Tuesday, January 14, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - Western Washington and Seattle Pacific play for the early lead in the GNAC men's basketball race Wednesday.

The two schools, who have each won or shared five GNAC regular-season or post-season titles in the 13-year history of the conference, tip the contest off at 7 p.m. in WWU's Sam Carver Gymnasium. 

The game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Brad Adam calling the action and Dave Harshman providing the color commentary.

Western Washington (10-3, 4-1) has won the past two GNAC regular-season titles and takes a one-half game lead over the Falcons (13-4, 4-2), the 2013 GNAC post-season champions, into the game.

The Vikings are ranked 19th in this week's NABC Division II national poll, while the Falcons are among "others receiving votes" and are 29th overall.

SPU is one of four GNAC teams with two losses including Alaska Fairbanks (8-5, 3-2), Central Washington (7-6, 3-2) and Northwest Nazarene (5-8, 3-2).  All four are within at least one game of the Vikings in the standings. 

Three more teams - Western Oregon (10-6, 3-3), Montana State Billings (10-6, 3-3) and Alaska Anchorage (9-7, 2-3) - have three conference losses each.

Western Washington is coming off a 82-69 victory Saturday against Simon Fraser, extending its home game win streak to a GNAC-record 36 games.  Center Austin Bragg had 30 points and 17 rebounds in that contest.  Both numbers are career-highs.

The Vikings also were led by Anye Turner, who had a career-high 22 points and 15 rebounds.

Bragg comes into the contest ranked 22nd in Division II in rebounds (9.9 per game) and 23rd in blocked shots (2.38).  He also ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (17.7) and is the conference leader in double-doubles (7) and 10-rebound games (8).

As a team, the Vikings rank No. 1 in Division II in blocked shots, averaging 6.7 per game.

WWU also ranks 11th nationally in scoring (89.8) and 14th nationally in three-point percentage defense (28.4).  Coincidentally, Seattle Pacific ranks 14th in three-point percentage offense shooting 42.2 percent.

The Falcons are led in scoring by David Downs, who ranks second in the conference in scoring (20.9) and is the GNAC leader in 20-point games with 12, including a current streak of five in a row.

Nationally, Downs ranks fourth in three-point percentage, converting on 55.3 percent.  He is on pace to break the GNAC single-season record of 53.1 set by Central Washington's Brandon Foote during the 2007-08 season.

SPU ranks in the Top 10 nationally in two team categories.  They are third in fewest turnovers (8.9) and ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.59).

Other teams ranked in the Top 10 include Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks.  The Seawolves are second in free throw percentage (81.4), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.99) and three-pointers (12.8) and fourth in fewest turnovers (9.0), right behind SPU.

The Nanooks rank sixth in fewest fouls (15.1) and 10th in fewest turnovers (9.9).

Individually, Mark McLaughlin of Central Washington is the highest ranked player.  He is second in Division II in scoring (26.3).  In conference games, he is averaging 29.4 points per game.

Travis Thompson of Alaska Anchorage ranks fourth in free throw percentage (93.2) and 10th in three-pointers (3.69).  UAA's Kyle Fossman ranks eighth in three-pointers (3.75).  JB Pillard of Central Washington ranks 10th in field goal percentage (68.3).

NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS (Top 30; Through Jan. 12):  Team:  Scoring – 11. Western Washington 89.8; 12. Alaska Anchorage 89.4.  Scoring Margin – 26. Alaska Anchorage 13.6.  Field Goal PCT. – 11. Seattle Pacific 51.0. Three-Pointers – 3. Alaska Anchorage 12.8; 15. Northwest Nazarene 10.2; 23. Simon Fraser 9.5. Three-Point PCT. – 14. Seattle Pacific 42.2.  Three-Point PCT. Defense – 14. Western Washington 28.4.   Free Throw PCT. – 2. Alaska Anchorage 81.4; 26. Central Washington 75.9.  Assists – 18. Alaska Anchorage 17.9.  Assist/TO Ratio – 3. Alaska Anchorage 1.99; 9. Seattle Pacific 1.59; 17. Alaska Fairbanks 1.49; 18. MSU Billings 1.46.  Steals – 11. Western Oregon 9.7.  Blocked Shots – 1. Western Washington 6.7.  Fewest Turnovers – 3. Seattle Pacific 8.9; 4. Alaska Anchorage 9.0; 10. Alaska Fairbanks 9.9; 20. MSU Billings 10.4; 30. Central Washington 10.9.  Turnover Margin – 14. Alaska Fairbanks 4.8. Fewest Fouls – 6. Alaska Fairbanks 15.1; 14. Northwest Nazarene 16.2; 16. Seattle Pacific 16.2.   Individuals: Scoring – 2. Mark McLaughlin, CWU, 26.3.  Field Goal PCT. – 10. JB Pillard, CWU, 68.3; 28. Marwan Sarhan, WOU, 62.0.  Three-Point FGs – 8. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 3.75; 10. Travis Thompson, UAA, 3.69.  Three-Point PCT. – 4. David Downs, SPU, 55.3; 14. Michael Loomis, NNU, 49.3.  Free Throw PCT.. – 4. Travis Thompson, UAA, 93.2.  Rebounds – 22. Austin Bragg, WWU, 9.9. Assists – 12. Kalob Hatcher, MSUB, 6.6; 14. Brian McGill, UAA, 6.4. Blocked Shots – 21. Kevin Davis, CWU, 2.45; 23. Austin Bragg, WWU, 2.38.  Assist/TO Ratio – 15. Riley Stockton, SPU, 3.30.

Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene Head to Alaska

Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene, both coming off two home wins, travel to Alaska this week for a pair of contests.

On Thursday, the Wildcats play at Alaska Fairbanks and the Crusaders take on Alaska Anchorage.  Montana State Billings, meanwhile, travels to Burnaby to face Simon Fraser.

Saturday's conference schedule will feature Central Washington at Alaska Anchorage, Northwest Nazarene at Alaska Fairbanks, MSU Billings at Western Washington, Saint Martin's at Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific at Simon Fraser.

Western Washington Home Win Streak at 36

Western Washington takes a GNAC-record 36-game home win streak into Wednesday’s ROOT Sports game against Seattle Pacific at Sam Carver Gymnasium. 

The Vikings have also won 19 straight conference home games, which is one shy of their own GNAC record set between Dec. 2, 2004 and Jan. 20, 2007. 

Seattle Pacific extended its home win streak in conference games to 12 with two wins last weekend.  That is the fourth longest streak in conference history

In all games, Western Washington (9-0) and Alaska Fairbanks (6-0)are the lone remaining unbeaten teams at home this season in the GNAC.

From The Record Book

Central Washington’s Mark McLaughlin, who scored 66 points in two games to earn GNAC Red Lion Player of the Week honors for the second time this season, matched the third best individual single-game free throw performance in GNAC history by making 16 of 16 in  a 106-103 double overtime win Saturday against Western Oregon. 

Ryan Diggs of Western Washington made 19 without a miss against Sonoma State on Nov. 25, 2005 and Saint Martin’s Jake Linton converted on 18 of 18 against Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 3, 2008. 

As a team, CWU converted on 32 of 34 against the Wolves, the second best percentage by a team with two or more misses.  Western Washington made 46 of 48 against Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 17, 2005.

Michael Loomis of Northwest Nazarene made seven three-pointers with just one miss Thursday in a 85-77 win over Western Oregon equaling the second highest total in GNAC history for most three-pointers with just a single miss.  Loomis finished the contest with 33 points.

Robert Hicks of Central Washington had eight in nine attempts against Humboldt State on Jan. 26, 2006.

TEAM NOTES

Alaska Anchorage: Brian McGill scored 36 points, including 23 against Montana State Billings, and Travis Thompson netted 34, 21 against the Yellowjackets, in a pair of road losses.  Thompson was perfect from the foul line making 15 of 15.  Thompson, who ranks 12th in GNAC history in career three-point percentage (44.1), was just three of 16 from the arc.

Alaska Fairbanks:  Sergej Pucar had team highs of 30 points and two blocks and also had 10 rebounds as the Nanooks split two road games  The Nanooks also got 29 points and eight assists from Ronnie Baker  and a team-high 11 rebounds from Andrew Kelly.

Central Washington: Mark McLaughlin  (39 points, 11 rebounds), Kevin Davis (25 points, 11 rebounds) and JB Pillard (15 points, 13 rebounds) all had double-doubles in a 106-103 double-overtime win against Western Oregon.  Davis also had a double-double in a 83-77 win over Saint Martin’s, finishing the weekend with 38 points, 24 rebounds and nine blocked shots.  Thirteen of his rebounds came off the offensive glass.  The two wins earned the Wildcats GNAC Team of the Week honors.

Montana State Billings: Austin Hudson scored 35 points and Kalob Hatcher had 32 points and 15 assists as the Yellowjackets split a pair of home contests.  Hudson made 12 of 18 shots, while Hatcher converted on nine of 16 shots.  Devon Wallace led MSUB in both rebounds (12) and steals (6).

Northwest Nazarene: The Crusaders shot 58.8 percent from the arc (30 of 51) in sweeping home games against Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s.  Against the Wolves, they cashed in on 16 of 25 three-pointers.  They then made 14 of 26 against the Saints rallying from a 14-point halftime deficit.  Michael Loomis (37 points, 14 rebounds), Grayson Moore (33 points, 9 rebounds) and Kevin Rima (31 points, 12 rebounds) combined for 101 of the Crusaders’ 165 points and 35 of its 60 rebounds.  Moore also had team-highs for assists (10), blocks (2) and steals (4).

Saint Martin’s: Evan Coulter netted 36 points, including 23 in Thursday’s loss at Central Washington.  Coulter also had 10 rebounds and a team-high eight assists.  Tyler Copp also had eight assists and Ryan Rogers led the Saints with 11 rebounds. Isaac Bianchini scored 33 points, all on three-pointers (11 of 21), producing back-to-back career highs (15 at CWU and 18 at Northwest Nazarene).

Seattle Pacific: David Downs had 23 points against Alaska Fairbanks and 21 against Alaska Anchorage, recording his league-best 11th and 12th 20-point games of the season.  The Falcons also got 23 points from Patrick Simon and 21 each from Mitch Penner and Cory Hutsen, recording their 11th and 12th consecutive conference home game victories.

Simon Fraser: Taylor Dunn scored 18 points and Ibrahim Appiah had 17 points and 13 rebounds, increasing his career total in the latter category to 499, in a 82-69 road loss at Western Washington.  The Clan, which also got 14 points from Justin Cole and 11 from Sango Niang, led the first-place Vikings 36-34 at halftime before being outscored 48-33 after the break.

Western Oregon: Andy Avgi and Rodney Webster combined for 82 points in a pair of road losses at Northwest Nazarene (85-77) and Central Washington (106-103 in double overtime).  Avgi scored 42 points, connecting on 15 of 22 shots, including both of his three-point attempts. He also had 10 rebounds. Webster had 40 points and a team-high eight assists.  The Wolves were outscored 66-42 from the three-point line, making just 14 of 51, while allowing the Crusaders and Wildcats to shoot 55.0 percent (22 of 40).

Western Washington:  Austin Bragg (career-high 30 points, career-high 17 rebounds) and Anye Turner (career-high 22 points, 15 rebounds) had double-doubles to lead the Vikings to a 82-69 home win against Simon Fraser extending their home win streak to 36 and their conference home win streak to 19.  WWU played the game without starter Richard Woodworth (ankle injury) and played most of the second half without starter Joey Schrieber, who sustained a facial fracture in the opening minute of the second period and will be out for six-to-eight weeks.

For more GNAC basketball news, check out the weekly report in the related links.