Press Release - Feb. 16, 2006
Overall 15-8: Home 11-1, Road 4-7 / NWC 8-6: Home 6-1, Road 2-5
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HIGHLIGHTS:
* Recent Games: Bruins Nail Down 4th in NWC with Win over Pioneers
* Coming Up: Final Weekend and a Chance to Play "Spoiler"
* Szalay Named NWC "Player of the Week" for Feb. 6-12
* The Wirta Watch: "Biggs" to Witness 1,000th Men's Game Saturday
* Career Lists: Schmick Up One Spot to 5th in Career FT Pct.
* NWC Stats: Bruins Have Individual Leaders in Four Categories
* NCAA Stats: Schmick, Satern, Szalay Ranked Among National Leaders
RECENT GAMES: 1-0 (Click score for link to stories and box scores):
Feb. 10 - at George Fox 71, Lewis & Clark 62
COMING UP:
With 4th place in the Northwest Conference secured (George Fox is three games behind 3rd-place Whitworth and three games ahead of 5th-place Lewis & Clark), the Bruins can enjoy the role of "spoiler". After visiting Pacific Lutheran Friday, the Bruins host Willamette Saturday in the season finale, and the Bearcats are locked in a three-way struggle with Puget Sound and Whitworth for 1st place in the league. The Willamette game also marks the 1,000th men's game to be witnessed by Mike "Biggs" Wirta, the Bruins' long-time basketball statistician.
* Fri., Feb. 17, 8:00 pm - at Pacific Lutheran University Lutes (5-18, 4-10), Tacoma, Wash.
Radio broadcast/webcast on KFOX radio ... NWC doubleheader (women's game at 6 p.m.) â?¦ Series record: GFU trails 10-12 since 1985 (7-4 home, 3-8 road) â?¦ The Bruins have won the last 4 meetings, including this year's first game on Jan. 20 in Newberg 78-61 behind Aaron Schmick's 24 points â?¦ The Lutes' last win was 76-67 in Newberg on Jan. 10, 2004 â?¦ PLU is 6th in the NWC in scoring (72.7) and 8th in defense (83.7) â?¦ The Lutes have three double-figure scorers: Drew Cardwell (14.6, 9th in the NWC), Josh Dressler (13.3, 11th), and Josh Vanlandingham (12.1, 21st) â?¦ Cardwell is the top rebounder (5.3, 9th) â?¦ Dressler is 29th nationally in 3-pt field goal pct. (.432) â?¦ Final game for PLU after the Bruins is Jan. 18 vs. Lewis & Clark in Tacoma at 8 p.m. â?¦
* Sat., Feb. 18, 8:00 pm - vs. Willamette University Bearcats (16-6, 12-2), Newberg, Ore.
Radio broadcast/webcast on KFOX radio ... NWC doubleheader (women's game at 6 p.m.) â?¦ Final regular season game for both teams â?¦ Series record: GFU trails 28-40 since 1967 (16-12 home, 12-28 road) â?¦ The Bearcats have won the last 10 meetings, including an 86-77 decision on Jan. 21 in Salem this year despite Aaron Schmick's 23 points â?¦ The Bruins' last win was 106-104 in double overtime in Newberg on Jan. 16, 2001 â?¦ Willamette is one of the top defensive clubs in the NWC, ranking 1st in the league in scoring defense (67.9), field goal pct. defense (.425), and 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.317) â?¦ The Bearcats are also a sharp-shooting team, leading the NWC in field goal pct. (.512, 11th nationally), 3-pt field goal pct. (.411, 15th nationally), and assists (17.14) â?¦ The Bearcats have two double-figure scorers: John Olinger (18.3, 2nd in the NWC) and C.J. Stuvland (15.9, 6th) â?¦ Jason Luchterhand is the top rebounder (6.0, 8th) â?¦ Olinger is 2nd in free throw pct. (.876, 25th nationally) â?¦ Stuvland is 24th nationally in 3-pt field goal pct. (.437) â?¦ The Bearcats visit Puget Sound Friday in a showdown for 1st place in the conference before meeting the Bruins â?¦
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST
Mark Sundquist (Seattle Pacific '89), the 2004-05 Northwest Conference Coach of the Year, is 60-87 (.408) to date in his 6th season as a college head coach, all at George Fox. He picked up his 50th win on Dec. 6 when the Bruins rallied from 15 down to defeat Corban College 87-82. He coached the boys' programs at Woodburn (Ore.) High for two years and at Newberg (Ore.) High for one year before joining the Bruins. Click here for the complete bio on Coach Sundquist.
Sundquist vs. upcoming opponents:
BRUIN BITS:
* Szalay Named NWC "Player of the Week" for Feb. 6-12
Senior post Scott Szalay recorded back-to-back double-doubles in leading the Bruins toa 2-0 week, earning Northwest Conference "Player of the Week" honors for Feb. 6-12. In an 85-67 win over Linfield on Tuesday, he scored 24 points on 10-14 field goals and 4-6 free throws, with 10 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 blocked shots. In a 71-62 win over Lewis & Clark on Friday, he has 19 points on 8-14 field goals and 3-5 free throws, with 13 rebounds, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. For the week, he scored 43 points (21.5) on 18-32 (.563) from the field and 7-11 (.636) from the line, with 23 rebounds (11.5), 6 steals (3.0), and 8 blocked shots (4.0). He is the NWC leader in both rebounding (8.7) and blocks (1.83).
* 2005-06 Honors:
Phil Heu-Weller - NWC "Player of the Week" (Nov. 14-20); ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII College Division First Team
Scott Szalay - NWC "Player of the Week" (Feb. 6-12)
* 2005-06 Records:
--- Best Free Throw Pct., Game - 1.000 (16-16) by Aaron Schmick at Linfield, 1/10/06 (previous best was 13-13 by Justin Paola vs. Western Oregon, 2/12/1994)
--- Most Free Throws, Game - 16 by Aaron Schmick at Linfield, 1/10/06 (tied record by Kenny Stone, 16-19 vs. College of Idaho, 1/28/1987)
* Double-Doubles:
Scott Szalay: Career 16, season 9 - 14 pts/13 reb vs. Northwest, 11/19; 14 pts/12 reb at Corban, 11/22; 10 pts/13 reb vs. Northwest Christian, 11/29; 17 pts/19 reb vs. Whitworth, 12/2; 20 pts/12 reb at Puget Sound, 1/6; 21 pts/10 reb vs. Walla Walla, 1/14; 11 pts/14 reb at Whitworth, 1/27; 24 pts/10 reb vs. Linfield, 2/7; 19 pts/13 reb vs. Lewis & Clark, 2/10
Brent Satern: Career 1, season 1 - 13 pts/10 ast vs. Northwest, 11/19
* The Wirta Watch: "Biggs" to Witness 1,000th Men's Game Saturday
This Saturday, Feb. 18, Mike "Biggs" Wirta, George Fox's statistical guru, will make a bit of viewing history unmatched by few others in college cage history - he will see his 1,000th men's basketball game when the Bruins host the Willamette Bearcats in the season finale. Entering this weekend, Wirta has attended and kept statistics at 998 games (49.3% of all 2,026 GFU games ever played in the program's 102 seasons of competition). He has a string of 586 straight games going, home and road, and has worked 427 in a row at home, not missing a home game since 1972 when he was in military service. "Biggs", a member of the GFU Sports Hall of Fame, also serves on the Hall of Fame Committee as its resident historian, calls statistics for the women's games as well, and keeps the Bruins' baseball scorebook. The team will honor him for his loyal support and hard work during the men's game Saturday night.
* Career Lists: Schmick Up One Spot to 5th in Career FT Pct.
--- Aaron Schmick scored 6 points in the Bruins' last game, giving him 1,434 for his career, 9th in all-time scoring. Ahead are Mark Gayman (1,457, 2001-05) and Jordan Green (1,468, 1997-2001) ... He entered the season with the 11th-best career free throw pct. (.815, 234-287). After going 4-4 vs. Lewis & Clark, he is at .835 (333-399), ranking 5th ...
--- Phil Heu-Weller began the season with the 2nd-best free throw pct. in Bruin history (.868, 66-76). He was 5-9 in the last game and is now at .836 (133-159), ranking 4th â?¦
--- Scott Szalay had 4 blocked shots in the last game and has 105 in his career, only the 5th Bruin to reach the 100 level in blocks. The other four are Dave Wilson (598, 1987-88, 89-92), Kenny Stone (430, 1983-87), Mike Faber (166, 1995-99), and Hille van der Kooy (121, 1979-81) ...
--- Chris Parker entered the season 8th in career free throw pct. (.821, 87-106). He did not shoot any in the last game and is at .797 (161-202), 11th on the chart ...
* NWC Stats: Bruins Have Individual Leaders in Four Categories
Where the Bruins ranks in the latest Northwest Conference stats (thru Feb. 14):
Scoring Offense - 4th (80.8)
Scoring Defense - 4th (77.5)
Scoring Margin - 4th (+3.3)
Field Goal Pct. - 3rd (.484)
3-Pt Field Goals - 5th (7.35)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. - 2nd (.402)
Free Throw Pct. - 2nd (.774)
Field Goal Pct. Defense - 4th (.453)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. Defense - 6th (.369)
Rebounding Offense - 7th (32.74)
Rebounding Defense - 6th (35.4)
Rebounding Margin - 7th (-2.7)
Assists - 3rd (15.91)
Blocked Shots - 1st (3.39)
Steals - 8th (5.43)
Turnover Margin - 5th (0.00)
Assist/Turnover Ratio - 3rd (1.28:1)
--- Aaron Schmick is 1st in free throw pct. (.886), 3rd in assist/turnover ratio (1.84:1), 5th in scoring (17.6), 7th in assists (3.43), 8th in 3-pt field goals (2.26, T), 9th in steals (1.17, T), 12th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.394) â?¦ --- Phil Heu-Weller is 6th in free throw pct. (.807), 8th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.426), 12th in 3-pt field goals (2.13), 12th in scoring (13.2), 15th in blocked shots (0.39), 17th in rebounding (4.5, T) ...
--- Scott Szalay is 1st in rebounding (8.7), blocked shots (1.83), 8th in field goal pct. (.546), 23rd in scoring (11.9) ...
--- Brent Satern is 1st in assists (5.78), 1st in assist/turnover ratio (2.56:1), 7th in steals (1.52), 14th in free throw pct. (.730, T) ...
--- Chris Parker is 5th in field goal pct. (.601), 9th in free throw pct. (.771), 19th in scoring (12.5) ...
--- Brady Strutz is 9th in blocked shots (0.59) ...
Click here for the latest NWC statistics.
* NCAA Stats: Schmick, Satern, Szalay Ranked Among National Leaders
In the latest NCAA national statistics (thru games of Feb. 12), George Fox is ranked 6th in free throw pct. (.774), 25th in 3-point field goal pct. (.402), 41st in field goal pct. (.484), and 43rd in scoring (80.8) â?¦ The Bruins' .650 3-pt field goal pct. (13-20) vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is the 19th-best single-game mark this season â?¦ Aaron Schmick is 17th in free throw pct. (.886) â?¦ Schmick's perfect free throw pct. (16-16) at Linfield on Feb. 10 is the 4th-best nationally this year â?¦ Brent Satern is 22nd in assists per game (5.8) â?¦ Satern's 15 assists vs. Walla Walla on Feb. 14 is tied for the 2nd-most in a game nationally (Kyle Myrick of Lincoln PA had 20 vs. Delaware Valley on Feb. 2) â?¦ Scott Szalay is 42nd in blocked shots per game (1.8) â?¦ Click here for the latest NCAA statistics.