Tuesday, February 26, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - Western Washington fell one spot to third, but Seattle Pacific climbed one position to fourth in this week's NABC Division II Coaches men's basketball national poll as three of the top four teams in last week's poll lost.

Not only did the Vikings fall from the ranks of the unbeatens on Thursday losing to Alaska Fairbanks, but 24 hours later top-ranked Metro State lost for the first time this season at Fort Lewis and No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona fell at San Francisco State.

West Liberty, W.Va. (27-1) took advantage of the upsets to climb to No. 1, while Metro State slipped to No. 2.  Pomona follows Western Washington and Seattle Pacific in this week's rankings at No. 5.

PacWest member Grand Canyon (at No. 22) is the only other West Region team in the Top 25.

In this week's national statistics, Jonathan Hawkins of Northwest Nazarene is the national leader in free throw percentage, shooting 93.5 percent.  Saint Martin's is the national team leader in fewest turnovers, allowing just 10.0 per contest.

NATIONAL STATISTICS (Through Feb. 24): Team (Top 30): Scoring –8. Western Washington 85.9; 9. Central Washington 84.9.  Scoring Defense – 23. Seattle Pacific 62.0.  Scoring Margin – 5. Western Washington 17.6; 6. Seattle Pacific 15.0.  Field Goal PCT. – 9. Western Washington 50.1; 26. Seattle Pacific 48.6. Field Goal PCT. Defense – 20. Seattle Pacific 39.9.  Three-Point Field Goals – 8. Alaska Anchorage 9.4. Three-Point Percentage – 8. Seattle Pacific 41.1; 12. Alaska Anchorage 40.6; 18. Saint Martin’s 39.5.  Three-Point Field Goal Defense – 3. Western Washington 28.6. Rebound Margin – 3. Seattle Pacific 10.8;  12. Western Washington 8.0. Assists – 8. Alaska Anchorage 18.3; 13. Seattle Pacific 17.5; 19. Alaska Fairbanks 16.5. Assist/Turnover Ratio – 4. Seattle Pacific 1.52; 10. Alaska Anchorage 1.37; 26. Saint Martin’s 1.20.  Blocks – 8. Western Washington 5.5; 27. Northwest Nazarene 4.4. Fewest Turnovers – 1. Saint Martin’s 10.0; 22. Seattle Pacific 11.5. Fewest Fouls – 30. Seattle Pacific 15.8.  Individuals (Top 30): Scoring – 12. Mark McLaughlin, CWU, 22.2.  Three-Point PCT. – 5. Jobi Wall, SPU, 46.2; 9. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 45.0.  Free Throw PCT. – 1. Jonathan Hawkins, NNU, 93.5; 28. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 87.4.  Assists – 25. Pat Voeut, UAF, 5.3; 26. David Downs, SPU, 5.3. Steals – 29. Devon Alexander, WOU, 2.29.  Assist/Turnover Ratio -  4. Brady Bomber, SMU, 2.97; 5. Kalob Hatcher, MSUB, 2.93; 9. Riley Stockton, SPU, 2.64.