classic (Barry vs. Saint Martin's, 5:30 p.m.); Simon Fraser at Academy of Art. 29 - Carroll at Montana State Billings; Montana Tech at Northwest Nazarene. 30 - Thompson River at Western Washington, 3 p.m.

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).

POLLS: NABC (Dec. 4) - 6. Western Washington, 8. Seattle Pacific, 28. Alaska Anchorage.

GNAC RED LION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: 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. Honorable Mention - Brandon Magee, Central Washington; Rei Jensen, Saint Martin's; Patrick Simon, Seattle Pacific; Kenny Jones, Northwest Nazarene; David Gebru, Simon Fraser; John Allen, Western Washington.

PLAYING OVERTIME: The Western Oregon/Central Washington triple overtime game last Saturday at Monmouth was the third triple overtime game in conference history and the first since Saint Martin's outlasted Western Washington 94-86 on Jan. 7, 2010. There have also been two four overtime contests - a 113-108 Seattle Pacific win over Humboldt State on Feb. 20, 2003 and a 126-122 Cal State Monterey Bay defeat of Western Oregon in a tournament at Chico State on Dec. 15, 2006.

FROM THE RECORD BOOK: Alexander's eight steals against Northwest Nazarene Thursday (See Player of the Week) matched the record for most steals in a GNAC conference game set by Jeremy Robinson of Humboldt State against Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 27, 2003 and matched by Stanley Ratcliff of Western Oregon against Saint Martin's on Jan. 10, 2009 and by Ryan Votaw of Saint Martin's versus Seattle Pacific on Dec. 31, 2011.

LISTS

All-Time Double Digit Win Streaks

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	Western Washington (3-9-12 to Current)
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)

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)

TEAM NOTES

Alaska Anchorage: Teancum Stafford led Alaska Anchorage with 35 points and 10 rebounds as the Seawolves split two contests. The Seawolves also got 27 points from Kyle Fossman. Liam Gibcus had 18 rebounds, including 13 in Thursday's 79-65 win over MSU Billings as the Seawolves outrebounded MSU Billings 48-25.

Alaska Fairbanks: Pat Voeut scored 31 points and also had 11 assists and five steals as the Nanooks split two home games, beating defending conference champion Montana State Billings 80-73. That was their fifth win of the season matching their entire 2011-12 win total. Dominique Brinson had 27 points in the two contests, cashing in on five of 11 three-pointers.

Central Washington: Brandon Magee set career highs for scoring in consecutive games, netting 23 in an 81-75 win at Saint Martin's before scoring 25 in CWU's triple overtime loss at Western Oregon. Magee made 15 of 20 shots, including eight of nine against the Saints. Mark McLaughlin led CWU in scoring in the two contests with 54 points, posting his second 30-point performance of the season with 33 against the Wolves. Nate Walker had 19 rebounds against WOU, matching the 12th highest total in conference history. It was the most by a CWU player since Terry Britt had 20 against Oregon Tech on Dec. 20, 1990.

Montana State Billings: Jarrell Crayton scored 36 points and also led the Yellowjackets with 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots in losses at Anchorage and Fairbanks. Kalob Hatcher matched Crayton's steal total also producing four.

Northwest Nazarene: Kenny Jones scored 46 points and also had 10 assists and nine rebounds as the Crusaders earned a road split. Jones slammed home a dunk in the final second of overtime in NNU's 66-65 victory against Saint Martin's. Northwest Nazarene was also led by Jonathan Hawkins, who made eight of 18 treys, with 36 points.

Saint Martin's: Rei Jensen had team-highs of 46 points and 17 rebounds in the Saints' narrow home losses to Central Washington (81-75) and Northwest Nazarene (66-65 in overtime). Jensen gave SMU the lead with 10 seconds left in overtime against NNU before the Crusaders' Kenny Jones won it in the final second.

Seattle Pacific: Patrick Simon scored 45 points (18-30 FG, 7-14 three-pointers) as the Falcons earned their first road sweep of the Alaska schools since the 2001-02 season and defeated Alaska Anchorage for the first time at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex since 2007. Simon poured through 30 points, converting on 13 of 17 shots including four of six treys in Thursday's 72-60 win at Fairbanks. On Saturday, point guard David Downs had a career-high 12 assists in a 85-79 win against Alaska Anchorage.

Simon Fraser: Forward David Gebru scored 34 points - 44.7 percent of the Clan's total - in their 93-76 loss to Western Washington. Gebru made 13 of 22 field goal attempts and eight of 11 free throws. SFU shot 53.7 percent (29-54) from the floor, but was outrebounded 33-26 and had twice as many turnovers (18-9).

Western Oregon: Andy Avgi scored 60 points, including a GNAC season-high 36 points in Saturday's home win against Central Washington. Avgi had just five points at halftime, but netted 31 during the second half and three overtimes. The freshman also had 15 rebounds. WOU made 22 of 45 three-pointers in its two wins, including 10 of 18 in Thursday's victory against Northwest Nazarene to help offset a 101-72 rebound deficit.

Western Washington: Richard Woodworth led five players in double figures with 19 points as the Vikings extended their two-season win streak to 12 games with a 93-76 win at Simon Fraser. Woodworth also had seven assists. John Allen and Paul Jones each had 16 rebounds. Jones also had 10 rebounds.

GNAC DRAWS A BLANK AGAINST D-1: GNAC teams were winless in nine exhibition games with Division I schools. Only two of the games were decided by single digits - Alaska Anchorage's four-point loss to Troy and Seattle Pacific's six-point loss at Idaho. Western Washington lost by just 10 at UW. GNAC teams were unbeaten in six other exhibition games. Exhibition Records (6-9): Montana State Billings 2-0, Western Oregon 1-0, Seattle Pacific 1-1, Northwest Nazarene 1-1, Saint Martin's 1-1, Central Washington 0-1, Alaska Anchorage 0-1, Simon Fraser 0-2, Western Washington 0-2.

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.

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).

NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Dec. 4, 2012 - Regular season poll #3)

Record Points Pvs

1.  West Liberty, W.Va. (12 first place votes) 6-0 393 1
2.  Washburn, Kan. (1 first place vote) 6-0 377 2
3.  Metropolitan State, Colo. (1 first place vote) 5-0 361 3
4.  Alabama-Huntsville (1 first place vote) 7-1 338 4
5.  Bellarmine, Ky. (1 first place vote) 5-0 336 5
6.  Western Washington 6-0 326 6
7.  Southern Indiana 4-0 295 8
8.  Seattle Pacific, Wash. 7-1 266 13
9.  Cal Poly Pomona 6-0 264 14
10. Barton, N.C. 7-0 255 11
11. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 6-0 232 12
12. Northwest Missouri State 6-0 205 17
13. Findlay, Ohio 4-1 157 16
14. St. Cloud State, Minn. 4-0 154 22
15. Franklin Pierce, N.H. 5-1 150 7
16. Kentucky Wesleyan 4-0 148 19
17. Indianapolis, Ind. 6-0 131 24
18. Winona State, Minn. 6-2 125 9
19. Christian Brothers, Tenn. 4-1 116 10
20. Minnesota State 5-0 85 NR
21. Augusta State, Ga. 4-0 72 NR
22. Indiana, Pa. 5-1 60 15
23. North Alabama 7-0 41 NR
24. Assumption, Mass. 7-0 40 NR
25. West Texas A&M 7-1 36 18

Others receiving votes: Drury (Mo.) 30, Tarleton State (Texas) 25, Alaska-Anchorage 24, Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 24, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 14, Harding (Ark.) 13, Post (Conn.) 12, Tampa (Fla.) 11, Benedict (S.C.) 10, Newman (Kan.) 9, Wayne State (Mich.) 9, Chico State (Calif.) 7, Cal State-San Bernardino (Calif.) 5, Colorado Mesa 5, Missouri-St. Louis 5, Florida Southern 4, King (Tenn.) 4, Edinboro (Pa.) 3, Massachusetts-Lowell 3, Henderson State (Ark.) 2.