Press Release
Overall 8-15: Home 4-5, Road 3-7, Neutral 1-3
NWC 4-10, 8th: Home 2-4, Road 2-6
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HIGHLIGHTS:
* Recent Games: Bruins Fall at L&C, Lose Squeaker to Pacific
* Coming Up: Final Home Games vs. Eastern Washington Teams
* Metzler HM for NWC Player of the Week Honors
* Bruins' Win at UPS 4th Win over Ranked Teams in 4 Years
* NCAA Stats: Satern Ranked in Assists, Assist/Turnover Ratio
* NWC Stats: Satern Retains Lead in Conference Assists
* Career Lists: Satern 20 Points Away from 1,000-Point Club
* The Wirta Watch: "Biggs" Adds Two More Games to Streaks
RECENT GAMES: 0-2 (click on links for press releases and box scores)
Feb. 15 - at Lewis & Clark 90, George Fox 48
Feb. 16 - Pacific 73, at George Fox 71
COMING UP: Final Home Games vs. Eastern Washington Teams
Fri., Feb. 15, 8:00 p.m. - vs. Whitworth University, in Nweberg, Ore.
Sat., Feb. 16, 6:00 p.m. - vs. Whitman College, in Newberg, Ore.
Whitworth (18-6, NWC 11-4, 1st) - KFOX radio webcast ... Northwest Conference game ... The Pirates from Spokane, Wash., were picked 3rd in the NWC pre-season coaches poll, the Bruins 7th ... Series record: George Fox trails 10-20 since 1974 (6-8 home, 4-12 road) ... The Pirates have won the last four meetings, including 70-58 in in Spokane on Jan. 26 this year ... The Bruins' last win in the series was 77-69 in overtime in Newberg on Dec. 2, 2005 ... The Pirates have won their last three, including a 73-61 win over Whitman at home Tuesday, and can clinch at least a share of the NWC crown with a win vs. the Bruins ... If the Pirates share the title with Puget Sound, which must win its last two if Whitworth wins, Whitworth gets the top seed in the NWC Tournament by virtue of sweeping the Loggers in head-to-head competition ... Whitworth averages 74.7 ppg (5th in the NWC) and allows 62.9 (1st, 30th nationally) ... The Pirates are 1st in the NWC in field goal pct. defense (.421), free throw pct. (.765, 11th nationally), rebound margin (+6.5, 28th nationally), fewest turnovers (10.7, 7th nationally), and assist/turnover ratio (1.40, 4th nationally), and are 2nd in scoring margin (+11.7, 25th nationally) ... The Pirates have three double-figure scorers: F Ryan Symes (18.7, 4th in the NWC), F Colin Willemsen (13.9, 15th), and G David Riley (11.3, 23rd) ... Symes is 62nd nationally in free throw pct. (.847) ... Willemsen is the top rebounder (7.9, 2nd in the NWC) ... G Ross Nakamura is the assists leader (4.74, 48th nationally) and ranks 1st nationally in assist/turnover ratio (4.36) ... Coach Jim Hayford (Azusa Pacific '90) is 137-45 to date in his 7th season at Whitworth, and 174-72 in his 9th season overall ... End of regular season for the Pirates, but they will play in the NWC Tournament next week ...
Whitman (5-18, NWC 1-14, 9th) - KFOX radio webcast ... Northwest Conference game ... The Missionaries from Walla Walla, Wash., were picked 9th in the NWC pre-season coaches poll, the Bruins 7th ... Series record: George Fox leads 22-14 since 1971 (13-3 home, 9-11 road) ... The Bruins won the first meeting this year 82-75 in double overtime in Walla Walla on Jan. 25 ... The Missionaries won the game before that 69-59 in Walla Walla on Feb. 2, 2007 ... Whitman dropped its last game 73-61 at Whitworth Tuesday after getting its first conference win Feb. 16 vs. Pacific Lutheran 75-71 ... The Missionaries average 70.4 ppg (7th in the NWC) and allow 79.2 (7th) ... The Missionaries have three double-figure scorers: G Chris Faidley (22.2, 1st in the NWC, 15th nationally), P Graham Brewer (12.0, 18th), and G Jordan Wheeler (11.0, 24th) ... Faidley is 36th nationally in 3-pt field goals (3.0) and 70th in 3-pt pct. (.387) ... Brewer is the top rebounder (6.4, 6th) ... Faidley is the assists leader (4.35, 6th) ... Coach Skip Molitor (Gonzaga '74) is in his 14th season at Whitman ... End of regular season for the Missionaries ...
Click here for the latest NWC Standings.
COACH MARK SUNDQUIST
Mark Sundquist (Seattle Pacific '89) is 81-116 (.411) in his eighth 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. Click here for the complete bio on Coach Sundquist.
Sundquist vs. upcoming opponents
Whitworth - 5-10 (3-4 home, 2-6 road)
Whitman - 8-7 (5-2 home, 3-5 road)
BRUIN BITS:
* Metzler HM for NWC Player of the Week Honors
Senior wing Mark Metzler received honorable mention for Northwest Conference Men's Player of the Week for Feb. 11-17 as the Bruins went 0-2 in conference play. In a 90-48 loss at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 15, he scored 8 points on 3-5 from the field, including 1-2 on threes, and 1-2 from the line, with 5 rebounds, 2 steals, an assist and a blocked shot. In a 73-71 loss to Pacific of Feb. 16, he had his first career double-double with 10 points on 4-9 from the field and 2-4 from the line, with 11 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block. For the week, he scored 18 points (9.0) on 7-14 field goals (.500), including 1-4 (.250) on threes, and 3-6 free throws (.500), with 16 rebounds (8.0), 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocked shots. It was his second time to be nominated for league weekly honors. Metzler ranks 5th in the NWC blocked shots (0.57, T), 12th in steals (1.17), and 15th in assists (2.35) and rebounding (5.1) ...
* 2007-08 Honors:
Evan Atwater
- Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week (Nov. 12-18; Dec. 3-9; Jan. 14-20; Jan. 28-Feb. 3)
- NWC Player of the Week (HM, Nov. 12-18; HM, Dec. 3-9; HM, Jan. 14-20; HM, Jan. 28-Feb. 3)
Mark Metzler
- Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week (Nov. 19-25)
- NWC Player of the Week (HM, Nov. 19-25; HM, Feb. 11-17)
Brent Satern
- Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week (Dec. 17-23; Dec. 24-30; Dec. 31-Jan. 6; Jan. 7-13; Jan. 21-27; Feb. 4-10)
- NWC Player of the Week (HM, Dec. 17-26; HM, Dec. 27-Jan. 6; HM, Jan. 7-13; HM, Jan. 21-27; HM, Feb. 4-10)
- ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII Men's Basketball College Division Second Team
* Bruins' Win at UPS 4th Win over Ranked Teams in 4 Years
When George Fox stunned the Puget Sound Loggers, ranked 7th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, 78-77 in Tacoma, Wash., on Feb. 2, it became the fourth win in four years by the Bruins over nationally-ranked teams. On Jan. 21, 2005, the Bruins knocked off 5th-ranked Puget Sound in Newberg 68-66, a win that boosted GFU into a first-place tie in the Northwest Conference at the time. During the 2006-07 season, the Bruins defeated two ranked teams. The first was Holy Names University, ranked 9th in the NAIA Division II pre-season poll, an 85-65 victory on Nov. 18, 2006, in Newberg. Later that season, on Jan. 27, 2007, in Newberg, the Bruins out-scored 13th-ranked Puget Sound 34-5 over the last 17 minutes to win 75-63.
* NCAA Stats: Satern Ranked in Assists, Assist/Turnover Ratio
In the latest NCAA Division III national statistics report (including games thru Feb. 17), Brent Satern is 15th in assists (5.7) and 54th in assist/turnover ratio (1.97) ...
* NWC Stats: Satern Retains Lead in Conference Assists
Where the Bruins rank in the latest Northwest Conference stats (thru Feb. 19):
Scoring Offense - 9th (65.3)
Scoring Defense - 2nd (69.6)
Scoring Margin - 7th (-4.3)
Field Goal Pct. - 9th (.421)
Field Goal Pct. Defense - 4th (.447)
3-Pt Field Goals - 8th (6.22)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. - 9th (.306)
3-Pt Field Goal Pct. Defense - 1st (.312)
Free Throw Pct. - 9th (.633)
Rebounding Offense - 8th (33.2)
Rebounding Defense - 6th (35.8)
Rebounding Margin - 7th (-2.7)
Assists - 5th (13.87)
Blocked Shots - 9th (1.57)
Steals - 5th (6.48)
Turnover Margin - 5th (-0.09)
Assist/Turnover Ratio - 6th (0.94)
- Brent Satern is 1st in assists (5.65), 2nd in steals (1.74), 3rd in assist/TO ratio (1.97), 11th in scoring (14.9) ...
- Evan Atwater is 4th in free throw pct. (.835), 6th in 3-point field goals (2.35, T), 12th in scoring (14.6), 15th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.365) â?¦
- Mark Metzler is 5th in blocked shots (0.57, T), 12th in steals (1.17), 15th in assists (2.35), rebounding (5.1) ...
- Bryan O'Connell is 15th in field goal pct. (.494) ...
- Travis Toedtemeier is 19th in rebounding (4.3) â?¦
Click here for the latest NWC Statistics.
* Double-Doubles
- Brent Satern - career 3, season 1: 14 pts/11 ast vs. Corban, 12/4
- Evan Atwater - career 1, season 1: 20 pts/11 reb at Whitman, 1/25
- Mark Metzler - career 1, season 1: 10 pts/11 reb vs. Pacific, 2/16
* Career Lists: Satern 20 Points Away from 1,000-Point Club
- Brent Satern had 6 assists in the Bruins' two NWC games last week, giving him 130 for the season and 468 for his career, 6th on the GFU all-time list. Ahead is Curtis Kimbrough (501, 1983-87) ... He scored 19 points in the two games, giving him 980 career points. He needs 20 in the final two games to become the 33rd player in Bruin history to reach 1,000 ...
* The Wirta Watch: "Biggs" Adds Two More Games to Streaks
Mike "Biggs" Wirta, who has been charting basketball statistics for the George Fox men's team game since the 1970-71 season while he was an undergraduate student, hit a major milestone with the Bruins' second game vs. Colorado College in the Colorado College Tipoff Tournament on Nov. 16. It was the 1,027th game he had seen, which was exactly half of the 2,054 games that had been played in 104 years of Bruin basketball. With the Bruins' two NWC games this past week, he has now seen 50.5% of all Bruin games ever played (1,048 of 2,075). He stretched his streak of consecutive GFU men's basketball games seen, both home and road, to 636. He has worked 447 in a row at home, not missing a home game since 1972 when he was in military service.