Overall 6-13: Home 3-6, Road 1-5, Neutral 2-2 /
NWC 2-8: Home 1-5, Road 1-3
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Last Week: Bruins Go 1-1 on Tacoma Trip
* Coming Up: Bruins Take On Three Nearby Neighbors
* Schmick Honorable Mention for NWC "Player of the Week"
* Schmick Falls Two Free Throws Short of Bruin Record
* NWC Stats: Bruins Lead in Assists and Rebound Margin
THIS WEEK (Previews below):
Tue., Feb. 10, 8:00 pm - vs. Linfield College (11-7, 6-3), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)
Fri., Feb. 13, 8:00 pm - at Willamette University (13-6, 8-2), Salem, Ore. (NWC DH)
Sat., Feb. 14, 8:00 pm - at Pacific University (7-10, 4-5), Forest Grove, Ore. (NWC DH)
(DH - GFU women's game at 6:00 pm)
LAST WEEK: 1-1 (Click score for link to story):
Feb. 6 - at Puget Sound 111, George Fox 92
Feb. 7 - George Fox 82, at Pacific Lutheran 72
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: George Fox (6-13, 2-8), with 3 wins in its last 5 games, hopes to keep improving with Linfield at home Tuesday and Willamette and Pacific on the road this weekend. Puget Sound, ranked 17th nationally, has taken a 1-game lead over Willamette in the NWC race. For the latest NWC standings and stats, go to www.nwcsports.com.
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST (Seattle Pacific '89) is 26-67 (.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:
Linfield - 0-7 (0-3 home, 0-4 road)
Willamette - 1-6 (1-3 home, 0-3 road)
Pacific - 0-7 (0-4, home, 0-3 road)
THIS WEEK (Previews):
Tue., Feb. 10, 8:00 pm - vs. Linfield College (11-7, 6-3), Newberg, Ore. (NWC DH)
All-time series: George Fox trails the series with the Wildcats 34-35 (18-14 in Newberg, 16-20 in McMinnville, 0-1 neutral) ... Linfield has won the last 8 meetings, including a 105-72 decision on Dec. 30 in the Cactus Jam in Phoenix, Ariz., and a 92-69 win in McMinnville in conference play on Jan. 17 this season ... The Bruins' last win was 102-96 on Feb. 12, 2000, in Newberg ... Linfield is 4th in the NWC in scoring (74.7) and 6th in defense (73.6) ... The Wildcats lead the league in blocked shots (3.78) ... Blake Shelton is the only Wildcat scoring in double figures (14.2, 10th) ... Sam Krieger is Linfield's top rebounder (5.5, 12th) and is the top shot-blocker in the NWC (1.56) ...
Fri., Feb. 13, 8:00 pm - at Willamette University (13-6, 8-2), Salem, Ore. (NWC DH)
All-time series: George Fox trails the series with the Bearcats 28-36 (16-11 in Newberg, 12-25 in Salem) ... Willamette has won the last 6 meetings, including a 75-68 overtime win on Jan. 20 in Newberg this season ... The Bruins' last win was a 106-104 double-overtime victory on Jan. 16, 2001, in Newberg ... Willamette is 5th in the NWC in scoring (74.6) and 4th in defense (72.6) ... David Force leads the Bearcats in scoring (14.7, 8th), followed by Miles Sandgathe (11.4, 17th) ... Sandgathe (5.6, 9th) is the Bearcats' top rebounder ... P.J. McDevitt has the best 3-pt pct. in the NWC (.450) ...
Sat., Feb. 14, 8:00 pm - at Pacific University (7-10, 4-5), Forest Grove, Ore. (NWC DH)
All-time series: George Fox trails the series with the Boxers 31-37 (21-12 in Newberg, 10-25 in Forest Grove) ... Pacific has won the last 9 meetings, including a 77-67 win on Jan. 13 in Newberg this year ... The Bruins' last win was 88-63 on Jan. 29, 1999, in Newberg ... Pacific is 8th in the NWC in scoring (69.6) and 3rd in defense (68.9) ... The Boxers have three players scoring in double figures: Joe Van Domelen (16.0, 7th), Erin Gram (12.4, 14th), and Branden Kawazoe (11.1, 20th) ... Van Domelen is Pacific's top rebounder (5.3, 13th) ... Gram leads the league in steals (2.18) and is 2nd in free throw pct. (.860) and assists (5.47), ranking 32nd nationally in assists ...
BRUIN BITS:
* Schmick Honorable Mention for NWC "Player of the Week"
Aaron Schmick scored 20 or more in both games as the Bruins went 1-1 on the road swing to Tacoma, earning Honorable Mention for Northwest Conference "Player of the Week" for Feb. 2-8. In a 111-92 loss at Puget Sound on Friday, he scored 20 points on 5-9 from the field (1-3 on 3's) and 9-10 from the line, with 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, and 3 steals. In an 82-72 win at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday, he scored a game-high 27 points on 6-11 from the field (4-9 on 3's) and 11-11 from the line, with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. In 2 games during the week, he scored 47 points (23.5), hitting 11-20 (.550) from the field (5-12 on 3's, .417) and 20-21 (.952) from the line, with 5 rebounds (2.5), 8 assists (4.0), 1 block (0.5), and 5 steals (2.5).
NWC "Player of the Week" went to Matt Glynn of Puget Sound for leading the Loggers to sole possession of first place in the league with 52 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists in their 2 home wins.
* Schmick Falls Two Free Throws Short of Bruin Record
Aaron Schmick's 11-11 from the free throw line were instrumental in the Bruins' 82-72 win at Pacific Lutheran on Feb. 7, but his perfect night fell just short of the Bruins' best ever. Justin Paola hit 13-13 vs. Western Oregon on Feb. 12, 1994, to set the record. The George Fox record for most free throws made in a game is 16 by Kenny Stone vs. the College of Idaho (now Albertson) on Jan. 28, 1987.
* Bruins' Win at PLU Recalls Last NWC Road Win in '01
Continuing their fine play of the last two weeks and getting yet another "monkey" off their backs, the Bruins snapped a 23-game road losing streak in Northwest Conference play with their 82-72 win at Pacific Lutheran on Feb. 7. The Bruins' last NWC road win was a 75-73 victory at Whitworth on Jan. 6, 2001, a game in which the Bruins trailed by 23 with 17 minutes left before rallying behind Travis Melvin's 29 second-half points. It was the largest deficit a George Fox team had ever overcome on the road. The Bruins are 3-3 in their last six games, but two of those losses have been in overtime.
* 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 969-1,002-1 (.492).
* Double-Doubles:
--- Mark Gayman: season 5, career 13 - 25 pts/13 eb 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; 25 pts/12 reb vs. Multnomah Bible, 1/27/03; 16 pts/17 reb vs. Whitman, 1/31/03
--- Scott Szalay: season 5, career 5 - 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; 15 pts/10 reb vs. Whitman, 1/31/03
* Career Lists:
--- Mark Gayman, who entered this season with 582 career points, had 32 points in 2 games during the week, giving him 908 for his career. He needs 92 more to become the 31st player in the 100-year history of Bruin basketball to reach 1,000 career points ...
* Personal Highs:
--- Aaron Schmick set new career highs for free throws (11) and free throw pct. (1.000, 11-11) at Pacific Lutheran on Feb. 7, and had his first career blocked shot at Puget Sound on Feb. 6 ...
--- Scott Szalay set new career highs for free throws (9) and attempts (12) at Pacific Lutheran on Feb. 7 ...
--- Ben Melvin tied his career high for field goals (6) at Puget Sound on Feb. 6 and at Pacific Lutheran on Feb. 7, and for free throw pct. (.833, 5-6) at PLU ...
--- Bryan Wadlow set a new career high for points (21), field goals (8) and attempts (14), and tied his high for free throw attempts (7) at Puget Sound on Feb. 6 ...
--- Chris Parker tied his career high for field goals (3) at Puget Sound on Feb. 6 ...
--- Jordan Gama tied his career high for rebounds (1) at Puget Sound on Feb. 6 ...
* NWC Stats (thru Feb. 7) - Bruins Lead in Assists and Rebound Margin:
Team:
Scoring Offense - 78.3 (2nd)
Scoring Defense - 82.4 (8th)
Scoring Margin - -4.1 (8th)
Free Throw Pct. - .678 (6th)
Field Goal Pct. - .464 (4th)
FG Pct. Defense - .442 (5th)
3-Pt FG Made - 6.74 (6th)
3-Pt FG Pct. - .345 (5th)
3-Pt Pct. Defense - .358 (9th)
Rebounding Off. - 39.4 (2nd)
Rebounding Def. - 36.7 (5th)
Rebound Margin - +2.6 (1st)
Blocked Shots - 3.42 (2nd)
Assists - 17.84 (1st)
Steals - 6.05 (7th)
Turnover Margin - -4.53 (8th)
Ast/TO Ratio - 0.97 (5th)
Individual:
--- Mark Gayman - 2nd in Rebounding (8.4), Offensive Rebounds (2.84), Defensive Rebounds (5.58), 4th in Scoring (17.2), 7th in Blocked Shots (0.74), 14th in FG Pct. (.494)
--- Aaron Schmick - 5th in 3-Pt FG (2.68), 6th in Scoring (16.2), 8th in Assists (3.79), FT Pct. (.821), 11th in Ast/TO Ratio (1.29), Defensive Rebounding (3.95), 13th in 3-Pt FG Pct. (.386), 19th in Rebounding (4.5)
--- Scott Szalay - 3rd in Blocked Shots (1.05, T), Rebounding (8.1), Offensive Rebounds (2.68), Defensive Rebounds (5.37), 6th in FG Pct. (.564), 15th in Scoring (12.3)
--- Bryan Wadlow - 6th in 3-Pt FG Pct. (.407), 12th in 3-Pt FG (1.74), 15th in Assists (2.37, T), 24th in Scoring (10.4) --- Ben Melvin - 4th in Assists (4.32, T), 13th in Ast/TO Ratio (1.24), 22nd in Scoring (10.8)
--- Brett Yeager - 3rd in Blocked Shots (1.05, T), 10th in Ast/TO Ratio (1.33), 13th in Assists (2.74, T)
--- Chris Parker - 6th in FT Pct. (.824)
* 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 532 with two games in Tacoma over the weekend, last missing one on Nov. 25, 1985, at Puget Sound. He raised his streak of men's basketball home games to 403 with three games in Miller Gym last week. 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. Now in his 33rd season of keeping Bruin statistics, Biggs has seen 945 George Fox men's basketball games.