Tuesday, March 12, 2019

THREE GNAC SQUADS PACKING FOR SAN DIEGO: After rising to the to the top following an exciting GNAC Championships, Saint Martin’s, Seattle Pacific and Western Oregon have all earned invitations to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Championship West Region, which begins on Friday at Point Loma’s Golden Gymnasium in San Diego.

The Falcons earned the GNAC’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championship and the region’s No. 2 seed with a 78-66 victory over Western Oregon in the finals of the GNAC Championships. Seattle Pacific enters the tournament on a 12-game win streak after the Falcons swept the second half of their conference schedule and their two GNAC Championships games. Seattle Pacific will face No. 7 seed Chaminade, which finished third in the PacWest Conference and advance to the conference’s tournament semifinals.

This is Seattle Pacific’s 14th NCAA Championships appearance in the school’s GNAC era and the first appearance since 2016.

The GNAC regular-season champion, the Saints were awarded the No. 3 seed in the West Region and will play No. 7 seed Chaminade in the first round. It is the second-straight NCAA Championship appearance for Saint Martin’s which advanced to last year’s semifinals. The Saints will play No. 6 seed Concordia-Irvine, which advanced to the PacWest Championships final and fell 67-58 to Point Loma.

Western Oregon earned the No. 8 seed in the West Region thanks to making its fourth appearance in the GNAC Championships final in as many years. The Wolves knocked off Saint Martin’s, 70-53, on Friday to advance to the final. Western Oregon enters the tournament having won five of its last seven games. The Wolves will face No. 1 seed and tournament host Point Loma, which earned both the PacWest regular-season and tournament championships.

This is the fourth all-time appearance for Western Oregon and the program’s second consecutive trip to the West Regional.

Also in the West Region field is No. 4 seed UC San Diego, the CCAA Tournament champion, and No. 5 seed Cal Poly Pomona, which tied UC San Diego for the regular-season championship.

ARMS, SAINTS LEAD GNAC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: After leading Northwest Nazarene to one of the best seasons in program history, Northwest Nazarene junior guard Adonis Arms leads the selections to the 2018-19 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball All-Conference Team.

The transfer from Mesa Community College in Arizona was selected by the conference’s coaches as both the Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Arms helped lead the Nighthawks to a third-place regular season finish and just their second GNAC Championships berth.

Arms’ dynamic scoring ability and passionate style of play took the conference by storm. He leads the league in scoring at 20.9 points per game and is second with two steals per contest (51 total). He is also eighth in the GNAC with a .560 field goal percentage. A double-digit scorer in all 26 games, Arms netted a season-high 32 points at Seattle Pacific on Nov. 29.

Saint Martin’s saw its regular-season championship season rewarded with the selection of Alex Pribble as GNAC Coach of the Year and senior guard/forward Jordan Kitchen as the Defensive Player of the Year.

In four seasons at the helm, Pribble has coached the Saints to four winning seasons and three GNAC Championships appearances. In 2018-19, Pribble has led SMU to a 24-5 record and a 17-3 GNAC record, the best in the Saints’ Division II history.

Kitchen was the unanimous choice for Defensive Player of the Year. The senior enters the GNAC Championships ranked fourth in the GNAC with one blocked shot per game while also averaging 1.1 steals and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Montana State Billings forward Brendan Howard was a near-unanimous choice for Freshman of the Year. The Yellowjackets’ leading scorer, Howard is fifth in the GNAC with 15.6 points per game while also averaging 5.2 rebounds per game. Playing in all 28 games this season, primarily in a sixth-man role, Howard scored a season-high 25 points in the regular-season finale at Alaska on Mar. 2.

Arms was joined on the All-GNAC First Team by senior guard Obi Megwa. Also earning first-team honors was Saint Martin’s senior guard Luke Chavez, Western Washington junior forward Trevor Jasinsky, Seattle Pacific senior forward Coleman Wooten and Alaska Anchorage junior guard/forward Tyler Brimhall.

GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS MVP
Coleman Wooten
Seattle Pacific
F • 6-5 • Sr. • Maple Valley, Wash.

Wooten led Seattle Pacific to the GNAC championship with 41 points and 20 rebounds in the Falcons’ two game, shooting 57.6 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 77.8 percent from the free throw line. Wooten finished with 16 points and nine rebounds against Northwest Nazarene in the semifinals, making 7 of 14 from the field. Wooten led all players in the championship contest against Western Oregon with a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds, connected on 8 of 12 from the field, 3 of 4 from outside and 6 of 6 from the free throw line to go with two assists.

GNAC PARTICIPANTS IN THE NCAA WEST REGIONAL
SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s enters the NCAA West Regional as the No. 3 seed after losing in the GNAC Championships semifinals to Western Oregon on Friday, 70-53.

• After leading 33-23 after one half, the Saints went ice cold in the second half, making just 7 of 25 from the field and 1 of 10 from three-point range.

• The leading scorers for the Saints in the contest came off the bench. Senior guard EJ Boyce, coming off the bench after sitting out much of the previous week with an injury, led SMU with 14 points on 5 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 from three-point range. Boyce is the Saints’ leading scorer, averaging 13.2 points per game and is second in the GNAC with 2.96 three-pointers made per game. Boyce was a Second Team All-GNAC selection in 2018-19.

• Sophomore guard BJ Standley finished with 13 points in 22 bench minutes on 3 of 3 from the field, 1 of 1 from outside and 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Standley is averaging 11.3 points per game and is second in the GNAC with a .881 free throw percentage.

• Senior guard Luke Chavez was a unanimous First Team All-GNAC selection for the second straight season. Chavez enters the West Regional averaging 12.8 points per game, is fourth in the GNAC in assist/turnover ratio (2.68) and eighth in three-pointers made (2.11 per game). Chavez was limited to just two points against Western Oregon in the semifinals, but pulled down six rebounds.

• Senior transfer guard Chandler Redix also earned Second Team All-GNAC honors after averaging 11.8 points per game. Redix finished with eight points against Western Oregon.

• In addition to the all-conference selections, head coach Alex Pribble was named the conference Coach of the Year while senior guard/forward Jordan Kitchen was the unanimous selection as Defensive Player of the Year.

• Saint Martin’s enters the NCAA West Regional averaging 77.7 points and 34.3 rebounds per game. The Saints lead the GNAC in three-point defense (.322) and three-pointers made per game (10.41) and rank second in scoring defense (68.1 points allowed per game), scoring margin (+9.5), steals (7.41 per game) and turnover margin (+3.00). In the NCAA Division II statistics, the Saints rank 30th in both fewest turnovers (321) and turnovers per game (11.1).

• With the semifinals loss, Saint Martin’s dropped to No. 18 in both the NABC Coaches Poll and D2SIDA Media Poll. The Saints dropped four spots in the NABC poll and 10 spots in the D2SIDA poll.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Saint Martin’s is in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history. The No. 5 seed in last year’s West Regional, the Saints beat Cal Poly Pomona 69-65 in the quarterfinals before losing to tournament host Western Oregon in the semifinals, 77-55.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific claimed its fourth GNAC Championships trophy and the team’s first since 2015. The Falcons defeated Northwest Nazarene in the semifinals, 89-81, and Western Oregon in the final, 78-66.

• With the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Championship, Seattle Pacific is the No. 2 seed in the West Region. One of the hottest teams in Division II, the Falcons enter the tournament with a 12-game win streak.

• Senior forward Coleman Wooten was named the GNAC Championships MVP after he finished with 41 points and 20 rebounds in the two games. Wooten finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists against Northwest Nazarene and notched a double-double of 25 points and 11 to lead the Falcons against Western Oregon. Wooten shot 57.6 percent from the field in the Championships and 50 percent from three-point range. A 31-percent free throw shooter during the regular season, Wooten went 7 of 9 from the line. Wooten is averaging 12.8 points per game and is second in the GNAC with eight rebounds per contest. He also ranks eighth in the GNAC in three-point percentage (.427). In addition to his MVP award, Wooten was a First Team All-GNAC selection.

• Junior guard Gavin Long had a standout game in the semifinals, finishing with a season-high 27 points in the semifinals as he shot 9 of 15 from the field and 3 of 4 from three-point range. Long then added 17 points against Western Oregon as he went 6 for 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from outside. Long finished with 44 points in the Championships and shot 60 percent from the field. A Second Team All-GNAC selection, Long is ninth in the GNAC with 14 points per game and ranks ninth in the league with a .555 field goal percentage.

• Senior guard Nikhil Lizotte was also a Second Team All-GNAC selection after he averaged 12.9 points per game during the regular season. He scored 14 points in the championship final against Western Oregon. Lizotte enters the West Regional averaging 12.6 points per game and was an Honorable Mention All-GNAC selection.

• Seattle Pacific enters the West Regional averaging 79.2 points per game and leads the GNAC with 38.2 rebounds per game. The Falcons lead the GNAC in rebounding defense (30.2 allowed per game) and offensive rebounds (11.89 per game) while ranking second in field goal percentage (.484). Seattle Pacific is eighth in Division II in rebounding margin (+8.0).

• With the win of the GNAC Championships, Seattle Pacific is in both national top-25 polls for the first time this season. The Falcons are No. 20 in the D2SIDA Media Poll and No. 23 in the NABC Division II Coaches Poll.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Seattle Pacific is making its 14th NCAA Division II Championship appearance in the school’s GNAC era and its first appearance 2016. The Falcons have reached the regional final three times, most recently in 2013. Seattle Pacific won the West Regional in 2006, 81-77 over Western Washington, and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

WESTERN OREGON
• The No. 4 seed in the GNAC Championships, Western Oregon reached the tournament final for the fourth consecutive year. The Wolves defeated Montana State Billings in the quarterfinals, 79-72, and Saint Martin’s in the semifinals, 70-53, before losing to Seattle Pacific in the final, 78-66.

• Ranked No. 10 in the final NCAA Division II West Region Rankings entering the GNAC Championships, the tournament run allowed the Wolves to jump up to the No. 8 seed and will face Point Loma in the opening round.

• Senior Kaleb Warner led the Wolves with 42 points in the three games, shooting 59.1 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from three-point range. Warner had his best tournament effort against Saint Martin’s in the semifinals, leading all scorers with 25 points on 8 of 11 from the field and 6 of 7 from three-point range to go with six rebounds. Warner enters the week averaging 11.3 points per game.

• Junior forward Riley Hawken finished with 30 points and 19 rebounds in the three games, shooting 56.5 percent from the field. Hawken led the Wolves in the quarterfinals against MSUB, finishing with 5 points on 6 of 7 from the field to go with five rebounds and two assists. He also had 11 points and eight rebounds against Saint Martin’s. The Wolves lone All-GNAC selection, earning Second Team honors, Hawken leads Western Oregon with 12.1 points per game and is seventh in the GNAC with 6.5 rebounds per contest.

• Sophomore guard Darius Lubom scored 41 points and had 16 assists in the GNAC Championships. Lubom finished with 14 points and nine assists in 30 minutes off the bench against Saint Martin’s in the semifinals, shooting 6 of 8 from the field. Lubom led WOU with 14 points against Seattle Pacific to go with four rebounds and three assists. Lubom is averaging 10.3 points per game.

• Western Oregon enters the week averaging 77.2 points and 35.6 rebounds per game. The Wolves lead the GNAC and rank 17th in Division II in scoring defense (65.9 points allowed per game) and also lead the GNAC and rank 24th in Division II in scoring margin (+11.3). Western Oregon leads the GNAC in steals (7.81 per game) and is second in field goal defense (.422). In the NCAA Division II statistics, the Wolves are 13th in both turnover margin (4.7) and turnovers per game (10.2) and 25th in total steals (250).

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Western Oregon is in its fourth NCAA Tournament in the last five years and is making the program’s second straight appearance. The Wolves won the West Regional in 2016, beating UC San Diego 60-55, and advanced to the semifinals of the Division II Elite Eight. Western Oregon was the No. 1 seed in last year’s West Region and lost in the final to Cal Baptist, 80-76.