Tuesday, December 14, 2021

TEAMS TESTING THEMSELVES PRIOR TO HOLIDAY BREAK: Conference teams will receive a few days of deserved rest around Christmas, but before that time a handful of conference programs are using the time before the break to test themselves against some tough competition.

Seattle Pacific is in the midst of a two-game road trip that the Falcons hope will provide solid Division II wins. The trip started on Monday with the Falcons handing previously undefeated Texas A&M-Commerce its first loss, 70-61. Seattle Pacific held the Lions to just 36.8 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the home team 43-32, led by a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds by sophomore Zack Paulsen.

The road trip will end on Wednesday at Southeastern Oklahoma State, which is among teams receiving votes in this week’s D2SIDA Media Poll.

Western Washington and Montana State Billings will both be challenged by nationally-ranked teams at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. The Vikings will face Lindenwood on Friday before matching up against No. 1 Lubbock Christian on Saturday.

The Yellowjackets will play No. 4 West Texas A&M on Friday before facing Rollins on Saturday.

Six of the GNAC’s 10 teams are in action this week for final non-conference matchups before the conference season takes full force. Alaska,

Alaska Anchorage, Simon Fraser and Western Oregon will all be idle until conference play returns December 30. Alaska and Alaska Anchorage had previously scheduled games with Portland Bible canceled.

NIGHTHAWKS SWEEP MAYOR’S CUP, NAMED GNAC TEAM OF THE WEEK: Ask any Nampa, Idaho resident which game they’ll have circled on their calendar at the start of any sports season and chances are Northwest Nazarene and College of Idaho will be the two teams competing.

The two schools, separated by 20 minutes, compete biannually in the Mayor’s Cup. The Nighthawks took the first leg on the road by an 80-70 score. Since then, however, College of Idaho had won five of six on their way to an 8-3 record and a No. 15 NAIA national ranking.
Behind 19 points from George Reidy and a double-double from Gabriel Murphy, the Nighthawks defended their home court with a 71-64 victory to sweep the Yotes for the first since 2012. The significant victory earned NNU selection as the GNAC Team of the Week.

“The oldest rivalry in the state of Idaho is always a fun one for us,” head coach Paul Rush said. “Our guys showed tremendous toughness in being able to lock in.”

The Nighthawks have shown a propensity to play close games. The team’s first two GNAC encounters both went to overtime and ended 68-67, with the Nighthawks defeating Montana State Billings before narrowly falling to preseason conference favorites Seattle Pacific. Looking ahead, the battle-tested Nighthawks play Western New Mexico twice in Nampa on December 18 and 20 before resuming conference play on December 30.

“We are definitely moving in the right direction as a team and are continuing to pour into each other and find what it is going to take for us to be successful on the court,” Rush said.

ALL-TOURNAMENT PERFORMERS: The following GNAC players have earned all-tournament team honors during the 2021-22 season...

PacWest/GNAC Challenge (Nov. 12-13 at Honolulu): Quin Barnard (UAF), David Rowlands (UAA), Tobin Karlberg (UAA).
Chuck Randall Classic (Nov. 19-20 at Bellingham): Jalen Green (WWU, Most Valuable Player), Daniel Hornbuckle (WWU), D’Angelo Minnis (WWU), Luke Lovelady (WWU), Divant’e Moffit (SPU), Harry Cavell (SPU), Zack Paulsen (SPU).
Seawolf Thanksgiving Classic (Nov. 27 & 28, Anchorage): Oggie Pantovic (UAA, Most Outstanding Player), Tobin Karlberg (UAA), Shadeed Shabazz (UAF), Coleman Sparling (UAF), Hunter Sweet (UAA).

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Erwin Weary, Jr.
Western Washington
G • 6-5 • Jr. • Lynnwood, Wash.

Weary posted his second straight 30-plus point performance against Northwest Indian, pouring in 32 points in 31 minutes off the bench in Sunday’s 121-63 victory. Weary connected on 11 of 19 from the field and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line to go with nine rebounds (including four offensive boards) and two steals.

Also Nominated: Carrington Wiggins (Montana State Billings), Gabe Murphy (Northwest Nazarene), Christian Haffner (Saint Martin’s), Jordan Lyons (Simon Fraser), John Morrill-Keeler (Western Oregon).

AROUND THE GNAC
ALASKA
• Alaska did not play last week. With the cancellation of Saturday’s game with Portland Bible, the Nanooks will not play again until hosting Montana State Billings on December 30.

• Alaska took two road losses to open GNAC play, falling 99-74 at Western Oregon on December 2 and 87-74 at Saint Martin’s on December 4.

• Senior guard Koby Huerta averaged 16 points and five rebounds per game and shot 50 percent from three-point range to lead the Nanooks. Huerta finished with a game-high 22 points at Western Oregon with six rebounds and three assists. He made 5 of 10 from outside and 6 of 14 from the field. At Saint Martin’s, Huerta added 10 points and four rebounds. Huerta is averaging 12.4 points per game and is fourth in the GNAC with a .472 three-point percentage.

• Senior guard Shadeed Shabazz also averaged 16 points per game. After finishing with just two points at Western Oregon, Shabazz carried the Nanooks with 30 points, three steals and two rebounds at Saint Martin’s. It was his third 30-plus point performance of the season. Shabazz leads the GNAC with 19 points per game. He leads the conference and is ninth in Division II with 2.88 steals per game.

• Junior forward Willie Thomas averaged 14.5 points and six rebounds per game, which was paced by his 16 points and six rebounds at Western Oregon. Thomas is averaging 7.8 points and five rebounds per game.

• Alaska is averaging 76.4 points and 33.2 rebounds per game while ranking second in the GNAC with eight steals per game and third with a .749 free throw percentage.

ALASKA ANCHORAGE
• Alaska Anchorage did not play last week. With the cancellation of two scheduled games with Portland Bible, the Seawolves do not play again until hosting Seattle Pacific on December 30.

• Alaska Anchorage achieved a split in its first week of GNAC play, scoring a 76-67 win at Saint Martin’s on December 2 before taking an 80-71 loss at Western Oregon on December 4.

• Senior forward Oggie Pantovic averaged 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game to lead the Seawolves. He opened the week with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds at Saint Martin’s, making 6 of 10 from the field. He led all scorers with 26 points at Western Oregon to go with 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. He made 12 of 19 from the field and finished the road trip shooting 62 percent from the field. Pantovic is ninth in the GNAC with 14.9 points per game. He ranks 23rd in Division II with 16 total blocks.

• Junior guard Tobin Karlberg averaged 15.5 points per game. Karlberg led all scorers with 22 points at Saint Martin’s, making 7 of 13 from the field and 6 of 12 from three-point range. He added a nine-point performance at Western Oregon to go with four rebounds and six assists. Karlberg is sixth in the GNAC with 16.7 points per game. He is tied for third in the GNAC with a .850 free throw percentage.

• Senior guard David Rowlands averaged 14.5 points per game with eight assists. Rowlands had 15 points, four rebounds and four assists at Saint Martin’s before adding 14 points, three rebounds and four assists at Western Oregon. Rowlands is averaging 12.3 points per game. He leads the GNAC and is 26th in Division II with 5.6 assists per game.

• Alaska Anchorage is averaging 77.6 points per game and 36.7 rebounds per game. The Seawolves lead the GNAC and rank sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.7) and assists per game (18.7).

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington has won two in a row over non-conference opponents, scoring an 82-60 win over Pacific Lutheran on Saturday and a 90-80 victory over Walla Walla on Monday.

• Junior forward Matt Poquette averaged 18 points per game and shot 57.6 percent from the field in the two wins. Poquette finished with 11 points and five rebounds against PLU, making 5 of 9 from the field. He led the Wildcats with 25 points against Walla Walla, connecting on 10 of 17 from the field and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line. Poquette is averaging 10.5 points per game.

• Senior guard Xavier Smith averaged 15 points per game. Smith finished with 12 points against PLU, going 3 of 7 from the field and 2 of 2 from the three-point line. Smith then came alive for 18 points against Walla Walla with three rebounds and three assists, shooting 7 of 15 from the field. Smith enters the week averaging 13.5 points per game and is 10th in the GNAC with a .577 field goal percentage.

• Senior guard David Thompson was the leading CWU scorer in the win over PLU, finishing with 18 points on 9 of 14 from the field to go with four rebounds and four assists. Thompson is averaging 13.8 points per game.

• Central Washington is averaging 77.6 points and 37.2 rebounds per game. The Wildcats rank 12th in Division II in fewest fouls (97), 15th in fewest turnovers (78) and 24th in three-point percentage defense (.281).

• Central Washington has one more non-conference game, hosting Bushnell on Monday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings split a pair of games against crosstown rival Rocky Mountain. The Yellowjackets picked up the 67-52 win at the Fortin Center on Thursday while the Battlin’ Bears notched the 64-61 win at Alterowitz Gymnasium on Saturday.

• Junior guard Carrington Wiggins averaged 17 points and 5.5 rebounds per game to lead MSUB. Wiggins led all scorers with 24 points on 9 of 17 from the field on Thursday with six rebounds and two assists. He was one of three MSUB players to score 10 points on Saturday to go with five rebounds. Wiggins is fifth in the GNAC with 17 points per game.

• Senior guard Damen Thacker averaged 13.5 points and six rebounds per game in the series. The bulk of his output came on Thursday when Thacker scored 18 points on 7 of 10 from the field and 4 of 6 from three-point range to go with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Thacker is averaging 14.7 points per game. He leads the GNAC and ranks 22nd in Division II with a .900 free-throw percentage (36-40).

• Equaling Wiggins’ 10-point performance on Saturday was junior forward Malik Brikat, who made 5 of 7 from the field, and freshman forward Nicholas Sebastiao, who was 4 for 8 from the field and 2 of 5 from three-point range.

• Montana State Billings enters the week averaging 65 points and 36.2 rebounds per game. The Yellowjackets are second in the GNAC in scoring defense, allowing 66.8 points per game, and third in field goal percentage defense (.420).

• Montana State Billings closes out non-conference this weekend at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic. The Yellowjackets face No. 4 West Texas A&M on Friday and Rollins on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene secured a sweep of the Mayor’s Cup in its only game of the week, scoring a 71-64 win over No. 18 (NAIA) College of Idaho on Tuesday.

• The win secured the Nighthawks’ first sweep of the series since 2012. For the effort, the Nighthawks were named the GNAC Team of the Week.

• Sophomore guard George Reidy led the Nighthawks with 19 points, connecting on 6 of 17 from the field and 7 of 9 from the free-throw line to go with four rebounds and four assists. Reidy is averaging 11 points per game.

• Sophomore forward Gabriel Murphy finished with his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. He made 4 of 6 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line and also had three blocks. Murphy is averaging 12.1 points per game. He leads the GNAC and is 10th in Division II with 10.9 rebounds per game. Murphy is also 12th nationally with his five double-doubles and 29th with 1.86 blocked shots per game.

• Freshman guard Julian Agosto scored 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench, which included 2 of 3 from the three-point line. Agosto is averaging 4.7 points per game.

• Northwest Nazarene is averaging 71.6 points per game and ranks second in the GNAC with 40.9 rebounds per game. The Nighthawks lead the GNAC and rank 20th in Division II with 14 offensive rebounds per game and rank 21st in field goal percentage defense (.393).

• The Nighthawks close out the non-conference schedule with two games at home against Western New Mexico on Saturday and Monday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s scored easy wins over two non-conference opponents last week with a 91-33 rout of Puget Sound on Wednesday and a 95-66 win over Thurston County rival Evergreen State on Saturday.

• Sophomore guard Christian Haffner had a pair of consistent scoring performances, averaging 19 points per game while shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three-point range. Haffner led all scorers with 18 points against Puget Sound with all of his production coming on 6 of 10 from outside. Haffner also led the way with 20 points against Evergreen State, making 7 of 13 from the field and 6 of 12 from three-point range with four rebounds and five assists. Haffner is averaging 11.5 points per game, is third in the GNAC with 2.80 three-pointers made per game and ninth with a .438 three-point percentage.

• Sophomore guard Tyke Thompson averaged 11.5 points per game and shot 61.5 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from three-point range. Thompson scored 11 points against Puget Sound with three assists and added 12 points with seven rebounds against Evergreen State. Thompson is averaging 8.2 points per game.

• Senior forward Brett Reed averaged 11 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game. The majority of his production came against the Geoducks with 19 points on 9 of 14 from the field with five rebounds. Reed is averaging 14.1 points per game. He is fourth in the GNAC with 8.5 rebounds per game and is third in Division II with 4.20 offensive rebounds per game.

• Saint Martin’s is second in the GNAC in scoring with 81.6 points per game and averages 36.2 rebounds per game. The Saints are second in the GNAC in field goal percentage (.482). They rank third in Division II with just 11.6 personal fouls per game and 11th with 9.8 turnovers per game.

• The Saints close their non-conference schedule on Saturday, hosting Douglas.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific returned to non-conference play with an 89-71 win over Northwest (Wash.) at home on Wednesday. The Falcons started a two-game road trip on Monday with a 70-61 victory at Texas A&M-Commerce.

• Senior guard Divant’e Moffitt once again led the Falcons offense, averaging 19 points per game while shooting 60.9 percent from the field. Moffitt led all scorers with 29 points against Northwest on 11 of 15 from the field, 3 of 4 from three-point range and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line with four rebounds and two assists. Moffitt then scored nine points at Texas A&M-Commerce. Moffitt is second in the GNAC with 18.3 points per game. He ranks sixth in Division II in free throw attempts (67) and fifth in free throws made (53).

• Senior guard Harry Cavell averaged 18 points and seven rebounds in the two games, shooting 54.2 percent from the field. Cavell fell just short of a double-double with 23 points and eight rebounds against Northwest. He then scored 13 points with six rebounds and three assists at Texas A&M-Commerce, Cavell is averaging 13 points per game and is 10th in the GNAC with six rebounds per game.

• Sophomore guard Zack Paulsen was the leading scorer at Texas A&M-Commerce, finishing with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds on 4 of 9 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Paulsen averages 10.3 points per game and is seventh in the GNAC with a .839 free-throw percentage.

• Seattle Pacific is averaging 75.3 points and 35.3 rebounds per game.  The Falcons lead the GNAC and rank 21st in Division II with a .778 free throw percentage.

• The Falcons finish their road trip at Southeastern Oklahoma State on Wednesday before returning home to host Puget Sound on Monday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser won its second straight game in its lone non-conference game of the month, a 90-44 win over Douglas on Tuesday.

• Senior guard/forward Jordan Lyons led five SFU players in double figures with 20 points on 9 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line. He also had four rebounds and six assists. Lyons is averaging 12.3 points per game and is third in the GNAC and 11th in Division II with a .676 field goal percentage.

• Senior forward Julian Roche added 16 points and eight rebounds in the win, making 7 of 10 from the field. Roche is eighth in the GNAC with 15.1 points per game and second with 9.3 rebounds per game. He ranks sixth in Division II with 4.11 offensive rebounds per game.

• Junior guard Drew Bryson connected for 15 points on 5 of 7 from the floor and 2 of 3 from the three-point line. As a team, SFU finished shooting 58.5 percent from the field.

• Simon Fraser is third in the GNAC with averages of 79.4 points and 38.9 rebounds per game. The team leads the conference and is 27th in Division II in turnover margin (+4.22). Simon Fraser is also 12th in Division II in turnovers forced (18.22 per game), 19th in total steals (90) and 20th in steals per game (10.0).

• Simon Fraser is settling in for a long midwinter’s nap, not returning to competition until they travel to Northwest Nazarene on December 30.

WESTERN OREGON
• After sweeping the opening week of conference play, Western Oregon capped a three-game homestand with an 80-77 loss to Corban on Saturday.

• The closely-contested game featured 13 lead changes and six ties and ended with Corban’s Jordan Newt hitting a three-pointer with 0.5 seconds left to seal the win.

• Junior forward John Morrill-Keeler led four Wolves scoring in double figures with 17 points and seven rebounds, connecting on 7 of 10 from the field in 29 minutes. Morrill-Keller is averaging 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

• Junior guard Cameron Cranston finished with 13 points and five rebounds, making 6 of 7 from the field and 1 of 2 from three-point range to go with three assists and two blocks. Cranston is fourth in the GNAC with 17.2 points per game and tied for sixth with 1.50 steals per game. Cranston also leads the GNAC and is 21st in Division II with 359 minutes played.

• Western Oregon is averaging 73.5 points and 33.6 rebounds per game. The Wolves rank second in the GNAC and 25th in Division II with 9.60 three-pointers made per game.

• Western Oregon is off for the rest of December, returning to action on New Year’s Day at Saint Martin’s.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington was a big winner in its only game of the week, posting a 121-63 victory in its second meeting of the season with Northwest Indian on Sunday.

• Junior guard Erwin Weary, Jr. was named the GNAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after he posted his second 30-plus point performance against Northwest Indian this season. Weary finished with 32 points in 31 minutes off the bench with nine rebounds and two steals. He connected on 11 of 19 from the field and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line.

• A total of seven WWU players scored in double figures as the Vikings shot 53.2 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line. Junior guard Daniel Hornbuckle scored 24 points on 8 on 13 from the field and 5 of 10 from three-point range to go with three assists, two rebounds and two steals. Hornbuckle is averaging 14.7 points per game. He leads the conference and is 26th in Division II with 3.33 three-pointers made per game.

• Adding to the scoring parade were senior guard RJ Secrest and junior guard Lucas Holden with 14 points, Dakota Ayala with 13 points and freshman guard Kai Johnson and freshman forward Jaivion Garrett with 10 points.

• Western Washington leads the GNAC and is 24th in Division II in scoring with 87 points per game. The Vikings also lead the conference with 41.3 rebounds per game. Western Washington ranks fifth in Division II in rebounding margin (+11.6) and 11th in scoring margin (19.7).

• Western Washington plays at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic this week, facing Lindenwood on Friday and No. 1 Lubbock Christian on Saturday.