Tuesday, March 4, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - The fourth annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championships tip off Wednesday at noon at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's University in Lacey.

The first game will match No. 3 seed Alaska Fairbanks against sixth-seed Montana State Billings.  Wednesday's second game will follow at 2:15 p.m. as fourth-seed Alaska Anchorage takes on fifth-seed Western Oregon.

The two winners advance to the semifinals Thursday at 5:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., against No. 2 seed Western Washington and top-seed and defending champion Seattle Pacific.

Saturday's championship game at 5:15 p.m. will earn the winner the GNAC's automatic berth in next week's NCAA West Regionals.  The NCAA will announce the participants and the site for the regional Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific) in a stream on ncaa.com.

Seattle Pacific won last year's championship defeating Western Washington 72-70 on a three-point buzzer beater by Jobi Wall.  The two teams then went on to both reach the championship game of the West Regionals.  The Vikings won that contest 62-58 and then reached the national semifinals before losing.

SPU, which is led in scoring by GNAC Player of the Year David Downs (20.1) and Patrick Simon (16.6), will be looking to secure its 10th consecutive NCAA berth, the longest streak in the nation.  Simon leads the nation in 3-point shooting converting 53.6 percent (75-of-140). Both Downs and Simons were named to the GNAC all-league team Monday.

Five players are averaging in double figures for Western Washington, including Richard Woodworth and Austin Bragg, who average 17 ½ points apiece.

Woodworth also leads the Vikings in assists (100) and steals (38).  Bragg is the team leader in both rebounds (9.0) and blocks (48).  Both players also earned first-team all-league honors.

Alaska Fairbanks is making its second straight post-season appearance after missing the post-season the previous seven years.  Leading the Nanooks are a pair of second-team all-league selections - Ronnie Baker (14.7 ppg) and Andrew Kelly (12.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg).

Travis Thompson is UAA’s top scorer, averaging 21.5 points.  Both Thompson and Kyle Fossman (16.7) finished the regular-season making 107 three-pointers.  Thompson was a first team choice and Fossman earned honorable mention GNAC honors.  UAA point guard Brian McGill was a second team selection. 

Another second team selection, Rodney Webster, has come off the bench 23 times to lead Western Oregon in scoring (14.8). Also averaging in double figures for the Wolves is Andy Avgi (13.7) and Marwan Sarhan (11.8).

Jonathan Mesghna (15.2) and Austin Hudson (14.3) are MSUB’s top scorers.  Kalob Hatcher (12.5) is one of the nation’s top playmakers contributing 7.7 assists per game.  Hatcher was a second team GNAC all-league pick, while Mesghna and Hudson were honorable mention honorees.

The tournament is being held in conjunction with the GNAC Women's Chamionships.  All 10 games are available on GNAC TV.  Calling the action is long-time Central Washington announcer Rob Lowery.  Brandon Sparks, who is Saint Martin's play-by-play video stream announcer, will provide commentary.

GNAC Championships (Mar. 5-8 at Lacey): Wednesday - #3 Alaska Fairbanks (17-9) vs. #6 Montana State Billings (12-14), noon; #4 Alaska Anchorage (17-12) vs. #5 Western Oregon (17-11), 2:15 p.m.  Thursday - Alaska Fairbanks/Montana State Billings winner vs. #2 Western Washington (19-7), 5:15 p.m.; Alaska Anchorage/Western Oregon winner vs. #1 seed Seattle Pacific (24-5), 7:30 p.m.  Saturday - Championship game at 5:15 p.m. (Note: Winner earns automatic berth in NCAA West Region).

Team Profiles

Seattle Pacific
Head Coach: Ryan Looney. Eastern Oregon ’98 (116-33, 5 years; Overall, 211-88, 10 year)
2013-14 Record: 24-5 (15-3, 1st)
Tournament Seed: 1st 
Pre-Season Rank: 1st
National Rank: 18th
Regional Rank: 4th
Tournament History (4th appearance, 3-2):  Falcons defeated Western Washington 72-70 in 2013 championship game after losing in semifinals each of the previous two seasons.
Top Players: David Downs (G, 6-2, Sr., 20.1 ppg, 4.7 assists, 75-158 3-pointers, GNAC Player of the Year); Patrick Simon (F, 6-8, Sr., 16.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, leads nation in 3-point percentage, 75-140, 53.6, 1st team GNAC); Corey Hutsen (C, 6-8. Jr., 11.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg); Riley Stockton (G, 6-4, Jr., 8.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, HM GNAC)

Western Washington
Head Coach:  Tony Dominguez, Western Washington ’94 (50-10, 2 years)
2013-14 Record:  19-7 (13-5, 2nd)
Tournament Seed: 2nd 
Pre-Season Rank: 3rd
National Rank: None
Regional Rank: 7th
Tournament History (4th appearance, 1-3):   The Vikings lost in the first round in 2011 and 2012 when they went on to win the West Regional and NCAA Division II national titles.  Last year, WWU lost in the title game before winning the regional title and eventually advancing to the national semifinals.
Top Players:  Richard Woodworth (G, 6-3, Sr., 17.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.0 apg, 38 steals, 1st team GNAC); Austin Bragg (C, 6-9, Sr., 17.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 48 blocks, 1st team GNAC); Jeffrey Parker (F, 6-6, Fr., 11.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg)

Alaska Fairbanks
Head Coach:  Mick Durham, Montana State ’79 (38-44, 3 years; Overall, 284-257, 19 year)
2013-14 Record: 17-9 (12-6, 3rd)
Tournament Seed: 3rd
Pre-Season Rank: 5th
National Rank: None
Regional Rank: None
Tournament History (2nd appearance, 1-1):   The Nanooks made their first post-season appearance last year since 2006, reaching the semifinals before losing 61-43 to Western Washington.
Top Players:  Andrew Kelly (F, 6-7, Sr., 12.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 22 blocks, 37 steals, GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, 2nd team GNAC); Ronnie Baker (G, 6-3, Sr., 14.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 38 steals, 2nd team GNAC); Sergej Pucar (C, 6-11, Sr., 11.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, HM GNAC)

Alaska Anchorage
Head Coach:  Rusty Osborne, Texas ’88 (192-105, 10 years)
2013-14 Record:  17-12 (10-8, 4th-T)
Tournament Seed: 4th
Pre-Season Rank: 2nd
National Rank: None
Regional Rank: None
Tournament History (4th appearance, 3-3):   The Seawolves lost to Central Washington and Montana State Billings in the 2011 and 2012 championship games before being ousted by CWU last year in the opening round.
Top Players:  Travis Thompson (G, 6-1, Jr., 21.5 ppg, 107-256 3-pointers, 3.2 apg, 3.6 rpg, 34 steals, 1st team GNAC); Brian McGill (G, 6-2, So., 15.8 ppg, 5.9 apg, 3.6 rpg, 2nd team GNAC); Kyle Fossman (G, 6-0, Sr., 16.7 ppg, 107-241 3-pointers, 3.5 apg, HM GNAC)

Western Oregon
Head Coach:  Brady Bergeson, Chapman ’00 (45-37, 3 years)
2013-14 Record:  17-11 (10-8, 4th-T)
Tournament Seed: 5th
Pre-Season Rank: 6th
National Rank: None
Regional Rank: None
Tournament History (3rd appearance, 0-2):   The Wolves lost first-round games in both 2011 and 2012
Top Players:  Rodney Webster (G, 6-1, Sr., 14.8 ppg, 2.6 apg, 44 steals, 2nd team GNAC); Andy Avgi (F, 6-6, So., 13.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 57.5 FGs, HM GNAC); Marwan Sarhan (F, 6-8, Jr., 11.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg) 

Montana State Billings
Head Coach:  Jamie Stevens, MSU Billings ’99 (46-40, 3 years)
2013-14 Record:  12-14 (8-10, 6th-T)
Tournament Seed: 6th
Pre-Season Rank: 7th
National Rank: None
Regional Rank: None
Tournament History (4th appearance, 3-2):   As the fifth seed, the Yellowjackets won three straight games to win the 2012 title, but suffered first-round losses in both 2011 and 2013.
Top Players:  Kalob Hatcher (G, 5-11, Sr., 12.5 ppg, 7.7 apg, 2nd team GNAC); Jonathan Mesghna (F, 6-6, Sr., 15.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 79-187 3-pointers, GNAC Newcomer of the Year,   HM GNAC); Austin Hudson (F, 6-7, Jr., 14.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 25 blocks, HM GNAC)

McLaughlin Secures National Scoring Title

For the second time in four years, a Great Northwest Athletic Conference player will earn the NCAA Division II men’s scoring title.

Mark McLaughlin of Central Washington finished his season with a 27.1 average, well ahead of runnerup Roderick Perkins of Erskine, who ranks second with a 24.9 average.

Parrish West of Alaska Fairbanks won the 2010-11 title, averaging a GNAC-record 27.2 points per game.

Going into the playoffs, Patrick Simon of Seattle Pacific is on pace to win the NCAA three-point percentage championship, Simon ranks No. 1 with a 53.6 percentage.

Five other GNAC players rank in the Top 10 in various categories including UAA’s Travis Thompson and Kyle Fossman who are tied for fifth in three-pointers made, averaging 3.69.

Kalob Hatcher of Montana State Billings ranks fourth in assists (7.7), Riley Stockton of Seattle Pacific ranks fifth in assist/turnover ratio (3.63) and SPU’s David Downs ranks seventh in three-point percentage (47.5).

In team categories, Seattle Pacific is the national leader in three-point percentage, converting on 43.6 percent. 

The Falcons also rank third in fewest turnovers (9.0), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.59), and ninth in field goal percentage (50.8).

Alaska Anchorage leads in two categories – assist/turnover ratio (2.15) and fewest turnovers (8.3).

The Seawolves also rank second in free throw percentage (79.9), third in three-pointers made (13.0) and 10th  in three-point percentage (41.0) and assists (18.0).

Western Washington ranks sixth in blocked shots (5.7). Alaska Fairbanks is ninth in fewest fouls (15.2) and Western Oregon is 10th  in steals (9.3).

NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS (Top 30; End-of-regular season) 

Team:  Scoring – 15. Western Washington 87.3; 23. Alaska Anchorage 85.7. Scoring Defense – 25. Seattle Pacific 66.4; 30. Alaska Fairbanks 67.4.  Scoring Margin – 16. Seattle Pacific 12.7.  Field Goal PCT. – 9. Seattle Pacific 50.8; 20. Western Washington 49.6. Three-Pointers – 3. Alaska Anchorage 13.0; 15. Northwest Nazarene 9.8; 29. Montana State Billings 8.9. Three-Point PCT. – 1. Seattle Pacific 43.6; 10. Alaska Anchorage 41.0. Three-Point PCT. Defense – 11. Western Washington 29.8.  Free Throw PCT. – 2. Alaska Anchorage 79.9; 17. Central Washington 76.5.  Assists – 10. Alaska Anchorage 18.0.  Rebound Margin – 28. Seattle Pacific 5.9. Assist/TO Ratio – 1. Alaska Anchorage 2.15; 8. Seattle Pacific 1.59; 23. MSU Billings 1.41.  Blocked Shots – 6. Western Washington 5.7.  Steals – 10. Western Oregon 9.3.  Fewest Turnovers – 1. Alaska Anchorage 8.3; 3. Seattle Pacific 9.0. Turnover Margin – 21. Alaska Fairbanks 3.7; 26. Alaska Anchorage 3.5. Fewest Fouls – 9. Alaska Fairbanks 15.2; 13. Seattle Pacific 15.9.  

Individuals: Scoring – 1. Mark McLaughlin, CWU, 27.1; 21. Travis Thompson, UAA, 21.5.  Field Goal PCT. – 12. Andrew Kelly, UAF, 63.9; 28. Austin Bragg, WWU, 60.2. Three-Point FGs – 5. Travis Thompson, UAA, and Kyle Fossman, UAA, 3.69; 19. Jonathan Mesghna, MSUB, 3.04.  Three-Point PCT. – 1. Patrick Simon, SPU, 53.6; 7. David Downs, SPU, 47.5; 19. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 44.4.  Free Throw PCT. – 17. Travis Thompson, UAA, 89.7; 29. David Downs, SPU, 87.7. Assists – 4. Kalob Hatcher, MSUB, 7.7; 20. Brian McGill, UAA, 5.9; 28. Sango Niang, SFU, 5.6. Assist/TO Ratio – 5. Riley Stockton, SPU, 3.63; 21. Kyle Fossman, UAA, 2.89; 22. Kalob Hatcher, 2.86.  Steals – 28. Devon Alexander, WOU, 2.14. Double-Doubles – 23. Austin Bragg, WWU, 11.

GNAC RED LION PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Andrew Kelly, Alaska Fairbanks (F, 6-7, Sr., Gilbert, AZ – Chandler-Gilbert) scored 14 points, including the game-winner in the final second, as the Nanooks ended a 16-game losing streak to Alaska Anchorage with a 70-68 win at The Patty Center.  Kelly received the ball from teammate Ronnie Baker who was falling out-of-bounds and was able to get the shot up before the red light went on.  The UAF forward had 18 rebounds, 10 off the offensive glass, as the Nanooks dominated the backboards 38-25 to earn its first win against UAA since Jan. 28, 2006.  Kelly also had a steal and three blocks, two during a 20-5 run over the game’s final 7 ½ minutes.

HONORABLE MENTION:  Mario Donaldson, Northwest Nazarene (G, 6-3, Sr., Rockton, IL) scored 43 points and also had 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals as the Crusaders split two games with a pair of playoff bound teams.  Donaldson made 6-of-8 three-pointers and was 16-of-34 overall ... Andy Avgi, Western Oregon (F, 6-6, So., Woodburn, OR) had 41 points and 13 rebounds and shot 50 percent (13-of-26) in wins over Simon Fraser and Western Washington ....  Evan Coulter, Saint Martin’s (G, 5-10, Sr., Mount Vernon, WA) scored 40 points and had nine rebounds and four steals as the Saints closed their season splitting two games.

MORE MENTIONABLES: Mark McLaughlin, Central Washington (G, 6-6, Sr., Bothell, WA – Inglemoor & Tacoma CC) had 49 points, including 33 in a 91-88 win over Montana State Billings.  The 30-point game  was his 10th of the season and his GNAC-record tying 14th of his career ... Patrick Simon, Seattle Pacific  (F, 6-8, Sr., Ephrata, WA) led the Falcons with 35 points and made 8-of-12 three-point shots in road wins at Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene as SPU won the GNAC title outright. 

FROM THE RECORD BOOK: McLaughlin tied the GNAC career record for 30-point games set by Parrish  West of Alaska Fairbanks during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.  Thirteen of West’s 14 came during his senior season ...  Simon improved his GNAC-record three-point percentage to 49.5 (141-285).  UAA’s Kyle Fossman (45.1) and Travis Thompson (43.9) rank eighth and 11th,  respectively, in that category.  Thompson also ranks sixth in career free throw percentage in GNAC history (87.3 on 234-of-268) ... CWU’s Kevin Davis ended his career ranked sixth in GNAC history in career blocked shots (144).  He also finished second in blocks per game (2.25), ending up less than one block in back of all-time leader Brannon Stone of Seattle Pacific, who averaged 2.26 blocks between 1999 and 2002.

TEAM NOTES

Alaska Anchorage: Kyle Fossman and Travis Thompson  each scored 15 points and each made three 3-pointers in Thursday’s 70-68 loss at Fairbanks finishing their regular-seasons with identical 3-point numbers each converting 107 from the arc.  The Seawolves also got 14 points from Colton Lauwers.

Alaska Fairbanks:  Ronnie Baker led the Nanooks with 18 points and Joe Slocum had 15 in their win over UAA before 956 fans at The Patty Center.  UAF had a 14-3 advantage in offensive rebounds and turned the ball over just nine times.

Central Washington: Mark McLaughlin scored 49 points  in a pair of games and finished the season with a 27.1 scoring average, just missing the GNAC record of 27.2 by Parrish West of Alaska Fairbanks during the 2010-11 season.  McLaughlin did set GNAC records for total points (508) and average (28.2) for conference contests, breaking West’s records of 484 and 26.9.

Montana State Billings: Jonathan Mesghna led the Yellowjackets with 35 points in their two losses.  Kalob Hatcher had 17 points and 20 assists.  He finished the regular-season with exactly 200 assists joining Mark White of Humboldt State (235 in 2003-04) and Luke Cooper of Alaska Anchorage (230 in 2006-07 and 310 in 2007-08) as the only players in GNAC history to record 200 or more in a single season,

Northwest Nazarene:  In addition to Donaldson’s 43 points, the Crusaders were led by Kevin Rima (21 points, 12 rebounds) and Grayson Moore (18 points, 22 rebounds) as they split two games to close out their season.   NNU missed just four free throws, shooting 88.6 percent (31-of-35), while their opponents made 27-of-32 (84.4 percent).

Saint Martin’s: Evan Coulter finished his season with his second highest output of the year, netting 26 in Saturday’s 76-67 win over Simon Fraser.  Over his last eight games, Coulter averaged 21 points per game, five above his final season average of 16.  Tyler Idowu had 19 rebounds in his final two contests. 

Seattle Pacific: David Downs moved into a tie for fourth place on the GNAC career assist list. He has 548 and could climb as high as second depending on long the SPU post-season run lasts.  Kevin Tyner of Western Oregon (2002-06) ranks second with 600 and Mark White of Humboldt State is third with 594.  Downs had 32 points and nine assists last week and ranks 11^th in career scoring with 1,715 points.

Simon Fraser: Taylor Dunn scored 45 points, including a season-high 29 in Saturday’s loss at Lacey.  Ibrahim Appiah netted 32 rebounds in SFU’s two contests finishing his career ranked 14^th in GNAC history in career rebounds with 622.

Western Oregon: Andy Avgi and Rodney Webster combined for 80 of the Wolves’ 170 points and Avgi had 41 and Webster came off the bench to score 39.  Two of WOU’s top three scorers for the week were non-starters as Marwan Sarhan had 23.  Overall, the bench produced 79 of  WOU’s 170 points,  46.5 percent.

Western Washington:  Richard Woodworth scored 37 points and  redshirt freshman Jeffrey Parker had 39 points as the Vikings split two games.  Austin Bragg had 27 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks,  WWU outrebounded its opponents 87-71 and also held them to a 39.2 shooting percentage.