Tuesday, February 13, 2018

POSTSEASON HORSE RACE HEATS UP: With two weeks left in the regular season, there is quite a race brewing for the final three spots in next month’s GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships.

Central Washington and Seattle Pacific enter the week tied for fourth place at 9-7 while Alaska Anchorage and Alaska are knotted in sixth place at 8-8. Northwest Nazarene sits a game behind the Seawolves and Nanooks in eighth at 7-9.

Of the five teams, the Nighthawks may have the toughest road to clinch a postseason berth. Northwest Nazarene will host league-leading Western Oregon on Thursday and close the season on the road at Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific. Alaska Anchorage will play the final four games of the regular season on the road, traveling to Western Washington and Simon Fraser this week and at Alaska and Montana State Billings the following week.

Both Western Oregon and Western Washington have clinched tournament berths. The Wolves will try to clinch its third regular season championship in four years on this week’s road trip to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. The Wolves and Vikings will play each other next week with WWU being the only team that has beat WOU this season.

Saint Martin’s, at 11-5, is likely to clinch a tournament position this week. The Saints host Seattle Pacific on Tuesday and play at Montana State Billings on Thursday.

GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS TICKETS ON SALE: Tickets are on sale for the 2018 GNAC Basketball Championships, which take place Mar. 1-3 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Tournament passes for all three days are available for $30 for adults, $18 for students, seniors and youth, while single-game tickets are available for $15 for adults, $9 for students, seniors and youth. Tickets can be purchased online at gnachooptickets.com.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS: The following GNAC Players have been recognized with all-tournament team honors during the 2017-18 season...

PacWest/GNAC Conference Challenge (Nov. 10 & 11 at Bellingham, Wash.): Iziah Sherman-Newsome (SFU), Kedar Salam (SFU), Deandre Dickson (WWU), Daulton Hommes (WWU), Logan Schilder (WWU)

Alaska/Hawaii Challenge (Nov. 10 & 11 at Anchorage): Davis Kimble (UAF), LaDonovan Wilder (UAF), Jacob Lampkin (UAA).

GNAC/CCAA Challenge (Nov. 10 & 11 at Portland): Jarrett Gray (CU, Most Valuable Player), Christopher Edward (CU), Jawan Stepney (CWU).

Sodexo Classic (Nov. 17-18 at Seattle): Coleman Wooten (SPU, Most Valuable Player), Sam Simpson (SPU), Fuquan Niles (CWU).

Chuck Randall Classic (Nov. 24-25 at Bellingham, Wash.): Deandre Dickson (WWU), Daulton Hommes (WWU), Michael Kluting (UAF), Joe Lendway (UAF).

GCI Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 22-25 at Anchorage): Jacob Lampkin (UAA).

Hoops In Hawaii Holiday Classic (Dec. 17-19 at Honolulu): Kendall Denham (MSUB), Trey Drechsel (WWU), Daulton Hommes (WWU).

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ali Faruq-Bey
Western Oregon
G • 6-2 • Sr. • Chicago, Ill.

Faruq-Bey led Western Oregon to its 15th and 16th straight wins on the season by averaging 24.5 points per game, shooting 51.9 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and went a perfect 14 of 14 from the free throw line. Faruq-Bey opened the week by scoring 25 in Thursday’s 95-81 win over Seattle Pacific, which included a 12 for 12 effort from the free throw line. He then led all scorers with 24 points on 9 of 16 from the field and 4 of 8 from three-point range in the Wolves’ 86-73 win over Saint Martin’s.

Also Nominated: Josiah Wood (Alaska Anchorage), Jarrett Gray (Concordia), Hafeez Abdul (Montana State Billings), Maurice Jones (Northwest Nazarene), Tavian Henderson (Saint Martin’s), Kedar Salam (Simon Fraser), Deandre Dickson (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• Alaska kept its GNAC Championships hopes alive with a split in its final home weekend, dropping a close 79-76 game to Central Washington on Thursday and scoring a 67-53 win over Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

• Junior guard Alex Baham led the way for the Nanooks as he averaged 14.5 points per game in the two contests and shot 55.6 percent from the field. He led UAF with 17 points on 6 of 9 from the field against CWU and added 12 points against NNU. Baham enters the week as the Nanooks’ leading scorer at 12.9 points per game and is 10th in the GNAC in free throw percentage (.828).

• Sophomore forward Michael Kluting averaged 11 points and 11 rebounds per game last week. He finished with a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds against CWU while amassing 11 points and eight rebounds against NNU. Kluting is ranked third in the GNAC with 7.9 rebounds per game.

• Junior forward Amenofis Mitchell had a great shooting weekend, going 8 for 12 from the field to finish at .667 while averaging 12.5 points per game. He went 4 for 4 from the field and 3 for 3 from three-point range against CWU on Thursday.

• Alaska enters the week averaging 72 points and 31.8 rebounds per game. The Nanooks are fourth in the GNAC with a .390 three-point percentage and are fourth in Division II in fewest fouls (325).

• The Nanooks will play the final four games of the regular season on the road. Alaska is at Simon Fraser on Thursday and at Western Washington on Saturday.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage breathed new life into its GNAC Championships chances with a home sweep, defeating Northwest Nazarene, 59-48, on Thursday and Central Washington, 70-54, on Saturday.

• Thanks to the sweep at a key point in the season, the Seawolves were recognized as the Red Lion/GNAC Team of the Week.

• Junior guard Josiah Wood came up big for UAA as he averaged 14 points per game in the two contests and finished with 11 assists. After finishing with nine points and seven assists against NNU, Wood came alive for 19 points on 6 of 10 from the field and 4 of 5 from three-point range against CWU. Wood enters the week averaging 7.9 points per game and leads the team with 55 assists.

• Junior guard Malik Clements averaged 11 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last week, coming off the bench for nine points and five rebounds against NNU and adding a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds against CWU. Clements is averaging 8.4 points per game.

• Senior guard DJ Ursery continues to lead the Seawolves in scoring at 11.4 points per game, but was limited to single digits in both games last week.

• Alaska Anchorage enters the week averaging 62.9 points and 33.4 rebounds per game and is second in the GNAC with a .736 free throw percentage. One of the top defensive teams in the league, UAA is fifth in Division II in scoring defense at 63.6 points allowed per game. The Seawolves are second in the GNAC in both field goal defense (.423) and three-point defense (.337).

• Alaska Anchorage finishes the regular season with four on the road. The Seawolves play at Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• The Wildcats took a split on their final road trip outside of Washington for the regular season. Central ran its win streak to six games on Thursday with a 79-76 at Alaska before seeing it end with a 70-54 defeat at Alaska Anchorage.

• Freshman guard Khalil Shabazz continued his great first-year run, averaging 17 points and seven rebounds per game in Alaska. He led all scorers with 26 points and nine rebounds at UAF before scoring eight points at UAA. Shabazz enters the week ranked 10th in the GNAC in scoring at 15.3 points per game. He is also second in the GNAC with 2.32 steals per game.

• Senior forward Sage Woodruff averaged 11 points per game in his key bench role. He finished with 15 points, which included 4 of 6 from three-point, in 25 minutes at Alaska and added seven points at Alaska Anchorage. Woodruff is averaging 10.1 points per game, third among CWU players.

• Senior center Fuquan Niles averaged 9.5 points and seven rebounds per game and added nine blocks to his GNAC-leading totals. His best performance came at Alaska Anchorage where Niles finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Niles is fourth in the GNAC with 7.6 rebounds per game. He leads the GNAC and is 19th in Division II with 2.26 blocks per game and is 18th nationally with 52 total blocks.

• Central Washington enters the week averaging 80 points per game and is second in the GNAC with 38.3 rebounds per game. The Wildcats are third in the league in both blocked shots (4.00 per game) and assists (15.30 per game) and leads the league with 11.87 offensive rebounds per game.

• The Wildcats close their 2017-18 home schedule this week, hosting Concordia on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.

CONCORDIA
• The struggles continued for Concordia last week as the Cavaliers took a 71-58 loss to Saint Martin’s on Thursday and an 80-70 loss to Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

• Junior guard Jarrett Gray led the Cavaliers by averaging 16.5 points per game over the two contests. He led all scorers with 18 points on 8 of 13 from the field to go along with six rebounds against Saint Martin’s and added 15 points against Seattle Pacific. Gray enters the week ranked fifth in the scoring and leading CU with 16.8 points per game. He also leads the GNAC and is 14th in Division II with 37:12 minutes played per game.

• Senior guard/forward Bryan Michaels averaged 15.5 points per game against the Puget Sound schools. After scoring eight against SMU, Michaels went off for 23 points on 9 of 19 from the field against SPU. Michaels is averaging 12.3 points per game.

• Senior forward Christopher Edward had a quiet week with his top performance coming with 10 points and seven rebounds against Saint Martin’s. Edward is the only GNAC player averaging a double-double. He is eighth in the GNAC in scoring at 15.6 points per game and leads the GNAC and is 17th in Division II with 10.4 rebounds per game. Edward also ranks seventh in the GNAC and 28th in Division II with a .592 field goal percentage and is eighth in Division II with 14 double-doubles.

• Concordia is averaging 71.4 points and 33.3 rebounds per game.

• The Cavaliers play their final road games of the season this week, traveling to Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings scored a key split on the road last week, falling to Western Washington on Thursday, 91-65, before collecting a 77-75 win at Simon Fraser on Saturday.

• Junior guard/forward Zack Rollins paced the MSUB offense again, averaging 23 points and five rebounds per game while shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 52.4 percent from three-point range. Rollins led MSUB with 19 points and seven rebounds at WWU and then led all scorers with 27 points on 9 of 12 from the field and 6 of 9 from three-point range at SFU. Rollins is seventh in the GNAC at 15.8 points per game. He is also second in the GNAC and 30th in Division II with 3.11 three-pointers made per game while ranking 13th with 202 three-point attempts.

• Sophomore forward Hafeez Abdul also came up big, averaging 22 points and eight rebounds per game last week. He scored 18 points on 6 of 10 from the field with seven rebounds against WWU and then scored 26 points on 8 of 10 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free throw line at SFU. The 22 points per game last week is well above Abdul’s season average of 5.1 points per game.

• Montana State Billings enters the week averaging 79.5 points and 33 rebounds per game. The Yellowjackets are third in the GNAC in free throw percentage (.734) and leads the league and are 17th in Division II with 10.93 three-pointers made per game. The Yellowjackets are sixth in Division II with 235 three-pointers made and fifth with 769 three-point attempts.

• The Yellowjackets close the season with four home games, hosting Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The Nighthawks are now on the outside looking into the GNAC Championships race after losing three straight, including a 59-48 defeat at Alaska Anchorage on Thursday and a 67-53 defeat to Alaska on Saturday.

• Senior forward Maurice Jones led the NNU road effort by averaging 14.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game last week. After scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds at UAA, Jones finished with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds at UAF. Jones enters the week second in the GNAC at 18.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He also is 15th in Division II with a .473 three-point percentage and 28th with 10 double-doubles on the season.

• Junior guard Obi Megwa matched Jones on Saturday with 19 points to go along with six rebounds. Megwa is fourth in the GNAC in scoring at 18 points per game.  

• Sophomore Jayden Bezzant led the Nighthawks at Alaska Anchorage with 20 points on 8 of 15 from the field. Bezzant averaged 12 points per game in Alaska and enters the week averaging 13.8 points per game.

• Northwest Nazarene enters the week averaging 78.5 points per game and is third in the GNAC with 37.8 rebounds per contest. The Nighthawks are also third in the GNAC in both offensive rebounds (11.18 per game) and defensive rebounds (26.64).

• A GNAC Championships playoff berth is on the line as the Nighthawks host two games this week, hosting Western Oregon on Thursday and Concordia on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• A road split in the Willamette Valley brought Saint Martin’s one step closer to a GNAC Championships berth. The Saints beat Concordia on Thursday, 71-58, before seeing an eight-game win streak end at Western Oregon on Saturday, 86-73.

• Senior forward Matt Dahlen led a balanced scoring effort as he averaged 11 points per game on the road trip. He scored seven points at Concordia before leading the Saints with 15 points on 6 of 6 from the field at Western Oregon. Dahlen enters the week averaging 8.4 points per game and is fifth in the GNAC with a .602 field goal percentage.

• Junior guard Rhett Baerlocher also averaged 11 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last week. He led the Saints in the win at Concordia with 17 points and nine rebounds, making 5 of 8 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line. Baerlocher is also averaging 8.4 points per game.

• Junior guard EJ Boyce scored 13 points at Concordia while junior guard Luke Chavez scored 13 points at Western Oregon. Chavez leads the Saints and is sixth in the GNAC with 16.1 points per game. He also ranks third with 1.96 steals per game and sixth with 3.87 assists per game. Boyce, meanwhile, leads the GNAC and is 21st in Division II with 3.20 three-pointers made per game and is fifth in the GNAC and 22nd in Division II with a .460 three-point percentage.

• Saint Martin’s enters the week fourth in the GNAC in scoring at 80.3 points per game and is also averaging 34.1 rebounds per game. The Saints lead the GNAC and are 28th in Division II in three-point shooting (.394) and is third in the GNAC and 30th in Division II with a .389 field-goal percentage.

• Saint Martin’s hosts Seattle Pacific on Tuesday before taking its final regular season road trip to Montana State Billings on Thursday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific picked up a split on its Willamette Valley road trip, falling to Western Oregon on Thursday, 95-81, before beating Concordia on Saturday, 80-70.

• Junior forward Coleman Wooten led the Falcons with averages of 17 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last week, shooting 58.3 percent from the field. Wooten scored 10 points at Western Oregon before leading all scorers with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds at Concordia, connecting on 11 of 15 from the field. Wooten is averaging 10.5 points per game and is seventh in the GNAC with seven rebounds per game.

• Junior forward Nathan Streufert averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game on the road trip. He led five SPU players in double figures at WOU with 17 points on 5 of 7 from the field and 7 of 9 from the free throw line to go along with eight rebounds. Streufert then added 16 points at Concordia on 6 of 9 from the field. Streufert, who made 68.8 percent of his shot from the field last week, is averaging 9.4 points per game. He is fifth in the GNAC with 7.5 rebounds per game and eighth with a .586 field goal percentage.

• Seattle Pacific enters the week third in the GNAC with 82.1 points and is fourth with 37.7 rebounds per game. The Falcons are 23rd in Division II with 424 free throws made, 27th with 584 free throws attempted and 28th in scoring margin (+6.0). The Falcons are also second in the GNAC with a .393 three-point percentage.

• The Falcons play at Saint Martin’s on Tuesday before traveling east to face Montana State Billings on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan has now lost four in a row after taking an 86-64 loss at Western Washington last Tuesday and a 77-75 defeat to Montana State Billings at home on Saturday.

• Senior guard Kedar Salam paced Simon Fraser by averaging 22 points per game in the two games, making 48.4 percent from the field. Salam led all scorers with 23 points on 9 of 18 from the field in the loss at WWU and contributed 21 points, including 7 of 8 from the free throw line, against MSUB. Salam leads the GNAC in scoring at 19.3 points per game.

• Sophomore guard Othniel Spence scored 23 points in the two games, scoring 12 at WWU and 11 against MSUB. Spence enters the week averaging 9.5 points per game.

• Sophomore guard Michael Provenzano scored 19 points in the two games and added 11 assists. He scored his week-high 10 points against WWU and came up with seven of the Clan’s 20 assists against MSUB. Provenzano is third in the GNAC with an average of 4.21 assists per game.

• Simon Fraser enters the week averaging 72.9 points and 32.5 rebounds per game. The Clan leads the GNAC in three-point defense (.329) and is second in both steals (7.88 per game) and turnover margin (+2.12). With nine wins on the season, the Clan needs two more wins to match SFU’s GNAC-best of 11 wins from the 2014-15 season.

• The Clan closes the home schedule this week, hosting Alaska on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Already GNAC Championships bound, Western Oregon ran its win streak to 16 games with a 95-81 win over Seattle Pacific on Thursday and an 86-73 victory over Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

• The wins allowed the Wolves to remain at No. 4 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the D2SIDA Media Poll. Western received one first-place vote in each ranking.

• Senior guard Ali Faruq-Bey was named the GNAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after he averaged 24.5 points per game in the two games while shooting 51.9 percent from the field. Faruq-Bey scored 25 points against SPU, which included a perfect 12 of 12 from the free throw line, before leading all scorers with 24 points with four steals against SMU. He enters the week averaging 10.9 points per game and is fifth in the GNAC with 1.57 steals per game.

• Senior forward Tanner Omlid led all scorers against SPU with 32 points to go along with five rebounds, seven assists and five steals. He then added 13 points against SMU to go with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Omlid continues to be the pace-setter for the Wolves, leading the team with 13.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He leads the GNAC and is seventh in Division II with 2.50 steals per game and is second in the GNAC and 24th in Division II with 2.04 blocked shots per game.

• Western Oregon is second in the GNAC in scoring at 84.8 points per game and is also averaging 36.8 rebounds per game. The Wolves lead the GNAC in scoring margin (+16.9), field goal percentage (.516), field goal defense (.423), assists (17.25 per game) and steals (9.50 per game) Western Oregon is fourth in Division II in field goal percentage, fifth in scoring margin and ninth in steals.

• Western Oregon takes its final regular season road trip this week, traveling to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Central Washington on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington ran its win streak to three games and secured its GNAC Championships berth with an 86-64 win over Simon Fraser on Tuesday and a 91-65 rout of Montana State Billings on Thursday.

• Sophomore forward Trevor Jasinsky led Western Washington with averages of 17 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in the two contests. He scored 11 points to go with five rebounds against SFU and then led all scorers with 23 points with on 6 of 11 from the field, 5 of 9 from three-point range and 6 of 6 from the free throw line against MSUB. Jasinsky enters the week averaging 9.9 points per game.

• Senior forward Deandre Dickson averaged 15 points and seven rebounds per game last week and shot 57.1 percent from the field. He co-lead six WWU players scoring double figures with 15 points against SFU to go with seven rebounds before connecting for 15 more points against MSUB. Dickson is averaging 14.3 points per game and is third in the GNAC with 1.88 blocked shots per game.

• Junior guard Trey Drechsel added 26 points and 18 rebounds in last week’s games, capped by his 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists against MSUB. Drechsel is ninth in the GNAC in scoring at 15.4 points per game and sixth with 7.3 rebounds per game.

• Western Washington leads the GNAC and is 28th in Division II in scoring with 85.5 points per game. The Vikings also lead the conference in rebounding (40 per game), free throw percentage (.780), rebounding defense (29.6 allowed per game) and blocked shots (6.38 per game). The Vikings rank third in Division II in blocked shots per game, fourth in total blocks (153), seventh in free throw percentage and 15th in field goal percentage.

• The Vikings host the Alaska schools this week, welcoming the Seawolves on Thursday and the Nanooks on Saturday.