GEORGE FOX MEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall 6-12: Home 2-5, Road 2-6, Neutral 2-1 / NWC 1-9: Home 1-4, Road 0-5
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Bruins Fall in Pair of Homecoming Weekend Games
* Gayman Honorable Mention for NWC Player of the Week
* Bruins in NWC Stats: Gayman 3rd in Scoring, Rebounding
* Upcoming Previews:at Multnomah, vs. Lewis & Clark, at Pacific
THIS WEEK:
Tue., Feb. 4, 7:30 pm - at Multnomah Bible College (9-15), Portland, Ore.
Fri., Feb. 7, 6:00 pm - vs. Lewis & Clark College (12-7, NWC 7-3), Newberg, Ore.
Sat., Feb. 8, 8:00 pm - at Pacific University (8-11, NWC 5-5), Forest Grove, Ore.
LAST WEEK - 0-2:
Jan. 31 - Whitman 71, at George Fox 65
Feb. 1 - Whitworth 73, at George Fox 61
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: George Fox (6-12, NWC 1-9) battled to the very end but dropped two close Homecoming weekend games to Whitman and Whitworth which were not decided until the final five minutes. The Bruins step outside the conference Tuesday at Multnomah before returning to NWC action this weekend. For the latest NWC standings and stats, go to www.nwcsports.com.
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST (Seattle Pacific '89) is 19-48 (.284) through Feb. 3 in his 3rd season as a college head coach, all at George Fox. Against this week's opponents, he is 1-0 vs. Multnomah Bible (1-0 on neutral courts), 0-5 vs. Lewis & Clark (0-2 in Newberg, 0-3 in Portland), and 0-5 vs. Pacific (0-3 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.) posted back-to-back double-doubles to keep the Bruins in two close games during the week, earning Honorable Mention for Northwest Conference "Player of the Week" for Jan. 27-Feb. 2. In a 71-65 loss to Whitman on Friday, he had 12 points and 12 rebounds, going 6-13 from the field with 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 steal. In a 73-61 loss to Whitworth on Saturday, he had 12 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 5-15 from the field and 2-2 from the line with 1 assist. For the week, he scored 24 points (12.0) and had 22 rebounds (11.0), hitting 11-28 from the field (.393) and 2-4 from the line (.500), with 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. He was NWC "Player of the Week" for Dec. 9-15.
NWC "Player of the Week" honors went to Kristopher Speier of Lewis & Clark, who had 59 points and 17 rebounds as the Pioneers went 2-0 on the road.
* 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.
* Where Bruins Rank in NWC Stats (thru Feb. 2):
Scoring Offense - 4th (74.8)
Scoring Defense - 9th (83.4)
Scoring Margin - 8th (-8.6)
Field Goal Pct. - 5th (.444)
3-Pt FG Made - 5th (6.50)
3-Pt FG Pct. - 5th (.357)
Free Throw Pct. - 5th (.696)
FG Pct. Defense - 9th (.480)
3-Pt FG Defense - 9th (.397)
Rebound Offense - 7th (33.5)
Rebound Defense - 9th (39.8)
Rebound Margin - 9th (-6.3)
Assists - 2nd (15.83)
Turnover Margin - 8th (-1.28)
Assist/TO Ratio - 5th (0.92)
Steals - 3rd (8.39)
Blocks - 3rd (2.67)
Mark Gayman - 3rd in scoring (17.0), 3rd in rebounds (7.5), 12th in FG% (.500, T), 11th in steals (1.28), 10th in blocks (0.61)
Nate Tyler - 12th in scoring (12.8), 20th in rebounds (4.1, T), 3rd in FT% (.818), 12th in assists (2.60), 2nd in steals (2.00), 8th in blocks (0.73)
Bryan Wadlow - 27th in scoring (8.9), 5th in 3-pt FG% (.442)
Trevor Person - 7th in assists (3.83), 4th in A/TO ratio (1.38)
Brett Yeager - 11th in assists (2.78), 13th in blocks (0.50, T)
Aaron Schmick - 18th in scoring (9.9), 5th in FT% (.783), 2nd in 3-pt FG% (.525)
* 2002-03 Bruin Honors:
NWC Player of the Week - Mark Gayman (Dec. 9-15)
* Bruin Records Set This Season:
- Best Free Throw Pct., Team, Game - 1.000 (12-12) at Willamette, 1/24/03 (previous record was 11-11 vs. Western Baptist, 12/7/94)
- 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 489 straight Bruin men's basketball games, home and away, and has also worked 391 straight home games. The last home game he missed was in 1972. Altogether, he has seen 919 George Fox men's basketball games. He watched his 900th Bruin men's basketball on 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., Feb. 4, 7:30 pm - at Multnomah Bible College (9-15), Portland, Ore.
Non-conference game ... The Ambassadors from Portland, Ore., are members of the National Christian College Athletic Association ... George Fox leads the all-time series with Multnomah 2-0 (1-0 in Newberg, 1-0 at neutral sites ... The Bruins beat the Ambassadors 90-66 on Jan. 27, 1984, in Newberg, and 70-54 on Dec. 9, 2000, in the Concordia-Portland Classic ... Against common opponents this year, Multnomah is 0-1 vs. Warner Pacific (GFU 0-1), 2-0 vs. Puget Sound Christian (GFU 1-0), 0-2 vs. Pacific (GFU 0-1), 0-2 vs. Concordia-Portland (GFU 0-1), and 0-1 vs. Northwest Christian (GFU 2-0) ... The Ambassadors have lost their last 4 in a row ... Multnomah averages 76.5 ppg while allowing 81.8, and shots .441 from the field , .361 from 3-pt range, and .701 on free throws ... Matt Conboy is the only Ambassador in double figures (18.8 ppg) ... Garth Thorpe is the top rebounder (5.3 rpg) ... Ryan Franklin is the top player in assists (4.7 apg) ...
Fri., Feb. 7, 6:00 pm - vs. Lewis & Clark College (12-7, NWC 7-3), Newberg, Ore.
Northwest Conference game ... The Pioneers are located in Portland, Ore. ... George Fox trails the all-time series with Lewis & Clark 16-29 (7-11 in Newberg, 9-18 in Portland) ... The Pioneers have won the last 8 games in a row, including a 105-69 decision on Jan. 14 in Portland in which the Pioneers' Kristofer Speier had 34 points and Danny Winchester 22, while Mark Gayman scored 14 for the Bruins ... George Fox's last win in the series was 88-87 in overtime on Jan. 22, 1999, in Portland ... Lewis & Clark is the defending NWC champion and went to the Division III Final Eight last season ... The Pios are 3rd in the NWC in scoring (77.1), 5th in defense (70.7), 3rd inscoring margin (+6.3), 3rd in FG% (.476), 3rd in FT% (.702), 8th in rebound margin (-1.4), 1st in 3-pt FG (9.11), 6th in assists (14.32), 8th in steals (6.79), and 9th in blocks (1.42) ... Kristofer Speier is 1st in the NWC in scoring (21.8), 1st in rebounds (8.2), 5th in FG% (.553) ... Danny Winchester is 9th in scoring (14.7), 10th in FG% (.515), 4th in assists (4.11), 1st in 3-pt FG (3.50), 3rd in 3-pt FG% (.512) ... Nate Kabanuck is 10th in steals (1.39) ... Ryan Wells is 8th in 3-pt FG (1.78) ... Matt Stanley is 12th in 3-pt fg (1.33) ...
Sat., Feb. 8, 8:00 pm - at Pacific University (8-11, NWC 5-5), Forest Grove, Ore.
Northwest Conference game ... The Boxers are located in Forest Grove, Ore. ... The Bruins trail the all-time series 31-37 (21-12 in Newberg, 10-25 in Forest Grove) ... Pacific has won the last 7 meetings, including this year's 80-67 decision in Newberg on Jan. 11 in which Brett Yeager led the Bruins with 14 points ... George Fox's last win in the series was 88-63 on Jan. 29, 1999, in Newberg ... Pacific is 8th in the NWC in scoring (65.6), 3rd in defense (65.6), 6th in scoring margin (+0.1), 7th in FG% (.430), 6th in FT% (.679), 4th in rebound margin (+2.9), 6th in 3-pt FG (5.89), 8th in assists (13.26), 4th in steals (8.37), and 5th in blocks (2.32) ... Rahim Tufts in 16th in the NWC in scoring (10.6), 14th in assists (2.33), 10th in 3-pt FG (1.39) ... Joe Van Domelen is 26th in scoring (8.9), 11th in rebounds (5.3), 14th in FG% (.497) ... Nick Kelsey is 17th in rebounds (4.4), 15th in assists (2.21), 6th in steals (1.47), 8th in 3-pt FG% (.407), 5th in 3-pt FG (.1.84) ... Dan Lumpkin is 7th in FG% (.538) ... Paul Grock is 5th in blocks (0.84) ...