Press Release
Overall 11-8: Home 6-1, Road 4-5, Neutral 1-2 / NWC 6-4 (4th): Home 4-1, Road 2-3
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HIGHLIGHTS:
* Coming Up: Road Swing to Eastern Washington to Play the "Whits"
* Recent Games: Bruins' 2-0 Week Includes Upset of #13 Puget Sound
* Strutz BAA Athlete of the Week, HM for NWC Player Honors
* Bruin Injuries Open Doors for Reserves to Step Up
* NCAA Stats: Satern 33rd Among National Assist Leaders
* NWC Stats: Five Bruins Listed Among League Leaders
RECENT GAMES: 2-0 (Click score for link to stories and box scores):
Jan. 27 - at George Fox 75, #13 Puget Sound 63
Jan. 29 - George Fox 73, at Northwest Christian 68
COMING UP: Road Swing to Eastern Washington to Play the "Whits"
* Fri., Feb. 2, 8:00 pm - at Whitman College (5-14, NWC 1-9, 9th), at Walla Walla, Wash.
KFOX Radio webcast at www.kfoxradio.net ... Northwest Conference doubleheader (women's game at 6 p.m.) ... The Missionaries from Walla Walla, Wash., were picked to finish 6th in the NWC pre-season coaches' poll; the Bruins were picked 7th â?¦ Series record: GFU leads 21-13 since 1971 (13-3 home, 8-10 road) ... The Bruins have won the last five meetings, including 77-63 Jan. 5 in Newberg behind Phil Heu-Weller's 19 points â?¦ Whitman's last win in the series was 72-69 in Walla Walla Feb. 28, 2004 â?¦ Whitman averages 79.1 ppg (3rd in the NWC, 46th nationally) and allows 83.7 (7th)â?¦ The Missionaries lead the NWC in rebounding (40.2)â?¦ Whitman has three players in double-figure scoring: Kyle Born (19.6, 1st in the NWC, 49th nationally), Chris Faidley (16.9, 4th), and Ian Warner (12.4, 20th) â?¦ Born is the top rebounder (11.0, 1st in the NWC, 8th nationally) â?¦ Born tied an NWC record Jan. 3 when he scored 53 points at Redlands ... Warner is the assists leader (5.00, 4th) â?¦ Coach Skip Molitor (Gonzaga '74) is in his 13th season with the Missionaries ... Whitman next hosts Linfield Saturday at 6 p.m. ...
* Sat., Feb. 3, 8:00 pm - at Whitworth College (17-2, NWC 8-2, 1st), at Spokane, Wash.
KFOX Radio webcast at www.kfoxradio.net ... Northwest Conference doubleheader (women's game at 6 p.m.) ... The Pirates from Spokane, Wash., were picked to finish 2nd in the NWC pre-season coaches' poll; the Bruins were picked 7th â?¦ ... Whitworth is ranked 13th in the latest D3hoops.com poll ... Series record: GFU trails 10-18 since 1974 (6-8 home, 4-10 road) ... The Pirates took the first meeting this season 83-53 Jan. 6 in Newberg for their second straight win in the series ... The Bruins' last win in the series was 77-69 in overtime Dec. 2, 2005, in Newberg â?¦ Whitworth averages 76.8 ppg (6th in the NWC) and allows 60.9 ppg (1st in the NWC, 18th nationally ) â?¦ The Pirates also lead the league in scoring margin (+15.8, 9th nationally), field goal pct. (.534, 1st nationally), field goal pct. defense (.401, 36th nationally), 3-pt pct. (.397, 28th nationally), and assists (16.00) â?¦ The Pirates have four players in double-figure scoring: Ryan Symes (16.1, 8th in the NWC), Kevin Hasenfus (13.1, 16th), Jon Young (11.5, 24th), and Bryan Williams (10.3, 28th) â?¦ James Jones, the Pirates' leading scorer (16.1) through the first 12 games, is out with a broken hand and may not return until the end of the regular season ... Hasenfus is the top rebounder (6.7, 7th) â?¦ Williams leads the NWC in assists (8.17, 3rd nationally) â?¦ Hasenfus (.614) and Symes (.589) are 2nd and 4th in the NWC in field goal pct., and 23rd and 46th nationally ... Coach Jack Hayford is 112-37 to date in his 6th season with the Pirates, and 149-64 in his 8th season overall ... Whitworth hosts Linfield Friday before meeting GFU, then visits Puget Sound Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. ...
Click here for the latest NWC Standings.
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST
Mark Sundquist (Seattle Pacific '89) is 72-96 (.429) to date in his 7th season as a college head coach, all at George Fox. He was the NWC Coach of the Year in 2004-05 for leading the Bruins to an 18-7 record and 2nd place in the conference. 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:
Whitman - 7-6 (5-2 home, 2-4 away)
Whitworth - 5-8 (3-4 home, 2-4 away)
BRUIN BITS:
* Strutz BAA Athlete of the Week, HM for NWC Player Honors
Brady Strutz has been named Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week and received honorable mention for Northwest Conference Men's Player of the Week for Jan. 22-28 as the Bruins picked up two wins. In a 65-64 win at Linfield Tuesday, he scored 16 points on 6-9 field goals (1-3 on threes) and 3-4 free throws, including a winning pair with 2.5 seconds left, 8 rebounds and a blocked shot. In a 75-63 upset of #13 Puget Sound Saturday, he had 18 points on 5-14 field goals and 8-13 free throws, with 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, 5 assists and 5 blocks. For the week, he scored 34 points (17.0 ppg) on 11-23 (.478) field goals, including 1-4 (.250) on threes, and 11-17 (.647) free throws, with 18 rebounds (9.0), 5 assists, and 6 blocks. He is 4th in the NWC in blocked shots (1.06), and 6th in rebounding (6.8) and assists (3.50).
* 2006-07 Honors:
- Chris Parker - Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week (Nov. 13-19, Dec. 4-10, Jan. 1-7, Jan. 15-21); NWC Player of the Week (Nov. 13-19, HM-Dec. 4-10, HM-Jan. 1-7, HM-Jan. 15-21)
- Phil Heu-Weller - Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week (Nov. 20-26); NWC Player of the Week (HM-Nov. 20-26)
- Brent Satern - Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week (Nov. 27-Dec. 3, Jan. 8-14); NWC Player of the Week (HM-Nov. 27-Dec. 3, HM-Jan. 8-14)
- Brady Strutz - Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week (Dec. 11-21, Jan. 22-28); NWC Player of the Week (HM-Dec. 11-21, HM-Jan. 22-28)
* Bruin Injuries Open Doors for Reserves to Step Up
The Bruins have been hampered in the last couple of weeks by injuries to a pair of starters. Shooting guard Phil Heu-Weller, the team's No. 2 scorer at 15.4 ppg, suffered strained ligaments in his foot at Pacific on Jan. 13 and has missed the last five games. Forward Brady Strutz, averaging 9.3 ppg and the leading rebounder at 6.8 rpg, injured his shooting hand vs. Puget Sound on Jan. 27 and sat out the Jan. 29 game at Northwest Christian. He may be back in time to play, even if briefly, on the eastern Washington trip.
Those injuries have allow several Bruin reserves to get their opportunities, and they have made the most of them. Mark Metzler moved into the starting lineup to replace Heu-Weller and the southpaw shooter became the hottest Bruin over the last two games vs. UPS and NWCC, scoring 36 points while hitting 15-19 (.789) from the field, with 12 rebounds, 7 steals, and 4 blocked shots. Evan Atwater hit 8-8 free throws in the final two minutes to seal a win at Pacific Lutheran, then scored 12 at Linfield and 11 at Northwest Christian while hitting 3 treys in each. Grant Vahalla scored 8 much-needed points at Linfield, while Joe Ahn sparked a comeback vs. Puget Sound with 6 points on 3-4 shooting and 4 rebounds. Matt Noble scored 10 points and had 9 rebounds in the last two games, and Bryan O'Connell, playing in his home town of Eugene, picked up his first points of the season with a basket at Northwest Christian.
* NCAA Stats: Satern 33rd Among National Assist Leaders
In the latest NCAA national statistics (thru Jan. 28), Brent Satern is 33rd in assists (5.3) â?¦
Click here for the latest NCAA Stats
* NWC Stats: Five Bruins Listed Among League Leaders
Where the Bruins rank in the latest Northwest Conference stats (thru Jan. 30):
Scoring Offense - 8th (71.1)
Scoring Defense - 3rd (70.5)
Scoring Margin - 5th (+0.6)
Field Goal Pct. - 6th (.459)
Field Goal Pct. Defense - 3rd (.423)
3-Pt Field Goals - 9th (5.47)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. - 5th (.351)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. Defense - 4th (.347)
Free Throw Pct. - 3rd (.722)
Rebounding Offense - 7th (34.4)
Rebounding Defense - 3rd (34.2)
Rebounding Margin - 4th (+0.2)
Assists - 9th (13.32)
Blocked Shots - 5th (2.16)
Steals - 7th (5.68, T)
Turnover Margin - 7th (-1.68)
Assist/Turnover Ratio - 6th (0.84:1)
- Chris Parker is 3rd in free throw pct. (.814), 7th in scoring (16.2), field goal pct. (.540), 20th in rebounding (4.6) â?¦
- Phil Heu-Weller was 8th in 3-pt field goals (2.36), 3-pt pct. (.407), 11th in scoring (15.4, T) in the Jan. 21 stats report, but due to injury has dropped below the required 75%-of-games participation needed to be listed in NWC stats ...
- Brent Satern is 2nd in assists (5.47), steals (1.95), 10th in 3-pt pct. (.389), 11th in assist/turnover ratio (1.30:1), 13th in scoring (14.0) â?¦
- Brady Strutz is 4th in blocked shots (1.06), 6th in rebounding (6.8), assists (3.50) ...
- Mark Metzler is 7th in steals (1.47) ...
Click here for the latest NWC Statistics.
* Double-Doubles:
Brent Satern: Career 2, season 1 - 14 pts/10 ast vs. Corban, 11/17
Chris Parker: Career 1, season 1 - 18 pts/10 reb vs. Holy Names, 11/18
Phil Heu-Weller: Career 1, season 1 - 13 pts/10 reb at St. Martin's, 12/20
Bardy Strutz: Career 1, season 1 - 18 pts/10 reb vs. Puget Sound, 1/27
* Records Set or Tied in 2006-07:
- Most Turnovers, Player, Game - 12 by Brent Satern vs. Concordia-Irvine at Pukulani, Hawaii (old record was 11 by Gary Chenault at Portland State, 1/13/78)
* Bruins vs. Ranked Teams (2-3):
Nov. 18 - defeated NAIA D-II #9 Holy Names 85-65 in Newberg, Ore.
Dec. 2 - lost to NCAA D-III #22 Puget Sound 79-92 in Tacoma, Wash.
Dec. 8 - lost to NAIA D-II #2 Oregon Tech 73-84 in Salem, Ore.
Jan. 6 - lost to NCAA D-III #6 Whitworth 53-83 in Newberg, Ore.
Jan. 27 - defeated NCAA D-III #13 Puget Sound 75-63 in Newberg, Ore.
* Career Lists: Parker Among GFU Leaders in Both FG and FT Pct.
- Phil Heu-Weller began the season with the 4th-best free throw pct. in Bruin history (.847, 138-163). He did not play the last five games due to injury and remains at .803 (187-233), ranking 12th â?¦
- Chris Parker entered the season with the 6th-best field goal pct. in Bruin history (.559, 208-372). He was 6-12 in the last two games and is now at .553 (303-548), still 6th ... He also entered the season with the 12th-best free throw pct. (.805, 169-210). He was 19-21 in the last two games and is now at .808 (287-355), ranking 11th ...
* The Wirta Watch: "Biggs" Up to 607 Straight Bruin Men's Games
Mike "Biggs" Wirta, George Fox's statistical guru who saw his 1,000th Bruin men's basketball game on the final day of last season vs. Willamette on Feb. 18, stretched his streak of consecutive GFU men's basketball games seen to 607 with two games this past week. He has now seen 1,019 GFU men's games (49.8% of all 2,047 games in the team's 103 seasons of competition). He has worked 435 in a row at home, not missing a home game since 1972 when he was in military service.