Tuesday, February 4, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - Seattle Pacific will take a No. 19 NABC national ranking and a seven-game win streak to Alaska this week.  The Falcons (18-4, 9-2) play at Alaska Anchorage (13-9, 6-5) Thursday and Alaska Fairbanks (12-7, 7-4) Saturday.

Meanwhile, Western Washington (15-4, 9-2), which is tied with SPU for first-place in the GNAC, visits Simon Fraser (9-10, 2-9), which has shown signs of life splitting its last four conference games after ending a 17-game conference game losing streak. 

WWU, which is among "others receiving votes" in the national poll (31st overall), has won five straight.

In addition to the SPU/UAA game, three other games are on Thursday's schedule.  Montana State Billings (11-10, 4-7) visits Alaska Fairbanks, Western Oregon (11-10, 4-7) entertains Central Washington (10-8, 6-4) and Northwest Nazarene (5-13, 3-7) visits Saint Martin's (7-12, 4-7).

On Saturday, NNU plays at Western Oregon in the ROOT Sports TV Game of the Week, MSUB visits UAA, SPU visits UAF  and CWU plays at SMU.  The WWU/SFU game completes the five-game schedule.

Six teams will eventually qualify for the GNAC tournament in March and with three teams currently tied for sixth with 4-7 records (WOU, MSUB and SMU) and a fourth just one-half game back at 3-7 (NNU), this figures to be a key week.

First Regional Poll Two Weeks Away

The first NCAA West Regional poll, which will eventually determine the five teams that will join the GNAC, PacWest and CCAA champions in next month's regional, is still two weeks away.  The first of three polls will be released Wednesday, Feb. 19.

While the NABC national poll relies more on wins and losses, the official NCAA regional poll also takes into account strength of schedule.  That could benefit Western Washington which has given top-ranked Metro State (18-1) its only loss and has already played (and lost to) second-ranked Tarleton State (18-0) and No. 12 Cal State San Bernardino (16-2).

Currently, just three other West Region teams in addition to Seattle Pacific, are nationally ranked led by CSU San Bernardino.  California Baptist (18-1) is ranked 13th and Cal Poly Pomona (15-3) is ranked 18th.  One of Cal Poly Pomona's three losses came at the hands of Western Oregon.

McLaughlin Stays on Top In National Scoring Race

Mark McLaughlin of Central Washington maintained his No. 1 national ranking in this week's NCAA Division II scoring race.

McLaughlin leads Division II with a 28.4 average.  In conference games, McLaughlin is averaging 31.3 points per game, 10 more than Alaska Anchorage's Travis Thompson who ranks second in the GNAC with a 21.3 average.

In all games, Thompson is averaging 22.2 and ranks 13th nationally. Thompson also ranks seventh in three-pointers made (3.73) and eighth in free throw percentage (90.0).

Patrick Simon of Seattle Pacific ranks second in three-point percentage, shooting 51.9 percent, nearly two points better than teammate David Downs who is shooting 50.0 percent from the arc and ranks eighth nationally.

Four other GNAC players rank in the Top 10 in this week's national report.

Andrew Kelly of Alaska Fairbanks leads the GNAC and ranks seventh nationally in field goal percentage (67.3).  CWU's J.B. Pillard ranks ninth with a 66.9 percentage.

Kyle Fossman of Alaska Anchorage ranks ninth in three-pointers  made (3.41) and Montana State Billings point guard Kalob Hatcher is seventh in assists, averaging 7.0 per game. 

Only one player in GNAC history - Alaska Anchorage's Luke Cooper (8.21 in 2007 and 8.86 in 2008) has finished a season with an assist average of at least seven per game.

Thursday's UAA/SPU game will feature two teams ranked nationally in the Top 10 in eight different statistical categories.

The Seawolves rank first in fewest turnovers (8.5), while the Falcons are second (9.0).  UAA also ranks second in assist/turnover ratio (2.06) and free throw percentage (80.2) and third in three-pointers made (12.5).

SPU is sixth in three-point percentage (42.5) and ninth in both field goal percentage (51.2) and assist/turnover ratio (1.57).

Western Washington is second in blocked shots (6.2) and sixth in three-point defense (28.8).  Alaska Fairbanks is seventh in fewest fouls (15.5).

 NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS (Top 30; Through Feb. 2):  Team:  Scoring – 16. Alaska Anchorage 87.4; 17. Western Washington 87.0; 30. Central Washington 85.5. Scoring Defense – 18. Seattle Pacific 65.3; 20. Alaska Fairbanks 65.6.  Scoring Margin – 18. Seattle Pacific 13.1.  Field Goal PCT. – 9. Seattle Pacific 51.2; 24. Western Washington 49.5; 27. Central Washington 49.3. Three-Pointers – 3. Alaska Anchorage 12.5; 16. Northwest Nazarene 10.0; 29. MSU Billings 9.1. Three-Point PCT. – 6. Seattle Pacific 42.5; 29. Alaska Anchorage 39.7. Three-Point PCT. Defense – 6. Western Washington 28.8.  Free Throw PCT. – 2. Alaska Anchorage 80.2; 24. Central Washington 76.0.  Rebounds – 29. Western Washington 6.7. Assists – 17. Alaska Anchorage 17.6.  Assist/TO Ratio – 2. Alaska Anchorage 2.06; 9. Seattle Pacific 1.57; 15. MSU Billings 1.46.  Steals – 16. Western Oregon 9.3.  Blocked Shots – 2. Western Washington 6.2.  Fewest Turnovers – 1. Alaska Anchorage 8.5; 2. Seattle Pacific 9.0; 20. MSU Billings 10.4; 30. Alaska Fairbanks 11.1. Turnover Margin – 15. Alaska Fairbanks 4.4; 19. Alaska Anchorage 4.0. Fewest Fouls – 7. Alaska Fairbanks 15.5; 14. Seattle Pacific 15.8; 17. Northwest Nazarene 16.4.   Individuals: Scoring – 1. Mark McLaughlin, CWU, 28.4; 13. Travis Thompson, UAA, 22.2.  Field Goal PCT. – 7. Andrew Kelly, UAF, 67.3; 9. JB Pillard, CWU, 66.9. Three-Point FGs – 7. Travis Thompson, UAA, 3.73; 9. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 3.41.  Three-Point PCT. – 2. Patrick Simon, SPU, 51.9; 8. David Downs, SPU, 50.0; 26. Derek Isaak, NNU, 44.8.  Free Throw PCT. – 8. Travis Thompson, UAA, 90.0; 28. Evan Coulter, SMU, 87.7. Assists – 7. Kalob Hatcher, MSUB, 7.0; 18. Brian McGill, UAA, 6.2. Blocked Shots – 25. Kevin Davis, CWU, 2.31.  Assist/TO Ratio – 15. Riley Stockton, SPU, 3.20; 22. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 2.96; 25. Kalob Hatcher, MSUB, 2.89.  Double-Doubles – 17. Austin Bragg, WWU, 9.

DOUBLE DOUBLES (Through Feb. 2): 9 – Austin Bragg, WWU.  6 - JB Pillard, CWU; Ibrahim Appiah, SFU. 5 -Teancum Stafford, UAA; Kevin Davis, CWU.  4- Austin Hudson, MSUB; Andrew Kelly, UAF. Anye Turner, WWU.  2 - Kevin Rima, NNU; Brian McGill, UAA; Mark McLaughlin, CWU; Kalob Hatcher, MSUB.  1 – Nine with.

30-POINT GAMES (Through Feb. 2): 7 – Mark McLaughlin, CWU.  4 – Travis Thompson, UAA.  3 – Patrick Simon, SPU.  1 – Austin Bragg, WWU, David Downs, SPU; Evan Coulter, SMU; Michael Loomis, NNU; Richard Woodworth, WWU; Kevin Rima, NNU.

20-POINT GAMES (5 or more; Through Feb. 2):  15 – Travis Thompson, UAA;   Mark McLaughlin, CWU.  12 – David Downs, SPU.  7 – Richard Woodworth, WWU. Brian McGill, UAA.  6 - Kyle Fossman, UAA; Austin Bragg, WWU; 5 – Patrick Simon, SPU.

10-REBOUND GAMES (3 or more; Through Feb. 2): 10 – Austin Bragg, WWU. 8 – Teancum Stafford, UAA.  6 – Kevin Davis, CWU; JB Pillard, CWU;  Ibrahim Appiah, SFU; Anye Turner, WWU. 5 - Andrew Kelly, UAF. 4 - Austin Hudson, MSUB. 3 – Kevin Rima, NNU.

LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:

GNAC RED LION PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Austin Bragg, Western Washington (F, 6-9, Sr., Longview, WA - Clark CC) had 31 points, 26 rebounds and 13 assists and recorded the first triple-double in the GNAC in 10 years in leading the Vikings to wins over Alaska Fairbanks (53-51) and Alaska Anchorage (99-76).  Bragg had one-third of WWU's points (18 of 53) and rebounds (14 of 42) in Thursday's win against the Nanooks before recording the third triple-double (13 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) in GNAC history in Saturday's regionally televised win over Alaska Anchorage.  In the two contests, Bragg made 12 of 20 field goal attempts and all five of his free throw attempts.

HONORABLE MENTION: Kalob Hatcher, MSU Billings (G, 5-11, Sr., San Diego, CA - Irvine Valley) scored 57 points and also had 12 assists, accounting directly or indirectly for at least 55 percent of the Yellowjackets’ points in home losses to Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s.  Hatcher made 16-of-27 field goal attempts, including 4-of-6 treys ... Evan Coulter, Saint Martin's (G, 5-10, Sr., Mount Vernon, WA - Whatcom CC) scored 42 points, including 35 in a 83-70 win at MSU Billings.  Coulter made 10-of-14 shots, including 5-of-7 treys against the Yellowjackets ...  Ibrahim Appiah, Simon Fraser (F, 6-6, Sr., Montreal, QC - Champlain) had back-to-back double-doubles, his fifth and sixth of the year as the Clan earned a split for the second week in a row.  Appiah, who is the GNAC career-active rebounding leader with 556 (ranks 23rd overall), had 23 points and 23 rebounds in a pair of contests.

MORE MENTIONABLES: Mark McLaughlin, Central Washington (G, 6-6, Sr., Bothell, WA - Inglemoor & Tacoma CC) recorded his eighth consecutive 20-point game, scoring 29 points in a 86-66 home win over Northwest Nazarene.  During that stretch he has scored 30 or more points five times and is averaging 33.4 points per contest ... Mario Donaldson, Northwest Nazarene (G, 6-3, Sr., Rockton, IL – Ellsworth CC) scored a career-high 21 points and also had a team-high four assists in NNU’s loss to CWU.

FROM THE RECORD BOOK: Bragg joins Jason Burrell of Western Washington (16 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assist versus Alaska Fairbanks, Jan. 16, 2003) and Robert Day of Western Oregon (21 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists versus Montana State Billings, Dec. 16, 2003) as the only male players in GNAC history to record a triple-double.

FINDING HIS AIM: For a season and a half,  Central Washington’s Mark McLaughlin, who leads Division II in scoring (28.4) was a 24 percent career three-point shooter, making just 37 of 154 from beyond the arc.  But, since Jan. 4, he has made 25 of 45 treys to raise his career percentage to 31.2.  In conference games, he ranks third in three-point percentage (26-of-50, 52.0) trailing only Patrick Simon of Seattle Pacific who is shooting 61.9 percent (26-of-42) and Evan Coulter of Simon Fraser who has a 52.5 conference-game percentage (21-of-40).  During that same stretch McLaughlin has made 71-of-78 free throws, a 91.0 percentage compared to his career percentage of 82.2.  One of his seven misses was intentional.

GNAC GAMES ON ROOT SPORTS: Eight regular-season GNAC games, including six men’s contests will be televised this winter on ROOT SPORTS. This week’s game will feature Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon in a 5 p.m. game Saturday in Monmouth.  Bob Akamian will do the play-by-play alongside Dave Harshman, who will handle the color commentary. (DirecTV channel 687 and Dish Network channel 426).

TEAM NOTES

Alaska Anchorage: Travis Thompson scored 41 points in two games including the game-winning basket in a 65-64 win over Simon Fraser with 3.8 seconds left as the Seawolves rallied from a 17-point deficit.  Point guard Brian McGill had 29 points and 10 assists and Kyle Fossman had 25 points in the two road contests.

Alaska Fairbanks:  Andrew Kelly scored 34 points, missing just four shots (16-of-20) in road games at Western Washington and Simon Fraser.  Kelly also had 12 rebounds.  Joe Slocum had 22 points and team-highs for assists (9) and steals (7).  Stefan Tica led UAF with 13 rebounds.

Central Washington: Mark McLaughlin scored 29 points in Saturday’s 86-66 home win against Northwest Nazarene increasing his total in his last three games to 112.  That’s the third highest total in GNAC history for a three-game stretch.    JB Pillard had 14 points in the win making 6-of-7 shots.

Montana State Billings: In addition to Hatcher’s 57 points, the Yellowjackets were paced by Jonathan Mesghna with 33 points in home contests with Western Oregon and Saint Martin’s.  Marc Matthews added 20 points.

Northwest Nazarene: Mario Donaldson scored 21 points and Michael Loomis had 20 points, accounting for two-thirds of the Crusader points in their 20-point loss at Ellensburg.  Donaldson made 10-of-10 free throws as NNU converted on 20-of-22.  Kevin Rima made his first two field goal attempts extending his string of field goals made to 14 before missing twice late in the first half.  That matches the fifth longest FG streak in GNAC history.

Saint Martin’s: Evan Coulter’s 35-point performance Saturday at Billings was a total surpassed this season only by CWU’s Mark McLaughlin, who has done it four times (43, 42, 40 and 39).  Coulter is the first Saint to score 30 or more points since Jeremy Green had back-to-back 30-point games against Central Washington (34 on Feb. 23, 2012) and Northwest Nazarene (32 on Feb. 25, 2012) to close out the 2011-12 campaign.   In addition to Coulter’s 42-point effort in two contests, Ryan Rogers led the Saints last weekend with 31 points and 15 rebounds.

Seattle Pacific: Patrick Simon scored 33 points and Riley Stockton had 31 as the Falcons posted 23-point and 32-point home wins over Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon extending their conference game home win streak to 14 games.  That’s the fourth longest in conference history. Simon made 12-of-19 field goal attempts and Stockton converted on 13-of-19.  Stockton, Matt Borton and Brendan Carroll all had 12 rebounds as SPU controlled the backboards 86-36.

Simon Fraser: The Clan shot 50.5 percent, making 48-of-95 shots in games with Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks.  Justin Cole led SFU with 30 points and four steals.  He made 11-of-22 shots.  Ibrahim Appiah was 8-of-12 from the floor in scoring 23 points.

Western Oregon: Jordan Wiley scored 31 points and Rodney Webster had 23 points to lead the Wolves to a road split.  Adam Hastings had a team-high 12 rebounds and Devon Alexander led WOU with five assists and six steals.

Western Washington:  In addition to Bragg, the Vikings were led by Jeffrey Parker (29 points, 10 rebounds), Richard Woodworth (27 points), Robert Harris (22 points) and Anye Turner (18 points, 24 rebounds) in their  home wins over Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage.  WWU outshot the Nanooks and Seawolves 50.9 to 39.1 percent, but perhaps more importantly outrebounded them 82-50.  Woodworth made 6-of-7 treys and Parker converted on 5-of-9 as the Vikings converted on 16-fo-27 shots from beyond the arc against UAA.