Men's Basketball Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
PACIFIC AT WALLA WALLA
Game No. 7/Away Game No. 1
Thurs., Dec. 15, 7 p.m., Winter Education Complex Gymnasium, College Place, Wash.
BOXERS PREPARE TO TEST THEIR METTLE ON THE ROAD
After opening the 2011-12 season with six straight home games, the Pacific men's basketball team will play five of their next six games on the road. The Boxers will come off of their break for fall semester finals with their first road game this week, traveling east on Thursday for a rematch with NAIA Division II independent Walla Walla.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific took their second straight loss of the season last Tuesday after winning their first four games, falling 83-62 to No. 11 (NAIA II) ranked Northwest (Wash.). Despite the 19-point losing margin, the Boxers stayed within 10-14 points of the sharp-shooting Eagles most of the night.
• Pacific shot well against the Eagles, connecting for 50 percent shooting from both the field (21-42) and the three-point line (6-12). Northwest shot just better to run away, connecting for 54.7 percent from the field (29-53) and 52.2 percent from the three-point line (12-23).
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David Berney put together his best scoring effort since his breakout game in the season opener, scoring 15 points on 6 of 8 from the field and 2 of 2 from three-point range. Berney enters the week ranked in the NWC's top-10 in scoring, field goal percentage and free throw percentage.
•
Colin Wester scored 13 points for the Boxers, making three three-pointers in the contest. Wester leads Pacific in scoring and is ranked third in the NWC in scoring and is in the NWC's top-10 in seven other statistical categories.
• With a win Thursday, Pacific would surpass their win total from the 2010-11 season. The Boxers went 4-21 in Head Coach
Tim Cleary's first year as head coach.
• Pacific continues to rank as one of the top shooting teams in the league. The Boxers lead the NWC in both field goal percentage (.493) and three-point percentage (.391) and fourth in free throw percentage (.736).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
WALLA WALLA
The NAIA Division II independent Wolves enter the week with a 1-14 record, dropping two games over the last week. On Tuesday, Walla Walla managed just 30 percent shooting in a 98-40 loss to Whitman. The Wolves trailed 56-18 at the half. Mark Moore, Teddy Alemu and Tom Creasey led Walla Walla with six points apiece while four Whitman players finished scoring in double figures. Walla Walla struggled even more on Saturday as they were limited to 25 percent shooting and turned the ball over 32 times in a 94-29 loss to Division II Western Oregon. Western set a school record with 26 steals in the contest and tied a mark by running their win streak to eight games. Walla Walla trailed 50-11 at the half. Taylor Lewis scored 14 points to lead Walla Walla. Moore leads the Wolves in scoring, averaging 13.7 points per game while Andrew Bailey leads in the rebounding department with an average of 6.1 boards per contest. As a team, Walla Walla is being outscored by an average of 35 points per game. Jimmy Hill is the Walla Walla head coach.
ALL TIME SERIES: Pacific leads 1-0
AGAINST CLEARY: Pacific leads 1-0
LAST MEETING: Pacific won 75-44 at Forest Grove on Nov. 26.
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
ANOTHER LEADING PERFORMANCE: While he has continued to be a consistent scoring presence for the Boxers, junior transfer
David Berney (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) had not led Pacific in scoring since his breakout 27-point performance in the Nov. 15 season opener against Evergreen State. Berney topped the scoring ladder on Tuesday against Northwest (Wash.), scoring 15 points in a near-perfect shooting performance. He went 6 of 8 from the field, 2 of 2 from three-point range and 1 of 2 from the free throw line and also had a block. Berney has become a dependable shooter for the Boxers, especially with the absence of the injured
Carson Bartlett (Sr., St. Helens, Ore.). He enters the week as the Boxers' second leading scorer and ranked 10th in the NWC with an average of 14.5 points per game. He also ranks third in the NWC with a .481 three-point percentage (13-27) and fourth with a .589 field goal percentage (33-56).
COLIN ALL SHOOTERS: As he continues to develop in his junior season,
Colin Wester (Jr. Sherwood, Ore.) has built himself as a leader for the Boxers on the floor. Wester enters the week as the Boxers' leading scorer, ranking third in the NWC with an average of 16 points per game. One of the league's most accurate shooters, Wester ranks fourth in the NWC with a .459 three-point percentage and 10th with a .500 field goal percentage. He leads the Boxers in three-point shooting and is second to
David Berney in field goal shooting (among scorers who have met minimum of having played in 60 percent of games and making three field goals per game). In addition to his shooting stats, Wester ranked fifth in three-point field goals made (17), seventh in minutes played (31.3 per game) and steals (12), ninth in assist/turnover ratio (+2.0) and 10th in assists (18). Wester scored 13 points in last Tuesday's loss to Northwest (Wash.), hitting three three-pointers.
BOXERS PLAY ON WITHOUT BARTLETT, BEATTY: Pacific will move on through their 2011-12 season without two of their most experienced players.
Carson Bartlett (Sr., St. Helens, Ore.) suffered a season-ending knee injury on Pacific's first day of practice on Oct. 16. The injury occurred on the opposite knee that he injured three years ago. Bartlett was Pacific's second leading scorer during the 2010-11 season at shooting guard, averaging 13.5 points per game while making a respectable 47.3 percent of his shots from the field.
Andrew Beatty (Sr., Lynnwood, Wash.), Pacific's starting point guard, was lost for the year when he broke his right wrist in hard collision and fall taken in the Boxers' win over Walla Walla on Nov. 26. Beatty proved an expect so far in the year in running the Pacific offense. He averaged three points and two rebounds per game and had nine assists and four steals against just three turnovers. Beatty, who transferred to Pacific from Skagit Valley CC in 2010, is expected to apply for a medical hardship.
COBY AT THE POINT: With the season-ending injury to
Andrew Beatty, the Pacific coaching staff has turned to
Coby Proctor (Fr., Sublimity, Ore.) to handle the point guard duties. Proctor has performed well in his first three games pressed into service. He scored nine points in 36 minutes of action in the win over Linfield on Nov. 29, which included a 7 of 8 performance from the free throw line. His line also included two assists, one steal and no turnovers. Proctor added four assists in the loss to Puget Sound on Dec. 2 while playing in 26 minutes of action. In his three games leading the point, Proctor has turned the ball over just five times. Proctor, who played his prep basketball at Stayton High School, was a Second Team Oregon 4A All-State selection in his senior season.
WINNING: It's six games into the season and Pacific has already matched their win total from Head Coach
Tim Cleary's first year with the Boxers. At 4-2 this season, Pacific has matched the four wins accomplished by the 2010-11 campaign. The Boxers began that year by going 1-4, earning their first win in a 68-53 neutral site victory over Cal Lutheran in Honolulu on Nov. 27.
SOLID SHOOTING TEAM: Pacific continues to be one of the best overall shooting teams in the league after the first weekend of NWC play. For the second straight week, the Boxers lead the Northwest Conference in field goal shooting at 49.3 percent and also lead the league in three-point shooting at 39.1 percent. The Boxers also rank fourth in the league in free throw shooting, going 73.6 percent from the stripe.
SEASON PREVIEW: The 2011-12 Pacific men's basketball season preview can be read at
http://www.goboxers.com/sports/2011/11/15/MBX_1115110125.aspx?tab=mensbasketball&path=mbball.
BOXERS TO AIR ALL NORTHWEST CONFERENCE GAMES: Once again this season, Pacific will air all 16 men's and all 16 women's Northwest Conference games on the Internet. Live audio webcasts will be available for home and away league contests at www.goboxers.com/webcasts. Matt Richert enters his second year calling Pacific basketball after two seasons as the Boxers' football radio voice. Richert also serves as Pacific's assistant sports information director.
PACIFIC PICKED NINTH IN NWC PRESEASON POLL: Northwest Conference coaches have picked Pacific to finish ninth in the league this season according to results of the annual coaches poll, released on October. The Boxers received 10 of a possible 80 votes in the poll. Coaches voted for all teams but their own. Whitworth, under new head coach Matt Logie, was picked to win third straight NWC title. The Pirates earned six first place votes and a total of 67 points. Up-and-coming Whitman was picked second, earning three first place votes and 61 points.
