Conference MBB Race Starts Thursday
WOU's Cameron Benzel ranks third in the GNAC in field goal percentage at 62.0.
WOU's Cameron Benzel ranks third in the GNAC in field goal percentage at 62.0.
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Wednesday, January 3, 2024
by Evan O'Kelly, Assistant Commissioner For Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Conference play returns this week as the race to the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championships kicks off in the new year.

It’s league play the rest of the way for the GNAC’s 10 schools, who re-start their conference slate on Thursday night and have nine total games scheduled this weekend. No. 5 Saint Martin’s (11-1, 1-1 GNAC) takes on Western Washington (9-3, 1-0) on Saturday at 7 p.m. Pacific at Carver Gym in what figures to be one of the best conference games of the season. The Saints’ lone loss this season was an 80-79 defeat at the hands of Northwest Nazarene, while the Vikings topped Simon Fraser 96-74 in their first conference game of the year and enter the week on a five-game winning streak.

The league’s other undefeated teams in conference play will square off on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. inside Johnson Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho, with Northwest Nazarene (6-4, 2-0) playing host to Montana State Billings (8-4, 2-0).

This Week's Conference Slate - Jan. 4-6
  Thursday, Jan. 4 Saturday, Jan. 6
Host Opponent Time Opponent Time
UAF Bye -- UAA 5:15 p.m. (AT)
CWU MSUB 7:30 p.m. (PT SPU 6:15 p.m. (PT)
NNU SPU 7:30 p.m. (MT) MSUB 7:30 p.m. (MT)
SFU #5 SMU 7 p.m. (PT) WOU 7 p.m. (PT)
WWU WOU 7 p.m. (PT) #5 SMU 7 p.m. (PT)

  

 
GNAC In The Regional & National Rankings

The NABC Division II rankings are released every Monday throughout the 2023-24 season. The D2CSC regional rankings are released on Mondays, with the national rankings following on Tuesdays.

Saint Martin’s is the GNAC’s top ranked team entering the new year, appearing at No. 5 in the NABC national rankings and No. 4 in the D2CSC national rankings. The Saints also continued to hold the top spot in the D2CSC regional rankings, while Western Washington checked in seventh and Central Washington received votes in the most recent regional poll.

NABC National Rankings
Poll Team 1 Team 2 Team 3 Team 4
Preseason RV SMU -- -- --
Nov. 20 6. SMU RV UAA -- --
Nov. 27 6. SMU 23. UAA -- --
Dec. 5 13. SMU RV UAA -- --
Dec. 11 10. SMU -- -- --
Dec. 31 5. SMU -- -- --

  

D2CSC National Rankings
Poll Team 1 Team 2 Team 3 Team 4
Week 1 - Nov. 13 9. SMU -- -- --
Week 2 - Nov. 21 4. SMU -- -- --
Week 3 - Nov. 28 4. SMU RV UAA -- --
Week 4 - Dec. 5 9. SMU -- -- --
Week 5 - Dec. 11 4. SMU -- -- --
Week 6 - Dec. 18 4. SMU -- -- --

 

D2CSC Regional Rankings
Poll Team 1 Team 2 Team 3 Team 4 Team 5
Week 1 - Nov. 13 1. SMU 9. NNU -- -- --
Week 2 - Nov. 20 1. SMU T5. CWU 8. UAA RV WWU --
Week 3 - Nov. 27 1. SMU 5. UAA 7. CWU 10. WWU --
Week 4 - Dec. 4 2. SMU 7. WWU 10. CWU RV NNU RV MSUB
Week 5 - Dec. 11 1. SMU 8. WWU 10. CWU -- --
Week 6 - Dec. 18 1. SMU 7. WWU RV CWU -- --

  

GNAC Men's Basketball In The NCAA Statistical Rankings

Through games Jan. 2.

Team Leaders (Top-30)
Assist-Turnover Ratio: 17. UAA, 1.50
Assists/Game: 26. UAA, 17.2; 30. MSUB, 16.9
Bench Points/Game: 5. SMU, 41.33; 14. CWU, 36.73
Blocks/Game: 28. WWU, 4.5
Effective FG %: 7. WWU, 59.1; 17. SPU, 57.9
Fastbreak Points: 6. WWU, 19.25
Field Goal %: 9. WWU, 51.8
Field Goal % Defense: 5. SMU, 37.8
Fewest Fouls/Game: 7. CWU, 13.5
Free Throw %: 11. CWU, 79.2; 28. WWU, 77.3
Free Throws/Game: 23. WWU, 17.8
Rebound Margin: 5. SMU, 9.4; 25. NNU, 7.1; 30, CWU, 6.6
Def. Rebounds/Game: 2. SMU, 32.58; 13. CWU, 29.18
Off. Rebounds/Game: 23. NNU, 13.70
Rebounds/Game: 2. SMU, 45.33
Scoring Defense: 2. UAA, 60.1
Scoring Margin: 7. SMU, 19.2; 13. WWU, 16.0; 30. CWU, 12.6
Scoring Offense: 4. WWU, 96.0; 21. SMU, 87.2
3-Point Attempts/Game: 19. CWU, 27.8; 25. SMU, 27.4
3-Point %: 8. WWU, 40.7; 14. SMU, 40.4
3-Point % Defense: 3. UAA, 26.0; 10. CWU, 28.3; 14. SMU, 28.5
3 Pointers/Game: 5. SMU, 11.1
Turnover Margin: 23. UAA, 4.2
Winning Percentage: 6. SMU, .917
 
Individual Leaders (Top-50)
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 32. Jaden Nielsen-Skinner, SMU, 2.76; 35. Jalen Tot, MSUB, 2.71; 41. Dillon Barrientos, UAA, 2.58
Assists: 31. Qiant Myers, WOU, 59
Assists/Game: 5. Qiant Myers, WOU, 6.6
Double-Doubles: 27. Samaad Hector, CWU, 4; 27. Daniel Moody, MSUB, 4
Field Goal Attempts: 4. Shaw Anderson, SPU, 221
Field-Goal %: 19. Trace Evans, SPU, 64.1; 28. Cameron Benzel, WOU, 62.0; 46. Gabriel Murphy, NNU, 58.8
Field Goals: 2. Shaw Anderson, SPU, 111; 16. Kai Johnson, WWU, 91
Free Throw Attempts: 23. Shaw Anderson, SPU, 81; 28. Kai Johnson, WWU, 79
Free Throw %: 16. Shaw Anderson, SPU, 91.4; 41. Tijan Saine, WWU, 89.4
Free Throws: 7. Shaw Anderson, SPU, 74; 20. Kai Johnson, WWU, 65
Minutes/Game: 9. Shaw Anderson, SPU, 37:23
Points: 3. Shaw Anderson, SPU, 319; 13. Kai Johnson, WWU, 261
Points Per Game: 16. Kai Johnson, WWU, 21.8; 24. Shaw Anderson, SPU, 21.3
Rebounds: 33. Daniel Moody, MSUB, 100
Def. Rebounds/Game: 33. Daniel Moody, MSUB, 6.25
Off. Rebounds/Game: 13. Gabriel Murphy, NNU, 3.70; 49. Samaad Hector, CWU, 2.90
Rebounds/Game: 42. Gabriel Murphy, NNU, 8.7; 49. Samaad Hector, CWU, 8.4
Steals: 9. Tru Allen, NNU, 30; 46. Jonathan Ned, WWU, 24
Steals Per Game: 5. Tru Allen, NNU, 3.00; 39. Jonathan Ned, WWU, 2.18
3-Point Attempts: 23. Kyle Luttinen, SPU, 87; 49. Tyson Gilbert, UAA, 80
3-Point %: 31. Jonathan Ned, WWU, 45.5
3-Pointers: 25. Kyle Luttinen, SPU, 35
Triple Doubles: 1. Qiant Myers, WOU, 1
2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball Players of the Week
Date Offensive Player of the Week
Nov. 6 Tyson Gilbert, Alaska Anchorage
Nov. 13 Kai Johnson, Western Washington
Nov. 20 Qiant Myers, Western Oregon
Nov. 27 Shaw Anderson, Seattle Pacific
Dec. 4 Tru Allen, Northwest Nazarene
Dec. 11 Nic Welp, Western Washington
Dec. 20 Jaron Williams, Alaska Anchorage

Dec. 20 GNAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week

Player of the Week – Jaron Williams, Alaska Anchorage

First-career player of the week

Williams put together a sturdy all-around performance to help the Seawolves go 2-1 last week in Hawaii. His signature performance came in the finale – a 77-72 win over host Hawaii Pacific – pouring in a career-high 29 points on 11-for-13 shooting while adding five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Overall Williams averaged 15.7 points and 5.0 rebounds to help the Seawolves improve to 10-3 on the season.

Also Nominated: Demarcus Hall-Scriven, UAF; Anjaylo Lloyd, CWU; Jalen Tot, MSUB; Gabriel Murphy, NNU; Josh Camper, SMU; Shaw Anderson, SPU; Elliot Dimaculangan, SFU; Cameron Benzel, WOU; Kai Johnson, WWU.

2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball Championships
 

The 2023-24 GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships will be held March at Nicholson Pavilion on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. The top-six teams in the final GNAC regular-season standings will advance to the single-elimination tournament. The winner of the event will earn the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships.

 

2023-24 All-Tournament Selections
 
2023 D2CCA Canadian Tip-Off Classic
Nov. 3-5 at Langley, B.C. (Simon Fraser, Host)
Seattle Pacific: Julian Mora, G
Simon Fraser: Elliot Dimaculangan, G
Western Washington: Kai Johnson, G; Nic Welp, F
 
GNAC/PacWest Challenge
Nov. 10-11 at Fairbanks, Alaska (Alaska, Host)
Alaska Anchorage: Tyson Gilbert, G- Tournament MVP ; Bishop Tosi, F
Alaska: Nick Hopkins, F
 
2023 West Region Crossover
Nov. 10-11 at Arcata, Calif. (Cal Poly Humboldt, Host)
Simon Fraser: David Penney, G
Western Washington: Kai Johnson, G – Tournament MVP; BJ Colly, F; Jonathan Ned, F
 
2023 Big Island Holiday Classic
Dec. 17-18 at Honolulu, Hawaii (Hawaii Hilo Host)
Alaska: Demarcus Hall-Scriven, G
 
2023-24 GNAC PRESEASON MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
Rank Team (1st Place Votes) 2022-23 GNAC Record (Finish) Points
1. Saint Martin's (9) 24-7 15-3 (1st) 98
2. Northwest Nazarene (1) 15-15 9-9 (T3rd) 85
3. Central Washington 15-15 9-9 (T3rd) 72
4. Western Washington 15-13 8-10 (7th) 66
T5. Montana State Billings 20-10 14-4 (2nd) 52
T5. Seattle Pacific 17-11 12-6 (3rd) 52
7. Alaska Anchorage 13-14 7-11 (9th) 40
8. Western Oregon 12-14 9-9 (T3rd) 36
9. Alaska 11-15 6-12 (8th) 31
10. Simon Fraser 6-22 1-17 (10th) 18

Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

 

2023-24 GNAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Preseason Player of the Year: Shaw Anderson, Seattle Pacific
Name School Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown
*$+& Shaw Anderson Seattle Pacific F 6-7 Sr. Kelso, Wash.
*$& Jaden Nielsen-Skinner Saint Martin's G 5-10 Jr. Salem, Ore.
*#& Gabriel Murphy Northwest Nazarene F 6-9 Sr. Tracy, Calif.
*@ Camron McNeil Central Washington G 6-5 Sr. Raleigh, N.C.
*$ Kyle Greeley Saint Martin's G 6-5 Sr. Salem, Ore.
*# Abdullahi Mohamed Alaska F 6-10 Sr. Seattle, Wash.
*!@ BJ Kolly Western Washington F 6-10 So. Everett, Wash.
^&@ Tru Allen Northwest Nazarene G 6-0 Jr. Lapwai, Idaho
*@ Cameron Benzel Western Oregon F 6-7 Jr. Yoncalla, Ore.
# Kai Johnson Western Washington G 6-4 Jr. Olympia, Wash.
% Zharon Richmond Montana State Billings F 6-7 Sr. Billings, Mont.
@ David Penney Simon Fraser G 6-1 Sr. Guelph, Ont.
@ Samaad Hector Central Washington F 6-6 Sr. Vancouver, Wash.
# Tyke Thompson Saint Martin's G 6-8 Sr. Salem, Ore.
Dathan Satchell  Alaska Anchorage G 6-4 Sr. Tracy, Calif.
*Unanimous Selection | !-2022-23 GNAC Freshman of the Year | $-2022-23 First-Team All-GNAC | #-2022-23 Second-Team All-GNAC | @-2022-23 Honorable Mention All-GNAC | ^-2021-22 GNAC Freshman of the Year | &-2021-22 Honorable Mention All-GNAC | +-2019-20 Second-Team All-GNAC | %-2019-20 Honorable Mention All-GNAC

    
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