GEORGE FOX MEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall 6-10: Home 2-3, Road 2-6, Neutral 2-1 / NWC 1-7: Home 1-2, Road 0-5
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Bruins Fall Twice in Week on the NWC Road
* Hollin Honorable Mention for NWC Player of the Week
* Bruin Set New Free Throw Record in 12-12 Game at Willamette
* Bruins in NWC Stats: Bruins Move to 2nd in Free Throw Pct.
* Upcoming Previews: vs. Whitman, Whitworth (Homecoming)
THIS WEEK:
Fri., Jan. 31, 8:00 pm - vs. Whitman College (5-12, NWC 2-6), Newberg, Ore.
Sat., Feb. 1, 8:00 pm - vs. #15 Whitworth College (15-2, NWC 6-2), Newberg, Ore. (Homecoming)
LAST WEEK - 0-2:
Jan. 21 - at Linfield 123, George Fox 91
Jan. 24 - at Willamette 76, George Fox 60
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: George Fox (6-10, NWC 1-7) went 0-2 last week on one of the tougher road swings in the NWC, to Linfield and Willamette. Perhaps the home court will be kinder to the Bruins with Whitman and Whitworth in town for Homecoming weekend. For the latest NWC standings and stats, go to www.nwcsports.com.
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST (Seattle Pacific '89) is 19-46 (.292) through Jan. 30 in his 3rd season as a college head coach, all at George Fox. Against this week's opponents, he is 1-4 vs. Whitman (1-1 in Newberg, 0-3 in Walla Walla), and 2-3 vs. Whitworth (1-1 in Newberg, 1-2 in Spokane).
BRUIN BITS:
* Hollin Receives Honorable Mention for NWC Player of the Week:
Zach Hollin (Jr., P, Salem, Ore.) came off the bench to have two fine games for the Bruins last week, receiving Honorable Mention for Northwest Conference "Player of the Week" for his efforts. In a 123-91 loss at Linfield, he scored a career-high 21 points, hitting 7-11 from the field and 7-9 from the line, with 4 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal. In a 76-60 loss at Willamette, he scored 14 points on 4-5 from the field and 6-6 from the line, with 3 rebounds. For the week, he was 11-16 from the field (.688) and 13-15 from the line (.867) for 35 points (17.5), with 7 rebounds (3.5), 1 block, and 1 steal.
NWC "Player of the Week" honors went to Colin Oriard of Lewis & Clark, who had 52 points, 22 rebounds, and 4 assists in a 2-0 Pioneer week.
* Bruins Set New Record for Free Throw Pct. At Willamette:
Going 12-12 from the free throw line in a 76-60 loss at Willamette on Jan. 24, the George Fox Bruins established a new team record for best free throw percentage (1.000). Contributing to the new record were Zach Hollin (6-6), Mark Gayman (4-4), and Aaron Schmick (2-2). The previous best perfect game for the Bruins was an 11-11 game vs. Western Baptist on Dec. 17, 1994.
The George Fox record for best free throw pct. with a miss was also set this season, .947 (18-19) vs. Dominican IL in the Lee Fulmer Tournament in Redlands, Calif., on Dec. 7. That ranks as the 7th-best mark in the nation this season (minimum 15 free throws made). The Bruins' 12-12 game is 3 free throws short of 15-15 games by Wisconsin-River Falls vs. Marian WI on Jan. 11, and Wisconsin-Stevens Points vs. Viterbo on Dec. 21.
* Tyler Sidelined by Broken Wrist:
Nate Tyler, the George Fox Bruins' second-leading scorer this year at 12.8 points per game, fell and broke his wrist in the Linfield game on Jan. 21 in McMinnville. He is expected to have his hand in a cast for 4-6 weeks, most likely finishing his season.
* Bruins Break Conference Losing Streak, Better Last Year's Win Total:
George Fox's 72-69 over Pacific Lutheran in Newberg on Jan. 18 enabled the Bruins to snap a 25-game losing streak against Northwest Conference competition. Ironically, the Bruins' last win in league play was also against PLU, on Feb. 3, 2001, a 94-84 win in Newberg. The Bruins had dropped their final 4 of the 2000-01 season, went 0-16 in NWC play last year, and had been 0-5 this season before ending the skid. The PLU win also gave the Bruins more wins (6) than all of last season, when they were 5-20.
* Where Bruins Rank in NWC Stats (thru Jan. 26):
Scoring Offense - 4th (76.3)
Scoring Defense - 9th (84.9)
Scoring Margin - 8th (-8.6)
Field Goal Pct. - 5th (.448)
3-Pt FG Made - 5th (6.31)
3-Pt FG Pct. - 5th (.346)
Free Throw Pct. - 2nd (.702)
FG Pct. Defense - 9th (.482)
3-Pt FG Defense - 9th (.399)
Rebound Offense - 7th (33.8)
Rebound Defense - 9th (40.6)
Rebound Margin - 9th (-6.9)
Assists - 2nd (15.88)
Turnover Margin - 8th (-1.19)
Assist/TO Ratio - 5th (0.92)
Steals - 3rd (8.62)
Blocks - 3rd (2.75)
Mark Gayman - 3rd in scoring (17.6), 4th in rebounds (7.1), 11th in FG% (.513), 10th in steals (1.38), 9th in blocks (0.62, T)
Nate Tyler - 12th in scoring (12.8), 3rd in FT% (.818), 12th in assists (2.60), 2nd in steals (2.00, T), 7th in blocks (0.73)
Bryan Wadlow - 29th in scoring (8.4, T)
Trevor Person - 7th in assists (3.94), 4th in A/TO ratio (1.50)
Brett Yeager - 11th in assists (2.81), 12th in blocks (0.50, T)
Aaron Schmick - 18th in scoring (9.8), 4th in FT% (.803), 2nd in 3-pt FG% (.545)
* 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 487 straight Bruin men's basketball games, home and away, and has also worked 389 straight home games. The last home game he missed was in 1972. Altogether, he has seen 917 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):
Fri., Jan. 31, 8:00 pm - vs. Whitman College (5-12, NWC 2-6), Newberg, Ore.
Northwest Conference game ... The Missionaries are located in Walla Walla, Wash. ... George Fox leads the all-time series with Whitman 15-11 (9-3 in Newberg, 6-8 in Walla Walla) since 1965 ... The Missionaries have won the last 3 meetings, including a 85-84 win in Walla Walla on Jan. 3 on a last-second free throw ... The last win for the Bruins was 79-72 on Jan. 27, 2001, in Newberg ... The Missionaries are 8th in the NWC in scoring (66.1), 7th in defense (78.0), 9th in scoring margin (-11.9), 8th in FG% (.410), 9th in FT% (.625), 3rd in rebounds (37.8), 5th in rebound margin (+1.7), 4th in 3-pt FG (7.41), 5th in assists (14.47), 9th in steals (4.29), and 4th in blocks (2.29, T) ... Kyle Dalvit is 27th in the NWC in scoring (8.8), 7th in rebounds (6.6), 12th in FG% (.500), 2nd in blocks (1.18) ... Casey Nelson is 13th in rebounds (4.9) ... Scott Erickson is 6th in assists (3.94), 5th in 3-pt FG (1.88) ... Greg Caldwell is 8th in 3-pt FG (1.76) ...
Sat., Feb. 1, 8:00 pm - vs. #15 Whitworth College (15-2, NWC 6-2), Newberg, Ore. (Homecoming)
Northwest Conference game ... The Pirates are located in Spokane, Wash. ... George Fox trails the all-time series with Whitworth 7-13 (4-5 in Newberg, 3-8 in Spokane) since 1965 ... The Pirates have won the last 3 meetings, including an 88-78 win over the Bruins on Jan. 4 in Spokane ... The Bruins' last win was 103-91 on Jan. 26, 2001, in Newberg ... The Bruins and Pirates met in last year's Homecoming game as well on Feb. 16, with Whitworth taking a 100-98 overtime victory after trailing by 17 in the 2nd half ... Whitworth was ranked 15th in the nation in the latest D-III poll conducted by D3hoops.com with 274 points ... The Pirates are 1st in the NWC in scoring (83.8), 2nd in defense (64.8), 1st in scoring margin (+19.0), 2nd in FG% (.500), 5th in FT% (.690), 2nd in rebounds (37.9), 2nd in rebound margin (+4.9), 3rd in 3-pt FG (7.71), 1st in assists (17.82), 1st in steals (9.29), and 4th in blocks (2.29, T) ... Whitworth is 24th nationally in scoring, 9th in scoring margin, and 7th in FG%, ... Bryan Depew is 2nd in the NWC in scoring (20.8), 11th in rebounds (5.4), 6th in FG% (.554), 7th in FT% (.774) ... Chase Williams is 6th in scoring (15.6), 13th in rebounds (4.9), 8th in assists (3.88), 9th in steals (1.44), 6th in 3-pt FG% (.427), 2nd in 3-pt FG (2.75) ... Kyle Jensen is 21st in scoring (9.6), 6th in rebounds (6.7), 8th in blocks (0.69) ... Scott Bierlink is 9th in rebounds (5.9), 2nd in FG% (.580), 9th in assists (3.50), 1st in steals (2.44) ... Eric Avery is 5th in FT% (.789), 10th in assists (3.44) ... Paul Hafford is 4th in 3-pt FG% (.500), 12th in 3-pt FG (1.33) ...