Overall 3-11: Home 1-5, Road 0-4, Neutral 2-2 /
NWC 0-6: Home 0-4, Road 0-2
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Last Week: Bruins Lose to Willamette in OT Heartbreaker
* Coming Up: Three Home Games Includes Eastern Washington Teams
* Sports Hall of Fame, Homecoming Ceremonies This Weekend
* Szalay Honorable Mention for NWC "Player of the Week"
* NWC Stats: Szalay Leads League in Offensive Rebounding
THIS WEEK (Previews below):
Tue., Jan. 27, 7:30 pm - vs. Multnomah Bible College Ambassadors (5-18), Newberg, Ore.
Fri., Jan. 30, 8:00 pm - vs. Whitworth College Pirates (10-5, 3-3), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)
Sat., Jan. 31, 8:00 pm - vs. Whitman College Missionaries (6-9, 2-4), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)-Homecoming
(DH - GFU women's game at 6:00 pm)
LAST WEEK: 0-1 (Click score for link to story):
Jan. 20 - Willamette 75, at George Fox 68 (ot)
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: George Fox (3-11, 0-6) plays its last non-conference game Tuesday against Multnomah before taking on NWC foes Whitworth and Whitman on Homecoming weekend. For the latest NWC standings and stats, go to www.nwcsports.com.
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST (Seattle Pacific '89) is 23-65 (.261) 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:
Multnomah Bible - 2-0 (1-0 road, 1-0 neutral)
Whitworth - 2-4 (1-2 home, 1-2 road)
Whitman - 1-5 (1-2 home, 0-3 road)
1/26 - HOMECOMING: Sports Hall of Fame, Homecoming Ceremonies This Weekend
NEWBERG, Ore. - A busy weekend looms for everyone involved with George Fox University athletics this Friday-Saturday, Jan. 30-31, with the Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2004 inductions on Friday, Homecoming ceremonies on Saturday, and four Northwest Conference basketball games at Miller Gym in the Wheeler Sports Center.
The schedule gets under way Friday with a reception at 4:00 p.m. and a dinner at 4:30 p.m. in the Klages Dining Hall of the Heacock Common on the Newberg campus for the Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2004. Tickets for the dinner are $20 and may be purchased by calling the George Fox department of athletics at 503-554-2910.
The ninth class of honorees includes Larry Craven (football, basketball, baseball, track and field 1965-69), Tim Hagen (track and field 1988-90), Charlotte Krebs (volleyball, basketball, tennis 1968-72), Jeff Nelson (men's soccer 1991-94), Juli Cyrus Rising (cross country, track and field 1991-94), Byron Shenk (women's soccer coach 1991-2001), Tim Weaver (meritorious service), and the 1980 men's track and field team.
A reception for the inductees will be held in the upstairs lobby of the Wheeler Sports Center Friday evening between games of the Bruins' doubleheader with the Whitworth College Pirates. With the women's game at 6:00 p.m. and the men's game at 8:00 p.m., that reception should take place around 7:30 p.m. The Hall of Fame class will be introduced on the court to the crowd at halftime of the men's game.
Saturday is Homecoming Night when the Bruins entertain the Whitman College Missionaries, again at 6:00 p.m. for the women's contest and 8:00 p.m. for the men's. At halftime of the men's game, the Homecoming Court will be presented.
THIS WEEK (Previews):
Tue., Jan. 27, 7:30 pm - vs. Multnomah Bible College Ambassadors (5-18), Newberg, Ore.
Final non-conference game of the year for the Bruins ... All-time series: George Fox leads the series 3-0 (1-0 in Newberg, 1-0 in Portland, 1-0 neutral) ... The last meeting was Feb. 4, 2003, with the Bruins winning 82-68 in Portland ... The Ambassadors are coming off a 98-93 win over Eugene Bible College in their last game on Jan. 24 ... The Ambassadors average 68.2 points a game and give up 67.9 ... Multnomah has three double-figure scorers: Sam Duke (17.5), Ryan Franklin (13.9), and Adam Smith (10.0) ...
Fri., Jan. 30, 8:00 pm - vs. Whitworth College Pirates (10-5, 3-3), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)
All-time series: George Fox trails the series 7-14 since 1974 (4-6 in Newberg, 3-8 in Spokane) ... The Pirates have won the last 4 meetings, including 88-78 on Jan. 4 in Spokane and 73-61 on Feb. 1 in Newberg in the Homecoming game last year ... The Bruins' last win was 10-391 in Newberg on Jan. 26, 2001 ... Whitworth, the pre-season conference favorite, defeated Linfield 74-50 Saturday in its last game, and hosts Whitman on Jan. 27 before facing the Bruins ... Whitworth is 3rd in the NWC in scoring (76.5), 2nd in defense (68.1), and 3rd in scoring margin (+8.3) ... The Pirates lead the NWC and the nation in free throw pct. (.818), and are 2nd in the league in field goal pct. (.469) ... Pre-season All-American Bryan Depew is 2nd in the NWC and 16th in the nation in scoring (23.5) ... Also in double figure for the Pirates are Jon Young (12.0), John Gebbers (11.9), and Scott Bierlink (11.9) ... The George Fox Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2004 will be introduced to the crowd at halftime ...
Sat., Jan. 31, 8:00 pm - vs. Whitman College Missionaries (6-9, 2-4), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)-Homecoming
All-time series: George Fox leads the series 15-12 since 1971 (9-3 in Newberg, 6-9 in Walla Walla) ... The Missionaries have won the last 4 meetings, including 85-84 in Walla Walla on Jan. 3 and 71-65 in Newberg on Jan. 31 last year ... The Bruins' last win was 79-72 in Newberg on Jan. 27, 2001 ... Whitman leads the NWC and ranks 20th nationally in field goal pct. (.482) ... The Missionaries are 3rd in the NWC and 20th nationally in 3-pointers per game (8.87) ... Greg Ricker leads the Missionaries in scoring (12.2) and ranks 13th in the NWC ... Casey Nelson also scores in double digits (10.6), while Greg Caldwell (9.9) and Kyle Dalvit (9.5) are close ... Ricker leads the NWC in assists (5.73) ... The George Fox Homecoming Court will be presented at halftime ...
BRUIN BITS:
* Szalay Honorable Mention for NWC "Player of the Week"
Scott Szalay (So., Everett, Wash. / North Seattle CC) carried the Bruins to a near-upset of Willamette in the Bruins' only game of the week on Tuesday, earning Honorable Mention for Northwest Conference "Player of the Week". In the 75-68 overtime loss, he scored a career-high 24 points, hitting 11-17 (.647) from the field and 2-3 (.667) from the line, with a game-high 12 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 blocked shots, and 2 steals. Szalay ranks among the league leaders in points, rebounds, field goal pct., and blocked shots.
NWC "Player of the Week" went to John Mietus of Lewis & Clark for his 59 points, 26 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 4 steals in the Pioneers' 1-1 week. He has 13 double-doubles in 14 games and 4 "Player of the Week" awards.
* 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 966-1,000-1 (.491).
* Double-Doubles:
--- Mark Gayman (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore. / Glencoe HS): season 3, career 11 - 25 pts/13 reb vs. Warner Pacific, 11/25/03; 17 pts /12 reb vs. Ramapo at Phoenix, Ariz., 12/27/03; 19 pts/11 reb at Lewis & Clark, 1/16/04
--- Scott Szalay: season 4, career 4 - 15 pts/11 reb vs. Warner Pacific, 11/25/03; 10 pts/10 reb vs. Linfield at Phoenix, Ariz., 12/30/03; 10 pts/10 reb at Linfield, 1/17/04; 24 pts/12 reb vs. Willamette, 1/20/04
* Career Lists:
--- Mark Gayman, who entered this season with 582 career points, had 10 vs. Willamette on Jan. 20, giving him 819 for his career. He needs 181 more to become the 31st player in the 100-year history of Bruin basketball to reach 1,000 career points ...
* Personal Highs:
--- Scott Szalay set new career highs for points (24), field goals (11), and attempts (17) vs. Willamette on Jan. 20 ...
--- Brett Yeager (Sr., Oakridge, Ore. / Oakridge HS) set a new career high for assists (7) vs. Willamette on Jan. 20 ...
* NWC Stats (thru Jan. 25) - Szalay Leads League in Offensive Rebounding:
Team:
Scoring Offense - 75.4 (6th)
Scoring Defense - 82.6 (8th)
Scoring Margin - -7.3 (9th)
Free Throw Pct. - .630 (8th)
Field Goal Pct. - .456 (6th)
FG Pct. Defense - .449 (5th)
3-Pt FG Made - 6.71 (6th)
3-Pt FG Pct. - .353 (5th)
3-Pt Pct. Defense - .354 (7th)
Rebounding Off. - 38.6 (2nd)
Rebounding Def. - 37.6 (7th)
Rebound Margin - +1.1 (3rd)
Blocked Shots - 3.29 (2nd)
Assists - 18.29 (1st)
Steals - 6.00 (8th)
Turnover Margin - -4.79 (8th)
Ast/TO Ratio - 0.97 (6th)
Individual:
--- Mark Gayman - 2nd in Defensive Rebounding (5.71), 3rd in Rebounding (7.9), 5th in Scoring (16.9), 8th in 3-Pt FG Pct. (.400), 9th in Blocked Shots (0.57), Offensive Rebounding (2.14)
--- Aaron Schmick (So., Hillsboro, Ore. / Century HS) - 6th in 3-Pt FG (2.64), 7th in Scoring (15.0), Assists (4.00, T), Defensive Rebounding (4.57), 10th in Ast/TO Ratio (1.33), 11th in FT Pct. (.740), 13th in 3-Pt FG Pct. (.385), 15th in Rebounding (5.1)
--- Scott Szalay - 1st in Offensive Rebounding (3.00), 2nd in Blocked Shots (1.29), Rebounding (8.3), 3rd in Defensive Rebounding (5.29), 5th in FG Pct. (.576), 11th in Steals (1.50), 12th in Scoring (13.1)
--- Bryan Wadlow (Sr., Albany, Ore. / West Albany HS) - 2nd in 3-Pt FG Pct. (.439), 11th in 3-Pt FG (1.79), 18th in Rebounding (4.6), 27th in Scoring (9.9) --- Ben Melvin (So., Pleasant Hill, Ore. / Pleasant Hill HS) - 4th in Assists (4.21, T), 13th in Ast/TO Ratio (1.11)
--- Brett Yeager - 6th in Blocked Shots (0.86), 12th in Ast/TO Ratio (1.19), 14th in Assists (2.64)
--- Chris Parker (Fr., Aloha, Ore. / Aloha HS) - 9th in FT Pct. (.791)
* 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, saw his 400th straight men's basketball home game when the Bruins hosted the Willamette Bearcats on Jan. 20. The last home game he missed was on Dec. 15, 1972, vs. Willamette, when he was in advanced training with the Army at Ft. Jackson in Columbia, S.C. He has raised his string of consecutive Bruin men's basketball games, home and away, to 527, last missing one on Nov. 25, 1985, at Puget Sound. Now in his 33rd season of keeping Bruin statistics, Biggs he has seen 940 George Fox men's basketball games.