Overall 2-2: Home 1-1, Road 0-1, Neutral 1-0 /
NWC 0-0: Home 0-0, Road 0-0
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Last Week: Bruins Split in Concordia Holiday Tournament
* Coming Up: Lone Game This Week is Visit to Northwest
* Szalay Honorable Mention for NWC "Player of the Week"
* Gayman Named to All-Tourney Team at Concordia
* NWC Stats: Bruins Lead League in Rebound Margin, FG Pct., Assists
* Wirta Watches 500th Straight Men's Game on Dec. 6
THIS WEEK (Previews Below):
Sat., Dec. 13, 7:30 pm - at Northwest College, Kirkland, Wash.
LAST WEEK: 1-1 (Click score for link to story):
--- at Mortgage Market Holiday Tournament, Portland, Ore. (Concordia) ---
Dec. 5 - George Fox 73, Northwest Christian 53
Dec. 6 - at Concordia-Portland 86, George Fox 76
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: George Fox (2-2) visits Northwest, the team which defeated the Bruins in the season opener on a last-second 3-pointer in Newberg, in this week's only game. Whitworth is this year's NWC favorite, but Puget Sound is off to the hottest start, going 4-1 and averaging 110 points a game. For the latest NWC standings and stats, go to www.nwcsports.com.
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST (Seattle Pacific '89) is 22-56 (.282) 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. this week's opponent:
1-3 vs. Northwest (0-2 home, 1-1 road)
THIS WEEK (Previews):
Sat., Dec. 13, 7:30 pm - at Northwest College, Kirkland, Wash.
All-time series: George Fox leads 10-5 (4-3 home, 6-2 road) ... The Bruins opened the 2003-04 season against Northwest at home on Nov. 21, dropping an 89-88 decision on a 3-pointer by the Eagles' Patrick Hillis with 2.5 seconds left ... Mark Gayman led the Bruins with 24 points and Scott Szalay broke in with 19 points and 8 rebounds in the Northwest game ... Northwest is an NAIA school in the Cascade Collegiate Conference and affiliated with the Assemblies of God ... The Eagles are 5-6 on the season ... Aaron Sawyer leads the Eagles in scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg) ... The Eagles next play at Albertson in Caldwell, Idaho, on Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ... The Bruins are off until Dec. 27, when they will take on Ramapo at 12:15 p.m. in the first round of the Cactus Jam Tournament at Phoenix College (JC) in Phoenix, Ariz.
BRUIN BITS:
* Szalay Gets Honorable Mention for NWC "Player of the Week":
Scott Szalay had two good games for the Bruins in the Mortgage Market Holiday Tournament at Concordia University in Portland Dec. 5-6, receiving Honorable Mention for Northwest Conference "Player of the Week" for Dec. 1-7. In a 73-53 win over Northwest Christian on Friday, the 6-7 post scored 14 points, one of five Bruins in double figures, hitting 6-9 from the field and 2-3 from the line, with 7 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 steals. In an 86-76 loss to Concordia on Saturday, he had 15 points on 6-13 from the field and 3-4 from the line, with 6 rebounds and a steal. For the week, he scored 28 points (14.0) on 12-22 from the field (.545) and 5-7 from the line (.714), with 13 rebounds (6.5), 1 block, and 3 steals.
NWC "Player of the Week" went to John Mietus of Lewis & Clark, who had 58 points and 21 rebounds in the Pioneers' 2-0 week.
* Gayman Named to All-Tournament Team at Concordia
Mark Gayman was named to the All-Tournament Team in the Mortgage Market Holiday Tournament at Concordia University in Portland for his performances in games on Dec. 5-6. In the Bruins' 73-53 win over Northwest Christian on Friday, he scored 12 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists, then followed that up with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal in an 86-76 loss to host Concordia in the championship game on Saturday.
* 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 965-991-1.
* Career Lists: Gayman Aiming for 1,000th Point This Season
--- Mark Gayman, who entered this season with 582 career points, had 34 in the Bruins' two games last week and now has 665 for his career. He needs 335 more to become the 31st player in the 100-year history of Bruin basketball to reach 1,000 career points ...
* Personal Highs: New Marks Set in Tournament
--- Mark Gayman set new highs with 4 assists vs. Northwest Christian on Dec. 5 and 3 3-point field goals at Concordia on Dec. 6 ...
--- Aaron Schmick set a new high for assists with 6 vs. Northwest Christian, then set new marks in rebounds with 7, steals with 3, and 3-point field goal attempts with 8 at Concordia, while tying his high in 3-pointers made with 3 at Concordia ...
--- Ben Melvin scored 12 points against both Northwest Christian and Concordia, setting new highs for points, field goals (5), and 3-pointers (2) in both games, and had a career-best field goal pct. (.714, 5-7) vs. Northwest Christian ...
* NWC Stats (thru Dec. 7) - Bruins Lead League in Rebound Margin, FG Pct., Assists:
Team:
Scoring Offense - 81.0 (2nd)
Scoring Defense - 77.5 (7th)
Scoring Margin - +3.5 (5th)
Field Goal Pct. - .498 (1st)
FG Pct. Defense - .410 (4th)
Free Throw Pct. - .663 (8th)
3-Pt FG Made - 6.25 (5th)
3-Pt FG Pct. - .362 (4th)
3-Pt Pct. Defense - .272 (2nd)
Rebounding Off. - 40.5 (2nd)
Rebounding Def. - .37.2 (5th)
Rebound Margin - +3.2 (1st)
Blocked Shots - 3.25 (4th)
Assists - 21.75 (1st)
Steals - 6.00 (5th)
Turnover Margin - -2.50 (8th)
Ast/TO Ratio - 1.28 (2nd)
Individual:
--- Mark Gayman - 2nd in Scoring (20.8), 3rd in Rebounding (8.2), 3-Pt FG Pct. (.556), 5th in Blocked Shots (1.00, T), 8th in FG Pct. (.554), 14th in Assists (2.50)
--- Aaron Schmick - 5th in Assists (4.25), 8th in Scoring (15.5), 9th in 3-Pt FG (2.25), 12th in Rebounding (5.5, T), 14th in Ast/To Ratio (1.42)
--- Scott Szalay - 4th in Rebounding (8.0, T), FG Pct. (.600, T), Blocked Shots (1.25), 7th in Scoring (15.8), 10th in Steals (1.50, T)
--- Bryan Wadlow - 6th in Assists (3.75), 8th in Ast/TO Ratio (2.14), 14th in 3-Pt FG Pct. (.400, T), 15th in 3-Pt FG (1.50), 25th in Scoring (10.0)
--- Brett Yeager - 14th in Blocked Shots (0.50, T)
--- Ben Melvin - 1st in Assists (6.50), 4th in Ast/TO Ratio (2.36), 14th in 3-Pt FG Pct. (.400, T), 28th in Scoring (9.8)
* Wirta Watches 500th Straight Men's Game on Dec. 6:
Mike "Biggs" Wirta, George Fox's statistical guru, saw his 500th straight Bruin men's basketball game, home and away, when the Bruins took on Concordia-Portland in the title game of the Mortgage Market Holiday Tournament at Concordia on Dec. 6. His achievement was honored with recognition by the Concordia public address announcer prior to the game. 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 930 George Fox men's basketball games.