Wednesday, February 25, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. –  Western Oregon has clinched the GNAC’s regular-season title and a first-round bye in next week’s GNAC Championships at Alterowitz Gymnasium in Billings, Mont.

The Wolves will play in the conference semifinals on Friday, March 6 against the winner of a Thursday first-round game between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.

This weekend three teams – Seattle Pacific, Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene – will chase the second first-round bye.

Currently, SPU and CWU are tied for second one game ahead of NNU.  Alaska Anchorage is also one game back of the Falcons and Wildcats.  However, both teams swept the season series with the Seawolves, who as a result, cannot finish higher than third.

Seattle Pacific hosts Central Washington Thursday in a key showdown at Brougham Pavilion.

In the last 10 regular-season games at Brougham between SPU and CWU, each team has won five.  Including a NCAA West Region playoff game in 2005, the Falcons have a 6-5 advantage since 2005 at Brougham.

Since the formation of the GNAC in 2001-02, SPU has won eight of 14 games at Brougham between the schools, including the 2005 NCAA game.

If either SPU or CWU win two games this weekend that team will claim the No. 2 seed.  If NNU sweeps Montana State Billings  and SPU, and SPU beats CWU, the Crusaders will earn the bye as long as CWU then also defeats MSUB.

Western Washington has also qualified for the regional and could end up seeded either fourth, fifth or sixth depending on what happens this weekend.

The Vikings, who have won seven straight, complete their regular-season Thursday with a home game against Simon Fraser.

That is one of five games on Thursday’s schedule.

The schedule will also send Western Oregon to Anchorage to play Alaska Anchorage, Saint Martin’s to Fairbanks to take on Alaska and Northwest Nazarene to Billings to face MSUB.

WOU Ranked 20th in NABC, 23rd in D2SIDA Polls

Western Oregon fell five positions to No. 20 in this week’s NABC national poll after splitting two games last week, losing 73-50 to rejuvenated Western Washington Thursday before defeating Simon Fraser 93-91 Saturday.

The Wolves, who also slipped seven positions to No. 23 in the D2SIDA national poll, played both games without Andy Avgi, who is the GNAC’s third leading scorer averaging 18.1 points per game.

In last week’s official NCAA West Regional poll, WOU was ranked third and Seattle Pacific was 10^th.

The second of three NCAA regional polls will be released Wednesday.  Eventually the rankings will decide which five teams join the GNAC, CCAA and PacWest champions in the NCAA West Regional, which begins Friday, March 13 at a site to be determined.

In this week’s unofficial D2SIDA Regional poll, WOU and SPU are ranked in the same positions as in last week’s NCAA 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 through Sunday, Feb. 15).

D2SIDA West Regional Poll (Feb. 23) – 1. Azusa Pacific (23-4); 2. Dixie State (19-6); 3. Western Oregon (22-4); 4. Cal Baptist (20-5); 5. BYU-Hawaii (19-5); 6.  Cal Poly Pomona (20-5); 7. Chico State (19-6); 8. Point Loma (20-6); 9. Humboldt State (19-7); 10. Seattle Pacific (19-7). Note: Records through Sunday, Feb. 22.

Turner Remains 4th in Division II Blocked Shots

Western Washington forward Anye Turner remains as the highest ranked GNAC player in the NCAA Division II national statistical report this week.  He ranks fourth in blocked shots averaging 3.04 per game.

Turner has had one or more blocks in 27 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 seven contests in which he had one.

Two Central Washington players also rank in the Top 10.  Dom Williams ranks sixth in three-pointers made (3.74) and Joseph Stroud is seventh in blocks (2.83). 

Two other players have Top 10 national rankings.   Sango Niang of Simon Fraser ranks eighth in assists (6.5) and Julian Nichols of Western Oregon is seventh in assist/turnover ratio (3.39).

In team categories,  Simon Fraser ranks first in Division II in scoring (105.2), steals (12.8) and turnover margin (8.2).   The Clan also ranks second in three-pointers (12.5).

Seattle Pacific is second in rebound margin (12.5), fifth in field goal percentage (51.6) and eighth scoring margin (15.3). Western Washington ranks fifth in blocked shots (5.4).   

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; Travis Thompson, UAA; Dom Williams, CWU. 1 – 15 with.

20-Point Games: 16 – Sango Niang, SFU.  11 - Dom Williams, CWU; Cory Hutsen, SPU. 10 - Travis Thompson, UAA. 9 - Andy Avgi, WOU.  8 - Brian McGill, UAA.  7 – Justin Cole, SFU; Jaamon Echols, WWU;  Jeffrey Parker, WWU.  5 - Ricardo Maxwell, WWU; Ashton Edwards, UAF; Marc Matthews, MSUB.

10-Rebound Games: 8 – Kevin Rima, NNU.  6 – Anye Turner, WWU. 5 - Tyler Nelson, MSUB; Matt Borton, SPU; Lewis Thomas, WOU.  4 –Riley Stockton, SPU; Mitch Penner, SPU.  3 – Erik Kinney, NNU; Mac Johnson, WWU. 2 – 10 with. 

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.

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).

Last Week’s GNAC Team Notes

Alaska: Almir Hadzisehovic led the Nanooks with 33 points and also had 11 rebounds in contests at Nampa and Ellensburg.   Eric Fongue had 21 points in the two contests, making 5-of-9 shots from the arc.  Anthony Reese grabbed the most rebounds  (16) and tied Alex Duncan for the most steals with five.

Alaska Anchorage:  Travis Thompson and Derrick Fain both had 30-point games and both made 7-of-10 three-pointers last Saturday at Northwest Nazarene.  Thompson scored 33 points and set a GNAC career-record in the process for three-pointers increasing his total to 295, three more than Jake Linton of Saint Martin’s (2006-09). For the weekend, both players scored 44 points. Dom Hunter made 7-of-10 three-pointers to account for his team-high 21 points in the Seawolves’ 13-point loss at Ellensburg, but didn’t play Saturday.

Central Washington: Dom Williams scored 26 points in an 80-67 home win against Alaska Anchorage, then added 27 more in a 75-66 win versus Alaska recording his 10th and 11th 20-point games of the season.  Williams, who ranks sixth in NCAA Division II in three-pointers made (3.74 per game), made 10 of 22.  Joseph Stroud had 14 rebounds and four blocks and Marc Rodgers had eight assists.  Rodgers made 4-of-6 shots, 3-of-4 from the arc.

MSU Billings: Marc Matthews registered his fifth 20-point game of the season scoring 21 of the Yellowjackets’ 59 points in a ROOT SPORTS game at Seattle Pacific Saturday.  Also in double figures for the Yellowjackets were Antoine Hosley with 15 points and Emmanuel  Johnson with 10 points.

Northwest Nazarene: Alex Birketoft (39 points), Erik Kinney (31 points) and Kevin Rima (30 points) combined for exactly 100 of NNU’s 167 points in wins over UAF and UAA.  Birketoft, who made all 10 of his foul shots, was 7-of-14 from the three-point line and 11-of-20 overall.  He also had a team-high 17 rebounds … Kinney had a team-high 17 points in the Crusaders’ 67-56 ROOT SPORTS win against the Nanooks, which clinched a GNAC tournament berth for NNU, its first under the GNAC six-team, one-site format.  NNU was the fifth seed, splitting two games, in the 2011 eight-team tournament which was played at host sites.

Saint Martin’s:  Tyler Idowu scored 39 points, shooting 75 percent (18-of-24) in SMU’s contests with Simon Fraser and Western Washington.  Idowu had a career-high 24 points making 12 of 17 field goals against the Vikings. Ryan Rogers  finished with 26 points and a team-high 18 rebounds.  Riley Carel had team-highs for assists (14) and steals (4).

Seattle Pacific:  Matt Borton had his third double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Falcons’ 81-59 home court win against MSU Billings Saturday.  Cory Hutsen also had 20 points.  SPU, which ranks second in Division II in rebounding, outboarded the Falcons 45-25.    SPU ranks fifth in field goal percentage at 51.6 and improved that mark slightly by making 31 of 58 (53.4). 

Simon Fraser: Michael Harper, who averages nine points per game, scored 34 points, making 13 of 17 shots including 6-of-10 from the arc.  Justin Cole had 33 points, including 23 in a 103-87 win at Saint Martin’s.  Sango Niang had 27 points and 18 rebounds, including a 15-point, 12-assist double-double against the Saints. Niang’s assist total was his fourth double-digit total of the season.  SMU’s point total against SMU was its 12^th 100-point game of the season.

Western Oregon: Julian Nichols scored 47 points, including a career-high 34 – 24 in the second half - in a 93-91 win against Simon Fraser Saturday as the Wolves clinched their first GNAC regular-season title in the 14-year history of the conference.  Nichols, who made 18-of-33 shots, also had 11 assists, eight rebounds and eight steals.  Both Nichols and Jordan Wiley (28 points), made 5-of-11 three-pointers.  WOU played both of its games last week without Andy Avgi and were outrebounded by eight a game (79-63).  On the year, it outrebounds its opponents by 4.1 per game to rank third in the conference.

Western Washington:  The Vikings outshot their opponents 47.7 (21-of-44) to 28.1 percent (9-of-32) from the three-point line in their wins at Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s as GNAC Player of the Week Jeffrey Parker made 9-of-15, Ricardo Maxwell converted on 5-of-9 from the arc and Joey Schreiber cashed in on 5-of-10.  Maxwell finished with 31 points and Schreiber had 25.  Mac Johnson had a team-high 17 rebounds. … WWU scored16 consecutive points to break a 44-44 tie on the way to a 73-50 upset of Western Oregon in Thursday’s game.

GNAC Players of the Week - Jeffrey Parker, Western Washington (F, 6-6, So., Richmond, CA - Salesian) led the Vikings to two wins, including a 73-50 victory at Western Oregon snapping the Wolves’ 11-game win streak.  In the two contests, Parker scored 42 points, connecting on 16 of 25 shots, including 9-of-15 three-pointers.  He also had six rebounds and three assists.  WWU has won seven straight, six by double-digit margins. 

GNAC WEEKLY (PDF Version)