Overall 3-5: Home 1-1, Road 0-2, Neutral 2-2 /
NWC 0-0: Home 0-0, Road 0-0
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Last Week: Bruins Go 1-2 with Upset of No. 35 Ramapo in Cactus Jam
* Coming Up: Bruins Host UPS and PLU in NWC-Opening Weekend
* Schmick Again Honorable Mention for NWC "Player of the Week"
* Bruins Have Five Scoring in Double Figures
* Numerous Personal Marks Set or Tied in Cactus Jam
* NWC Stats: Melvin, GFU Team Lead in Assists
THIS WEEK (Previews below):
Fri., Jan. 9, 8:00 pm - vs. University of Puget Sound Loggers (8-1, 0-0), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)
Sat., Jan. 10, 8:00 pm - vs. Pacific Lutheran University (3-6, 0-0), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)
(DH - GFU women's game at 6:00 pm)
LAST WEEK: 1-2 (Click score for link to story):
--- Cactus Jam Tournmament at Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix College), Dec. 27-30 ---
Sat., Dec. 27 - George Fox 82, #35 Ramapo 78
Mon., Dec. 29 - Wartburg 69, George Fox 66
Tue., Dec. 30 - Linfield 105, George Fox 72
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: George Fox (3-5) opens conference play this weekend by hosting the Tacoma teams, Puget Sound on Friday and Pacific Lutheran on Saturday. UPS has the league's best record thus far and averages over 100 points a game, while PLU has a record comparable to the Bruins. For the latest NWC standings and stats, go to www.nwcsports.com.
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST (Seattle Pacific '89) is 23-59 (.280) in his 4th season as a college head coach, all at George Fox. He coached the boys' programs at Woodburn (Ore.) High for two years and at Newberg (Ore.) High for one year before joining the Bruins.
Sundquist vs. upcoming opponents:
Puget Sound - 0-6 (0-3 home, 0-3 road)
Pacific Lutheran - 2-4 (2-1 home, 0-3 road)
THIS WEEK (Previews):
Fri., Jan. 9, 8:00 pm - vs. University of Puget Sound (8-1, 0-0), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)
Northwest Conference opener for both teams ... All-time series: George Fox trails the series 7-17 (4-5 home, 3-12 road) ... The Loggers from Tacoma, Wash., have won the last 7 meetings, including a 91-66 win in Newberg on Jan. 17 and a 90-73 win in Tacoma on Feb. 14 last year ... The Bruins' last win was 85-75 on Dec. 4, 1999, in Newberg ... The Loggers have won their last 4, including a 105-80 win at Cal-Santa Cruz on Dec. 30 in their last game ... UPS, which plays a run-and-gun full-court press style, has scored 100+ points in 7 of its 9 games - and 97 in the other two ... The Loggers lead the NWC in scoring (107.9), scoring margin (+14.0), rebounding (45.7), steals (13.29), turnover margin (+9.00), and 3-pt field goals (12.00) ... Four Loggers score in double figures: Matt Glynn (20.4, 2nd), Curtis Medved (13.4, 10th), Aubrey Shelton (12.0, 14th), and Chase Curtiss (11.6, 19th) ... Chris O'Donnell is the top UPS rebounder (6.9, 7th) ... Zack McVey is 2nd in field goal pct. (.644) ... Puget Sound goes to Pacific Saturday ...
Sat., Jan. 10, 8:00 pm - vs. Pacific Lutheran University (3-6, 0-0), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)
The Lutes play at Linfield Friday before visiting the Bruins ... All-time series: George Fox trails the series 6-11 (5-3 home, 1-8 road) ... The teams split last season, the Bruins winning 72-69 in Newberg on Jan. 18 to snap a 25-game conference losing streak, and the Lutes winning 95-76 in Tacoma, Wash., on Feb. 15 ... The Lutes have dropped 3 straight, including an 89-82 overtime setback at Western Washington on Dec. 29 in their last outing ... PLU ranks 8th in the NWC in scoring (69.1), but is 2nd in field goal pct. defense (.402) and blocked shots (3.22) ... The Lutes have a pair of double-figure scorers: Sudon DeSuze (12.9, 13th) and Jason Heutink (11.1, 21st) ... DeSuze is the Lutes' top rebounder (5.3, 12th) ... PLU next hosts Whitworth on Jan. 16 ...
BRUIN BITS:
* Schmick Again Honorable Mention for NWC "Player of the Week":
Aaron Schmick (So., Hillsboro, Ore. / Century HS) had a fine week as the Bruins went 1-2 in the Cactus Jam in Phoenix, Ariz., earning Honorable Mention for Northwest Conference "Player of the Week" for Dec. 26-Jan. 4. In an 82-78 upset of 35th-ranked Ramapo on Dec. 27, he scored 27 points, hitting 6-14 from the field (5-10 on 3's) and 10-15 from the line, with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal. In a 69-66 loss to Wartburg in the semifinals on Dec. 29, he had 16 points on 5-10 shooting (3-6 on 3's) and 3-3 from the line, with 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. In a 105-72 loss to Linfield in the consolation game on Dec. 30, he scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 on 3's), with 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. His weekly totals for 3 games showed 48 points (16.0) on 13-28 shooting (.464), including 9-18 (.500) on 3's, and 13-18 (.722) from the line, with 12 rebounds (4.0), 14 assists (4.7), and 7 steals (2.3).
NWC "Player of the Week" honors went to Bryan Depew of Whitworth, who scored 89 points, shooting 76% from the field and 88% from the line, with 14 rebounds and 8 assists in the Pirates' 3-0 week.
* Bruins Have Five in Double-Figure Scoring:
After 8 games, all 5 George Fox starters are averaging double figures in points. Linfield is the only other team in the Northwest Conference with five double-figure scorers. The Bruins' "big five", their scoring averages, and where they rank in the league through Dec. 31: Wing Mark Gayman (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore. / Glencoe HS) - 18.1 (4th), Wing Aaron Schmick - 17.4 (5th), Post Scott Szalay (So., Everett, Wash. / North Seattle CC) - 11.9 (17th), Wing Bryan Wadlow (Sr., Albany, Ore. / West Albany HS) - 11.0 (22nd), Point guard Ben Melvin (So., Pleasant Hill, Ore. / Pleasant Hill HS) - 10.1 (26th).
* 100th Year of Bruin Basketball in 2003-04:
The 2003-04 season marks the 100th year for which there are records in which there has been men's basketball at the institution now known as George Fox University. While the school did have basketball on the campus of then-Pacific Academy prior to the 1901-02 season, that is the first year for which there is an official record. There have been two years since then when there was no team: 1903-04, when smallpox forced cancellation of the season, and 1918-19, when an influenza outbreak wiped out the schedule. Insofar as records can be authenticated, the Bruins, counting this season's scores, have a 100-year cumulative record of 966-994-1.
* Career Lists:
--- Mark Gayman, who entered this season with 582 career points, had 42 in the Bruins' 3 games at the Cactus Jam Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz., giving him 727 for his career. He needs 273 more to become the 31st player in the 100-year history of Bruin basketball to reach 1,000 career points ...
* Personal Highs Set or Tied in Cactus Jam:
--- Mark Gayman tied career highs for assists (4) vs. Wartburg on Dec. 29 and for free throw pct. (1.000, 4-4) vs. Linfield on Dec. 30 ...
--- Aaron Schmick set new career highs for free throws (10), attempts (15), and tied his high for rebounds (7) vs. Ramapo on Dec. 27, and set a new high for steals (4) vs. Wartburg on Dec. 29 ...
--- Scott Szalay set new career highs for free throws (4) and attempts (6) vs. Linfield on Dec. 30, and for steals (3) vs. Ramapo on Dec. 27 and Linfield ...
--- Bryan Wadlow tied his career highs for assists (5) and blocked shots (1) vs. Ramapo on Dec. 27 ...
--- Ben Melvin set a new career high for blocked shots (2) vs. Ramapo on Dec. 27, and tied his high for field goals (5) vs. Wartburg on Dec. 29 ...
--- Brett Yeager (Sr., Oakridge, Ore. / Oakridge HS) tied his career highs for 3-pt field goals (2) and attempts (4) vs. Ramapo on Dec. 27, and his high for blocked shots (2) vs. Wartburg on Dec. 29 ...
--- Chris Parker (Fr., Aloha, Ore. / Aloha HS) set new career highs for points (9), free throws (5) and attempts (9), and tied his highs in field goals (2) and assists (1) vs. Linfield on Dec. 30 ...
--- Jordan Gama (Fr., Troutdale, Ore. / Corbett HS) set new career highs for points (5), field goals (1), 3-pt field goals (1), free throws (2) and attempts (6), free throw pct. (.333, 2-6), rebounds (1), and tied highs for field goal attempts (1) and 3-pt attempts (1) vs. Linfield on Dec. 30 ...
--- Matt Hagen (Fr., Chewelah, Wash. / Jenkins HS) set a new career high for steals (1) and tied his high for rebounds (1) vs. Linfield on Dec. 30 ...
--- Mark Johnson (So., Tonasket, Wash. / Tonasket HS) tied his career highs for points (2), field goals (1) and attempts (1) vs. Linfield on Dec. 30 ...
--- Ryan Rockwood (Fr., Silverlake, Wash. / Toutle Lake HS) tied his career highs for rebounds (2) and field goal attempts vs. Linfield on Dec. 30 ...
* NWC Stats (thru Dec. 31) - Melvin, GFU Team Lead in Assists:
Team:
Scoring Offense - 79.8 (3rd)
Scoring Defense - 82.1 (8th)
Scoring Margin - -2.4 (7th)
Field Goal Pct. - .473 (3rd)
FG Pct. Defense - .436 (5th)
Free Throw Pct. - .654 (7th)
3-Pt FG Made - 7.62 (6th)
3-Pt FG Pct. - .401 (2nd)
3-Pt Pct. Defense - .346 (4th)
Rebounding Off. - 38.6 (2nd)
Rebounding Def. - 37.8 (7th)
Rebound Margin - +0.9 (4th)
Blocked Shots - 3.12 (3rd)
Assists - 19.62 (1st)
Steals - 6.12 (6th)
Turnover Margin - -4.00 (8th)
Ast/TO Ratio - 1.01 (5th)
Individual:
--- Mark Gayman - 3rd in Rebounding (8.5), 4th in Scoring (18.1), 15th in Blocked Shots (0.50, T)
--- Aaron Schmick - 4th in 3-Pt FG (3.12), 5th in Scoring (17.4), 6th in 3-Pt FG Pct. (.446), 7th in Assists (4.12), 14th in FT Pct. (.743), 15th in Rebounding (4.9), Steals (1.38), Ast/To Ratio (1.36, T)
--- Scott Szalay - 3rd in Blocked Shots (1.00, T), 5th in Rebounding (7.2), Steals (1.88), 9th in FG Pct. (.532, T), 17th in Scoring (11.9, T)
--- Bryan Wadlow - 4th in 3-Pt FG Pct. (.469), 11th in 3-Pt FG (1.88, T), 12th in Assists (3.12, T), 15th in Ast/TO Ratio (1.39, T), 19th in Rebounding (4.6, T), 22nd in Scoring (11.0)
--- Ben Melvin - 1st in Assists (5.25, T), 10th in Ast/TO Ratio (1.50), 26th in Scoring (10.1, T)
--- Brett Yeager 8th in Blocked Shots (0.75, T)
--- Chris Parker - 11th in FT Pct. (.783)
* 2003-04 Honors:
--- Mark Gayman - Northwest Conference "Player of the Week" (Nov. 24-30); Mortgage Market Holiday All-Tournament Team
* The Wirta Streaks:
Mike "Biggs" Wirta, George Fox's statistical guru, raised his string of consecutive Bruin men's basketball games, home and away, to 504 when he attended all three of the team's games in the Cactus Jam Tournament Dec. 27-30 in Phoenix, Ariz. Now in his 33rd season of keeping Bruin statistics, he has also been courtside for 396 straight home games, last missing one in Newberg in 1972. Altogether, he has seen 934 George Fox men's basketball games.