Tuesday, February 17, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. –   The two hottest teams in the GNAC collide Thursday at Monmouth, Ore., as GNAC leader Western Oregon hosts pre-season favorite Western Washington.

The Wolves, who are ranked  15th in this week’s NABC national poll and 16th in this week’s D2SIDA poll, bring an 11-game win streak into the contest.  That is the 11th longest in GNAC history.

Western Washington, meanwhile, is closing in on wrapping up a berth for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship tournament, which will be held March 5-7 in Billings, Mont.  The women’s tourney begins on the 4th.

The Vikings have won five in a row and need either one win or a Simon Fraser loss during the next two weeks to insure itself of a trip to Billings in March.

The WWU-WOU game is one of four on Thursday’s schedule. All four start at 7 p.m. local times.

 The rest of the schedule includes an Alaska – Northwest Nazarene matchup at Nampa on ROOT SPORTS.

Also on the schedule is a key showdown in Ellensburg between Alaska Anchorage and Central Washington, two teams looking to gain a first-round bye in the tournament.  WOU has already clinched the other first-round bye.  

A Central Washington win would create a three-way tie for second place between the Seawolves, Wildcats and Seattle Pacific, which is idle.

The UAF-NNU game is one of two ROOT games on this week’s schedule.  On Saturday, MSU Billings plays at Seattle Pacific in a 3 p.m.  ROOT SPORTS game.

1000 FOR RIMA: The UAF-NNU game on ROOT SPORTS will feature the newest – and 61st – member of the GNAC 1000-Point Club – the Crusaders’ Kevin Rima.   The Fairbanks native scored eight points Saturday night at Western Washington to increase his career total to 1,004.  The next player to reach that milestone will likely be Sango Niang of Simon Fraser who currently has 932 career points.

STAT OF THE WEEK:  Northwest Nazarene outrebounded Simon Fraser 50-19 and shot 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the floor in a game last Thursday at Burnaby – and still lost 92-88.  The Clan made 14-of-38 three-pointers (NNU was just 3-of-14 from the arc) and also had 13 fewer turnovers (24-11) as Roderick Evans-Taylor earned six steals.

WOU Ranked 15th in NABC, 16th in D2SIDA Polls

Western Oregon moved up three positions to No. 15 in this week’s NABC national poll after posting a 66-56 ROOT SPORTS win at Saint Martin’s last Wednesday.

The Wolves, however, remained at No. 16 in the D2SIDA national poll.

Both polls are unofficial.  The only poll that counts in the NCAA Division II West Regional poll which will determine the five teams that join the GNAC, PacWest and California College Athletic Association champions in the West Regional tournament, which begins Friday, Mar. 13 at a site to be determined.

The first of three regional polls will be released Wednesday.

Western Oregon is the highest ranked West Region team in the NABC poll.  Ranked in back of  the Wolves in the NABC national poll are Cal Baptist (17th), Azusa Pacific (18th) and BYU-Hawaii (22nd).  Florida Southern is ranked No. 1.

D2SIDA West Regional Poll (records through Feb. 15 – 1. Azusa Pacific (21-4); 2. Western Oregon 21-3; 3. Cal Baptist (19-4); 4. Dixie State 17-6; 5. BYU-Hawaii (18-4); 6.  Cal Poly Pomona 18-5; 7. Chico State (17-6); 8. Point Loma (19-6); 9. Humboldt State (17-7); 10. Seattle Pacific (18-7). (Note: D2SIDA poll is unofficial.  NCAA will conduct an official regional poll beginning Wednesday).

Nichols, Turner 5th  in National Statistics

Western Washington forward Anye Turner is the highest ranked GNAC player in this week’s NCAA Division II national statistical report.  He ranks fourth in blocked shots averaging 3.17 per game.

Turner has had one or more blocks in 25 consecutive games dating back to the final game of the 2013-14 season. 

He has had at least two blocks in every game this season except for six contests in which he had one and has had 15 in his last four games.

Two Central Washington players also rank in the Top 10 this week.  Dom Williams ranks sixth in three-pointers made (3.59) and Joseph Stroud is seventh in blocks (2.90). 

 Williams, who had a 27-point, 10-assist double-double and didn’t commit a turnover in a 112-84 win at Simon Fraser Saturday, nearly climbed into the Top 10 in assist/turnover ratio.  He ranks 11^th in that category (3.05).

The top ranked GNAC player in that category is Julian Nichols who ranks eighth with a 3.30 ration.  Seattle Pacific’s Riley Stockton, Harris Javier of Western Washington and Simon Fraser’s Sango Niang are also in the Top 20 with 2.94, 2.89 and 2.74 ratios.

Siang also ranks eighth in scoring (23.7) and ninth in assists (6.3).  Nichols ranks 14th in assists (6.0).  Completing the Top 20 list of GNAC ranked players is Andy Avgi of Western Oregon who is 18th in field goal percentage 61.1.

In team categories,  Simon Fraser ranks first in Division II in scoring (106.0), steals (13.1) and turnover margin (8.8). 

The Clan also ranks second in three-pointers (12.6) and 10th in offensive rebounds (14.8).

Seattle Pacific is second in rebound margin (12.2), fourth in field goal percentage (51.5) and eighth scoring margin (13.1).

Western Washington ranks fifth in blocked shots (5.5).  Western Oregon is ninth in free throw percentage (77.1).

By The Numbers

Double-Doubles: 7 – Kevin Rima, NNU.  4 – Anye Turner, WWU; Mitch Penner, SPU. 3 - Matt Borton, SPU; Erik Kinney, NNU; Sango Niang, SFU; Riley Stockton, SPU.  2 – Kalidou Diouf, UAA; Roderick Evans-Taylor, SFU; Austin Hudson, MSUB; Jeffrey Parker, WWU; Lewis Thomas, WOU. 1 – 20  with.

30-Point Games: 2 – Sango Niang, SFU; Dom Williams, CWU. 1 – 14 with.

20-Point Games: 16 – Sango Niang, SFU.  10 - Cory Hutsen, SPU.  9 - Andy Avgi, WOU; Don Williams, CWU; Travis Thompson, UAA. 8 - Brian McGill, UAA.  7 – Jaamon Echols, WWU.  6 - Jeffrey Parker, WWU;  Justin Cole, SFU. 5 - Ricardo Maxwell, WWU; Ashton Edwards, UAF.

10-Rebound Games: 7 – Kevin Rima, NNU.  5 – Anye Turner, WWU; Tyler Nelson, MSUB; Lewis Thomas, WOU.  4 – Matt Borton, SPU; Riley Stockton, SPU; Mitch Penner, SPU.  3 – Erik Kinney, NNU.

10-Assist Games: 3 – Sango Niang, SFU.  2 – Julian Nichols, WOU.  1 – Harris Javier, WWU; Dom Williams, CWU; Devin Matthews, CWU; Ricardo Maxwell, WWU; Brian McGill, UAA.

2014-15 ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS:  Seattle Pacific (Nov. 14-15) – Cory Hutson, SPU; Mitch Penner, SPU; Jordan Russell, CWU; Joseph Stroud, CWU.  Dominican (Nov. 14-15) – Antoine Hosley, MSUB.  Sonoma State (Nov. 14-15) – Brian McGill, UAA.  Western Washington (Nov. 14-15) – Jeffrey Parker, WWU (MVP); Anye Turner, WWU; Joey Schreiber, WWU; Erik Kinney, NNU.  Alaska (Nov. 20-22) – Ruben Silvas, Alaska.  WOU (Nov. 21-22) – Trey Ingram, SMU; Lewis Thomas, WOU.   Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 26-29) – Travis Thompson, UAA*.  (*UAA played Shootout as exhibition). UAA Seawolf Jamboree (Dec. 12-13) – Kalidou Diouf, UAA; Travis Thompson, UAA.

ALL-REGION TEAMS: Capital One Academic All-District -  Travis Thompson, UAA (Civil Engineering, 3.47, Sr., Anchorage, AK); Lee Bailey, Chaminade (Communications, Sr., 3.39, Detroit, MI); Matt Hayes, Dominican (Chemistry, 3.57, Jr., Yuba City, CA); Adam Kile, UCSD (Bio-Engineering, So., 4.00, Anchorage, AK); Evan Zeller, CSU Monterey Bay (Business Administration, So., 3.53. Mission Viejo, CA).

GNAC Team Notes

Alaska:  The Nanooks snapped a nine-game losing streak during which two of the losses were by two points and one was in overtime with a 87-65 home win over MSU Billings.  The final loss was an 84-74 decision to Seattle Pacific.  Ashton Edwards led a balanced attack in the two games with 27 points, making 5-of-10 three-pointers.  

Alaska Anchorage: Travis Thompson made 5-of-7  three-point shots and scored 36 points  as the Seawolves split two games, staying in second place.  Thompson, who made 15-of-16 foul shots, now has 287 treys, five shy of the GNAC career record.  Brian McGill had nine assists, increasing his career total to 299.

Central Washington: Dom Williams scored 50 points and also had 11 assists as the Wildcats split two games, rallying from a 21-point deficit before losing 83-77 at Western Washington Thursday and then defeating Simon Fraser 112-84. All 13 of CWU’s previous conference games this season – win or lose – have been decided by single digits.  Williams had a 27-point, 10-assist, no turnover double-double in that contest.  Gary Jacobs had 39 points and Joseph Stroud had 29 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

MSU Billings: Marc Matthews had back-to-back 20 point games, scoring a career-high 25 at Alaska Anchorage  in which he made 12-of-12 free throws and 20 against Alaska. He made 13-of-28 field goals and 13-of-14 free throws.  Jace Anderson had eight assists and Tyler Nelson was credited with 19 rebounds.

Northwest Nazarene: Alex Birketoft scored 39 points and had 19 rebounds in games at Burnaby (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Bellingham (22 points, 8 rebounds). He shot 60 percent (15-of-25) and also blocked four shots.  Erik Kinney netted 32 points and had 11 rebounds and five steals.

Saint Martin’s:  Victor Ieronymides (15 points, 8 rebounds) and Riley Carel (14 points, 8 rebounds) both fell two rebounds shy of double-doubles in Wednesday’s 66-56 loss to Western Oregon.  SMU came into the game leading the GNAC in three-point percentage (39.5), but made only 6-of-27 (22.2) from the arc.  SMU’s Isaac Bianchini leads the GNAC in three-point percentage (51.7) this season and ranks 10th in all-time career percentage (44.8).

Seattle Pacific: Cory Hutsen led the Falcons with 43 points and Mitch Penner had 26 points and 14 rebounds in wins at Fairbanks and Anchorage. The Falcons trailed by 10 points (37-27) late in the first half before rallying for a 10-point win Thursday at Fairbanks before earning an overtime victory Saturday at Anchorage.  Riley Stockton finished the trip with 17 rebounds increasing his career total to 706.

Simon Fraser: Roderick Evans-Taylor scored 23 points and had six steals, equaling the second most in the GNAC this winter, to lead the Clan past NNU.  Sango Niang had 22 points and eight assists and Justin Cole had 18 points.  Niang made 4-of-7 treys and Cole made 4-of-8.

Western Oregon:  Andy Avgi extended his string of consecutive field goals made to 12 before missing his 10th shot in a 66-56 win at Saint Martin’s.  Avgi made 10 of 11 and finished with 22 points.  His 59.1 career  shooting percentage ranks eighth in GNAC history.  Julian Nichols had 11 points and team-highs of four assists and three steals.

Western Washington: Jeffrey Parker led the Vikings to two home wins with 37 points, while Anye Turner had 33 points, 19 rebounds and six blocked shots.  Ricardo Maxwell had 20 points and Turner had his fourth double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds) in Thursday’s win against CWU.  The Wildcats have won just one time at Carver Gymnasium in the GNAC era (since 2001-02) defeating WWU 68-58 on Feb. 23, 2008.

GNAC Players of the WeekFeb. 9-15 - Cory Hutsen, Seattle Pacific (C, 6-8, Sr., Sammamish, WA - Skyline) scored 43 points, including 23 in a 73-72 overtime win at Alaska Anchorage Saturday as the Falcons kept alive their chances to earn a first-round bye in next month’s conference playoffs with two victories.  Hutsen, who made 11 of 15 shots against the Seawolves, scored a basket with 2:18 left in overtime to give SPU its final lead at 70-68.   In two wins in Alaska, Hutson made 20 of 29 field goal attempts and also had nine rebounds and a team-best three blocks helping SPU limit the Seawolves and Alaska Nanooks to a combined 40.7 shooting percentage.

GNAC WEEKLY (PDF version)