Tuesday, February 28, 2017

LACEY, Wash. - One year ago, Western Washington had to wait until the last day and the last game of the season to see if it had earned a berth into the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships.

This year, the Vikings made certain that nothing was left to chance, cruising through the regular season to earn the top seed in this year’s tournament, which begins Thursday at Saint Martin’s University’s Marcus Pavilion.

The top scoring team in the GNAC and one of the top scoring teams in Division II at 88.8 points per game, the Vikings enter the championships with a 23-5 overall record and clinched the regular season title with a 17-3 mark. The Vikings have spent all but two weeks of the season ranked in the national top-25 and were No. 17 in the Feb. 21 NABC Division II Coaches Poll. Western Washington was third in the Feb. 22 NCAA West Region Rankings, which will ultimately determine national tournament seeding.

In addition to its scoring output, Western Washington leads the league in field goal shooting (.497), three-point shooting (.412) and free throw shooting (.786). Senior transfer Taylor Stafford leads the way for Western Washington, ranking among the top-25 scorers in Division II with an average of 22.1 points per game and is fourth in the GNAC at 3.64 assists per game. He has six 30-point performances to his credit, topped by a 44-point outburst at UC San Diego in December. Senior Jeffrey Parker adds another 16 points per game while junior sixth man Deandre Dickson is averaging 14.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Alaska Anchorage earned the No. 2 seed in the championships thanks to a stellar 16-0 home record. But while the Seawolves lead the GNAC in scoring margin, outpointing opponents by an average of 12.1 points per game, they have won games with defense. Alaska Anchorage has held opponents to a league-low 65.7 points per game while leading the GNAC in field goal defense (.417) and rebounding (40.1 per game).

For the second straight season, senior Suki Wiggs has been the Seawolves’ scoring sparkplug. The conference’s leading scorer and in the top-10 in Division II at 24.2 points per game, Wiggs has scored 30 or more points six times this season. In addition, he has excelled at the free throw line, ranking among the national leaders with 234 free throw attempts and 177 made. Senior Corey Hammell has proved invaluable on the glass, ranking second in the GNAC at 10 rebounds per game while leading the league with 4.36 offensive boards per contest. Senior Connor Devine is among the national leaders in blocked shots, swatting 2.96 per game.

Last year’s regular season and tournament champion, Western Oregon, defied the odds to finish with the No. 3 seed. After losing four of five starters from last year’s Elite Eight squad, the Wolves struggled to a 6-6 overall mark over the first two months of the season before pulling it together for a solid run through the conference schedule to finish at 13-7, 16-12 overall. Western Oregon ranks with Alaska Anchorage among the top defensive teams in the GNAC, limiting opponents to 70.8 points per game while holding teams to a GNAC-best 30.7 percent from three-point range.

Junior Tanner Omlid not only leads the Wolves in scoring (15.3 points per game) and rebounding (7.5 per game), but is among the top overall defensive players in the league. Omlid leads the GNAC and is among the top-5 in Division II in steals, averaging 3.21 per game, and is sixth in the league with 1.64 blocked shots per game. Junior transfer Ali Faruq-Bey has made up for some of the scoring lost off of last year’s team with a solid 14.8 points per game.

Saint Martin’s, which was aced out by Western Washington for last year’s final tournament berth, will be the No. 4 seed on its home floor. The Saints have put together their second straight winning season under head coach Alex Pribble at 16-12, 10-10 GNAC, and enter the tournament as the league’s third leading scoring team at 81.5 points per game. The Saints rank second in the GNAC in field goal percentage (.479), three-point percentage (.384) and three-point defense (.338), and third in both field goal defense (.438) and steals (14.54 per game).

Guard Tyler Copp has made the most of his senior season, leading the Saints in scoring at 15.8 points per game and is third in the GNAC in free throw shooting at 87.5 percent. Senior Fred Jorg has made the most of his scoring opportunities, hitting 54.3 percent from the floor. Sophomore Rhett Baerlocher has emerged as a solid defensive presence, averaging six rebounds and 1.46 steals per game.

Concordia enters its first GNAC Basketball Championship as the No. 5 seed after having been on the outside looking in just two weeks ago. After having lost all five starters prior to the 2015-16 campaign, their first as a GNAC program, the Cavaliers have rebounded to enter the championships with a 14-13 overall record and tied with Saint Martin’s in conference play at 10-10. Concordia’s key has been solid play on the glass, ranking fourth in the GNAC at 37.9 per game while pacing the league with four blocked shots per game.

Senior Drew Martin leads the Cavaliers, ranking seventh in GNAC in scoring at 17.3 points per game and is ninth in rebounding at 7.4 per game. Junior transfer forward Christopher Edward is among the league’s top shooters, averaging 57.1 percent from the field, while ranking fourth in rebounding at 8.7 boards per game and seventh with 1.56 blocked shots per game.

This year’s last minute entry into the championships is Montana State Billings, which had to wait until the final horn of the regular season to learn it had received the No. 6 seed. The Yellowjackets surged early, building a 6-2 conference record by the first half of January before stumbling to lose nine of their final 12 games.  A high production team, MSUB enters the tournament ranked fourth in the GNAC in scoring at 79.9 points per game.

Forward Preston Beverly, last year’s GNAC Freshman of the Year, is one of two players ranked in the top-five in the GNAC in both scoring and rebounding at 19.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Sharp-shooting senior Marc Matthews is averaging 14.6 points per game while ranking second in the GNAC with 2.96 three-pointers made per game.