Tuesday, January 17, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. – GNAC Insider returned on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. (Pacific) for its 109th episode featuring Northwest Nazarene men’s basketball forward Maurice Jones, Alaska women’s basketball forward Jordan Wilson and Concordia track and field athlete McKenzie Warren.

Jones joined the show as Northwest Nazarene heads into a Thursday clash with the current GNAC leader Western Washington. The Crusaders take a two-game winning streak into the week after beating Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin’s at home last week. In Saturday's 85-80 win over Seattle Pacific, Jones had a double-double with 16 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. On the season, he is NNU’s leading scorer and rebounder with 15.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He ranks 12th in the GNAC in scoring and third in rebounding. The Crusaders are currently in sole possession of sixth place in the GNAC. The top six teams at the conclusion of the regular season advance to the GNAC Championships.

Wilson is currently the second-leading scorer in NCAA Division II with 22.4 points per game, which is less than a tenth of a point behind national leader Taylor Peacocke from Western Washington. Wilson has scored 30 points in a game four times this season and last week reached 1,500 career points. Wilson is currently ranked No. 11 on the GNAC all-time scoring list and is just two points away from cracking the top 10. This week, Alaska is traveling to Washington to face Saint Martin’s on Thursday. On Saturday, the Nanooks will face Seattle Pacific, which is receiving votes nationally in the D2SIDA Media Poll.

Warren joined the show after being named the USTFCCCA Division II Women's Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week in recognition of her efforts at the UW Preview in Seattle. Against Division I competition, Warren won the shot put with a mark of 54 feet, 8 inches. That mark was four feet better than any other competitor that day. Her mark currently leads Division II and ranks No. 7 across all NCAA divisions. The defending GNAC indoor track and field champion was a finalist for the Oregon Sports Awards for the honor of Ad Rutschman Small-College Athlete of the Year. Warren will be back in action this weekend at the Bronco Invitational in Nampa, Idaho.