GEORGE FOX MEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall 4-5: Home 0-1, Road 2-3, Neutral 2-1 / NWC 0-2: Home 0-0, Road 0-2
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Bruins' 4-Game Winning Streak Snapped at Warner Pacific
* Bruins Go 0-2 on Eastern Washington Swing to Open NWC Play
* Team Sets Record for Fewest Turnovers in a Game at Whitman
* Gayman Receives Honorable Mention for NWC Player of the Week
* Bruins in NWC Stats: Gayman 2nd in Scoring and Rebounding
* Upcoming Previews: vs. Northwest Christian, Pacific*
THIS WEEK:
Tue., Jan. 7, 7:30 pm - vs. Northwest Christian College, Newberg, Ore.
Sat., Jan. 11, 8:00 pm - vs. Pacific University (NWC), Newberg, Ore.
LAST WEEK - 0-3:
Dec. 30 - at Warner Pacific 86, George Fox 85
Jan. 3 - at Whitman 85, George Fox 84
Jan. 4 - at Whitworth 88, George Fox 78
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: George Fox (4-5, NWC 0-2) was picked to finish 9th in the NWC this season, the same spot they finished in last year. They are 0-2 and tied for 8th after two tough games on the road in eastern Washington last weekend. 14th-ranked Whitworth is in 1st at 2-0 and 11-0 overall. The Bruins will be out to snap a 22-game losing streak in NWC play Saturday at home vs. Pacific. For the latest NWC standings and stats, go to www.nwcsports.com.
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST (Seattle Pacific '89) is 17-41 (.293) through Jan. 6 in his 3rd season as a college head coach, all at George Fox. Against this week's opponents, he is 2-1 vs. Northwest Christian (1-0 in Newberg, 1-1 in Eugene), and 0-4 vs. Pacific (0-2 in Newberg, 0-2 in Forest Grove).
BRUIN BITS:
* Gayman Receives Honorable Mention for NWC Player of the Week:
Mark Gayman (So., W, Hillsboro, Ore.), the NWC Player of the Week for Dec. 9-15, almost earned the honor again as he received Honorable Mention for his performances in the Bruins' games of Dec. 30-Jan. 5. In an 86-85 loss at Warner Pacific on Monday, he was 9-21 from the field (1-2 on 3s) and 1-3 from the line for 20 points, with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. At Whitman on Friday in an 85-84 defeat, he was 13-18 from the field for 26 points, with 12 rebounds and 2 assists. In an 88-78 loss at Whitworth on Saturday, he was 6-12 from the floor (0-1 on 3s) and 4-9 from the line for 16 points, with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. For the week, he was 28-51 from the field (.549), including 1-3 (.333) on 3s, and 5-12 from the line (.417) for 62 points (20.7 ppg), with 27 rebounds (9.0 rpg), 6 assists, 1 block, and 2 steals.
NWC "Player of the Week" honors went to Bryan Depew of Whitworth, who scored 64 points, had 20 rebounds, and shot .595 from the field as the Pirates went 3-0, and to Nick Fusare of Linfield, who had 41 points, 35 rebounds, and 11 blocks as the Wildcats went 4-0 and won the Cactus Jam Tournament in Arizona.
* Blast from the Bench:
Aaron Schmick (Fr., Hillsboro, Ore.) turned in 3 outstanding performances for the Bruins off the bench this past week. At Warner Pacific on Monday, the 5-11 guard hit all 3 of his shots for 6 points. At Whitman on Friday, he hit 4-6 from the field(3-5 on 3's) and 3-4 from the line for 14 points, including back-to-back 3's with 25 and 11 seconds left to bring the Bruins back from an 84-78 deficit to an 84-84 tie. He finished the week of with a 7-9 game (1-1 on 3's) and 1-2 from the line for 16 points, keeping the Bruins close in an eventual loss to 14th-ranked Whitworth.
* Personal Bests Last Week:
Point guard Trevor Person (Fr., Battle Ground, Wash.) turned in career highs of 14 points and 9 assists at Warner Pacific ... Wing John Macy (So., Culver, Ore.) hit 4 3-pointers en route to a career-high 14 points off the bench at Warner Pacific ...
* Bruins Surpass Last Year's Total for On-Court Wins:
With a 4-5 record, the 2002-03 George Fox Bruins have already surpassed the total number of on-court wins by last year's team. In 2001-02, the Bruins finished with a 3-22 record, but picked up two forfeit wins at the end of the season from Cascade for using an ineligible player.
* Bruins Out to Break Conference Losing Streak:
With two tough losses on their recent road trip to eastern Washington, the George Fox Bruins have not won in their last 22 Northwest Conference games. The Bruins' last win in league play was Feb. 3, 2001, a 94-84 win in Newberg over Pacific Lutheran. The Bruins dropped their final 4 of that season, then went 0-16 in NWC play last year. The Bruins hope to break that string this Saturday (Jan. 11) when they host Pacific in their first home conference game.
* Where Bruins Rank in NWC Stats (thru Jan. 5):
Scoring Offense - 3rd (79.0)
Scoring Defense - 9th (82.0)
Scoring Margin - 7th (-3.0)
Field Goal Pct. - 5th (.452)
3-Pt FG Made - 6th (6.33)
3-Pt FG Pct. - 5th (.352)
Free Throw Pct. - 6th (.680)
FG Pct. Defense - 8th (.465)
3-Pt FG Defense - 9th (.407)
Rebound Offense - 6th (34.4)
Rebound Defense - 9th (43.7)
Rebound Margin - 9th (-9.2)
Assists - 2nd (18.11)
Turnover Margin - 1st (+3.00)
Assist/TO Ratio - 2nd (1.21)
Steals - 2nd (10.11)
Blocks - 2nd (3.22)
Mark Gayman - 2nd in scoring (20.0), 2nd in rebounds (7.3), 12th in FG% (.510), 4th in steals (1.67, T), 6th in blocks (0.67, T)
Nate Tyler - 8th in scoring (15.1), 16th in rebounds (4.7, T), 9th in FG% (.518), 5th in FT% (.808), 11th in assists (3.00, T), 3rd in steals (1.78), 3rd in blocks (1.11), 13th in A/TO ratio (1.12)
Bryan Wadlow - 1st in 3-pt FG% (.579), 14th in 3-pt FG made (1.22, T)
Aaron Schmick - 30th in scoring (8.7), 6th in FT% (.792)
Trevor Person - 2nd in assists (4.67), 4th in steals (1.67, T), 2nd in A/TO ratio (2.21)
Brett Yeager - 12th in blocks (0.44, T)
Zach Hollin - 12th in blocks (0.44, T)
* 2002-03 Bruin Honors:
NWC Player of the Week - Mark Gayman (Dec. 9-15)
* Bruin Records Set This Season:
- Best Free Throw Pct. (with miss) - .947 (18-19) vs. Dominican IL at Redlands, Calif., 12/7/02 (previous record was .929, 13-14, vs. Willamette, 1/16/99)
- Fewest Turnovers, Team, Game - 5 at Whitman, 1/3/03
* The Wirta Streaks:
Mike "Biggs" Wirta, George Fox's statistical guru, is now in his 32nd season of keeping Bruin statistics. He has been courtside for 480 straight Bruin men's basketball games, home and away, and has also worked 385 straight home games. The last home game he missed was in 1972. Altogether, he has seen 910 George Fox men's basketball games. He watched his 900th Bruin men's basketball Friday, Feb. 15, 2002,when George Fox hosted Whitman as a part of Homecoming weekend, and was presented with a special engraved souvenir basketball at halftime by director of athletics Craig Taylor. "Biggs" says that he anticipates seeing his 1,000th George Fox game some time late in the 2005-06 season.
UPCOMING GAMES (Previews):
Tue., Jan. 7, 7:30 pm - vs. Northwest Christian College (4-9), Newberg, Ore.
Non-conference game ... The Eagles of Northwest Christian in Eugene, Ore., are members of the National Christian College Athletic Association ... George Fox leads the all-time series with the Eagles 14-4 (9-0 in Newberg, 4-4 in Eugene) ... The Bruins won the 1st meeting between the two teams this season, an 85-75 decision on Dec. 13 in Eugene, behind Mark Gayman's 22 points and 9 rebounds ... No up-to-date stats were available on the Eagles.
Sat., Jan. 11, 8:00 pm - vs. Pacific University (3-6, NWC 1-1), Newberg, Ore.
Northwest Conference home opener for the Bruins ... Pacific is located in Forest Grove, Ore. ... The Bruins trail the all-time series 31-36 (21-11 in Newberg, 10-25 in Forest Grove) ... Pacific has won the last 6 meetings, including last year's 66-61 win on Dec. 1 in Newberg and 73-69 on Jan. 29 in Forest Grove ... George Fox's last win in the series was 88-63 on Jan. 29, 1999, in Newberg ... The Boxers are coming off a split in eastern Washington, losing at Whitworth 57-75 and winning at Whitman 72-58 ... Pacific hosts Lewis & Clark Friday before visiting George Fox ... Pacific is last in the NWC in scoring (65.6), 4th in defense (68.4), 3rd in rebound margin (+5.8), and 7th in field goal pct. (.413) and free throw pct. (.667) ... The Boxers have two double-figure scorers in Rahim Tufts (10.6, 17th in the NWC) and Nick Kelsey (10.3, 18th) ... Joe Van Domelen is Pacific's top rebounder (6.2, 6th) ... Kelsey is 3rd in the NWC in 3-pointers per game (2.22) and Tufts is 8th (1.88).