Friday, February 20, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. –  With more than a week left in the regular-season, the field is set for the 2015 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championships.

Northwest Nazarene (11-14, 9-6) and Western Washington (16-10, 9-7) secured the final two berths for the six-team tournament, which begins Thursday, Mar. 5 at Billings, Mont., with victories Thursday. 

The Crusaders, who are currently in fifth-place, earned their trip to Billings with a 67-56 win against Alaska on ROOT SPORTS.

Western Washington, meanwhile, had a convincing road victory at Monmouth, scoring 16 consecutive points in the second half to break a 44-44 tie on the way to a 73-50 victory against Western Oregon, snapping the Wolves’ 11-game win streak, which is the 11th longest in GNAC history.

Despite the loss, WOU (21-4, 13-2), which had already clinched a first-round bye, secured no worse than a tie for its first GNAC basketball title when Central Washington (15-7, 10-5) defeated Alaska Anchorage 80-67 at Nicholson Pavilion.

CWU’s win threw the race for the GNAC’s second first-round bye into a three-way tie between the Wildcats, Seawolves (14-11, 10-5) and Seattle Pacific (18-7, 10-5).

Lurking just one game back of that trio is Northwest Nazarene.

Seattle Pacific was idle Thursday before facing Montana State Billings (5-20, 3-12) Saturday at 3 p.m. in a ROOT SPORTS broadcast. Mikeside for the broadcast will be Brad Adam and Dave Harshman.

The Falcons finish their regular-season with three home games, including a key contest next Thursday against Central Washington at Brougham Pavilion.

Alaska Anchorage plays at Northwest Nazarene Saturday before finishing its campaign with home games next week against Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s (6-19, 3-12).

Central Washington hosts Alaska (6-17, 3-12) Saturday, then completes its regular-season next week at SPU and MSUB.  NNU plays the same two teams in reverse order.

In addition to the MSUB-SPU, UAA-NNU and  UAF-CWU games, Saturday’s schedule also sends Simon Fraser (11-13, 6-10) to Monmouth to take on Western Oregon in a 4 p.m. contest and Western Washington to Saint Martin’s for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

The Vikings will take a six-game win streak into its game at Lacey, the current longest in the conference, against the Saints who lost at home Thursday to Simon Fraser 103-87.

It was the 12th time this season the Clan has scored 100 or more points, but the first time in its last 10 contests.

FREE THROW SHOOTING:  During its six-game win streak, Western Washington has shot 74.9 percent from the foul line (128-of-171), after hitting just 62.4 percent (259-of-415) in its first 18 contests.

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 the previous Wednesday.

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

Both polls are unofficial.  The only poll that counts is 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.  The regional begins Friday, Mar. 13 at a site to be determined.

The first of three regional polls was released Wednesday and the Wolves were ranked third.  Seattle Pacific was ranked 10^th in the inaugural poll.

NCAA West Region Poll (Feb. 18)  – 1. Azusa Pacific (19-4); 2. Cal Baptist (19-4); 3. Western Oregon (18-3); 4. BYU-Hawaii (18-4); 5. Cal Poly Pomona (15-5); 6. Dixie State (17-6); 7. Chico State (15-6); 8. Point Loma (18-6); 9. UC San Diego (13-9); 10. Seattle Pacific (15-7).  (Note: Records listed is versus Division II opponents).

D2SIDA West Regional Poll (Feb. 16) – 1. Azusa Pacific; 2. Western Oregon; 3. Cal Baptist; 4. Dixie State; 5. BYU-Hawaii; 6.  Cal Poly Pomona; 7. Chico State; 8. Point Loma; 9. Humboldt State; 10. Seattle Pacific. (Note: D2SIDA poll is unofficial).

Turner Ranks 4th in Division II Blocked Shots

Western Washington forward Anye Turner is the highest ranked GNAC player in the NCAA Division II national statistical report following Thursday’s games.  He ranks fourth in blocked shots averaging 3.12 per game.

Turner has had one or more blocks in 26 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 17 in his last five games.

Two Central Washington players also rank in the Top 10.  Dom Williams ranks sixth in three-pointers made (3.61) and Joseph Stroud is seventh in blocks (2.86). 

Two other players have Top 10 national rankings.   Siango Niang of Simon Fraser ranks seventh in assists (6.5) and ninth in scoring (23.1) and Julian Nichols of Western Oregon is eighth in assist/turnover ratio (3.27).

In team categories,  Simon Fraser ranks first in Division II in scoring (105.8), steals (13.1) and turnover margin (8.7). 

The Clan also ranks second in three-pointers (12.5) and 10^th in offensive rebounds (14.9).

Seattle Pacific is second in rebound margin (12.2), fifth in field goal percentage (51.5) and eighth scoring margin (15.1).

Western Washington ranks fifth in blocked shots (5.4).  Western Oregon is 10th in free throw percentage (76.8).

By The Numbers

Double-Doubles: 7 – Kevin Rima, NNU.  5 – Anye Turner, WWU. 4 -  Sango Niang, SFU; Mitch Penner, SPU. 3 - Matt Borton, SPU; Erik Kinney, NNU; Riley Stockton, SPU.  2 – Kalidou Diouf, UAA; Roderick Evans-Taylor, SFU; Austin Hudson, MSUB; Jeffrey Parker, WWU; Lewis Thomas, WOU; Mac Johnson, WWU; Victor Ieronymides, SMU.  1 – 19  with.

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

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

10-Rebound Games: 7 – Kevin Rima, NNU.  6 – Anye Turner, WWU. 5 - Tyler Nelson, MSUB; Lewis Thomas, WOU.  4 – Matt Borton, SPU; Riley Stockton, SPU; Mitch Penner, SPU.  3 – Erik Kinney, NNU; Mac Johnson, WWU.

10-Assist Games: 4 – Sango Niang, SFU.  2 – Julian Nichols, WOU.  1 – Harris Javier, WWU; Dom Williams, CWU; Devin Matthews, CWU; Ricardo Maxwell, WWU; Brian McGill, 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).

Thursday’s GNAC Team Notes

Alaska: Alex Duncan scored 18 points and had a team-high three steals in the Nanooks’ 11-point road loss at Nampa.    UAF also got 11 points from Eric Fongue, who made 3-of-5 three-pointers, and 10 points and eight rebounds from Almir Hadzisehoviic.  The Nanooks shot just 33.3 percent in the contest, making 17-of-51.

Alaska Anchorage:  Dom Hunter made 7-of-10 three-pointers to account for his team-high 21 points in the Seawolves’ 13-point loss at Ellensburg.  The rest of the team was just 1-for-16 from the arc.  Derrick Fain had 12 points and Travis Thompson finished with  11 points.

Central Washington: Dom Williams led the Wildcats, who outscored UAA 49-35 in the second-half after trailing 32-31 at the break, with 26 points.  Williams was 4-of-8 from the arc.   Marc Rodgers had an impressive night, missing just one shot (3-4 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FTs) in scoring 10 points.  He also had a team-high four steals, three assists and four rebounds in 21 minutes on the court.  Gary Jacobs had 16 points and Joseph Stroud had 12 points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Northwest Nazarene: Erik Kinney had a team-high 17 points in the Crusaders’ 67-56 ROOT SPORTS win, making 5-of-11 field goals and 7-of-8 free throws.   NNU made 13-of-24 shots in building an eight-point lead at halftime.  Bouna N’Diaye had 12 points, Kevin Rima finished with 11 increasing his career total to 1,015 and Alex Birketoft had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Saint Martin’s:  Ryan Rogers (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Victor Ieronymides (11 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles in the Saints’ loss to Simon Fraser.   Riley Carel had eight assists. 

Simon Fraser: Justin Cole scored 23 points and Sango Niango had a double-double with 15 points and 12 assists in the Clan’s 103-87 win at Saint Martin’s.  It was SFU’s 12^th 100-point  game of the season, but its first in 10 games.  SFU leads the nation in scoring averaging 105.8 points per game.  Niang’s assist total was his fourth double-digit total of the season.

Western Oregon: Despite its home loss Thursday to Western Washington, which ended an 11-game win streak, the Wolves clinched at least a tie for their first GNAC title, when Central Washington knocked off second-place Alaska Anchorage 80-67.  The Wolves, who played their game without Andy Avgi due to a medical condition, were led by Julian Nichols with 13 points and Devon Alexander with 12.

Western Washington:  The Vikings scored 16 consecutive points to break a 44-44 tie on the way to a 73-50 upset of Western Oregon, clinching  a post-season playoff berth.  Jeffrey Parker led WWU with 18 points, while Aryne Turner (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Mac Johnson (11 points, 11 rebounds) had double-doubles.

GNAC WEEKLY (PDF version)