Men's Basketball Weekly Notebook
QUICK LINKS: Roster |
Schedule & Results |
2011-12 Statistics |
NWC Standings |
NWC Statistics |
D3Hoops.com
THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
PACIFIC AT WILLAMETTE
Game No. 12/Away Game No. 4
Fri., Jan. 6, 8 p.m., Cone Field House, Salem, Ore.
Live Stats:
livestats.willamette.edu/live/mbb/
Live Audio:
www.goboxers.com/webcasts
GEORGE FOX AT PACIFIC
Game No. 13/Home Game No. 8
Sat., Jan. 7, 8 p.m., Stoller Center, Forest Grove
Live Stats:
www.goboxers.com/livestats
Live Audio:
www.goboxers.com/webcasts
BOXERS ENTER JANUARY LOOKING TO RETURN TO WIN COLUMN
After closing the Christmas Break with two losses on the road, the Pacific men's basketball team will aim for a victory in their return to Northwest Conference play. The Boxers wrap up a four-game road trip on Friday at Willamette before playing one of just two home games in the month of January on Saturday against George Fox.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific opened the break with an 81-71 victory over New Hope Christian before splitting two games at the Trinity National Invitiational Tournament in San Antonio, The Boxers knocked off Southwestern (Texas) 76-55 before taking a 70-50 loss to tournament host Trinity (Texas).
• The Boxers suffered their worst shooting performance of the season upon their return to Oregon, shooting just 25.9 percent in a 66-38 loss at New Hope Christian. Pacific made just seven second half field goals and went 2 of 17 from three-point range.
•
Colin Wester was named the Northwest Conference's Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week on Dec. 23. In the first 10 days of the break, Wester averaged 18 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in four games, connected on 54.2 percent of his shots, including eight three-pointers, and 70.6 percent of his free throws. He scored a season-high 33 points against New Hope Christian on Dec. 19.
• Pacific continues to rank as one of the top shooting teams in the NWC, ranking second in field goal percentage and fifth in both three-point shooting and free throw percentage.
Colin Wester enters the week ranked fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
WILLAMETTE
The Bearcats enter the week with a 2-9 overall record and tied for seventh in the NWC at 0-2. Willamette has lost four of their last five games, including both of their games at the Trinity National Invitational. The Bearcats fell to Wis.-Whitewater on Dec. 20, 89-69, and fell to Trinity (Texas) 77-71 on Dec. 21. Willamette posted one of their best shooting performances of the season against Tigers, connecting on 42.9 percent from the field and outscored the host team 49-37 in the second half, but it was not enough to comeback from a 40-22 halftime deficit. Sean Dart and Ryan Meehan led four Willamette players to score in double figures with 13 points apiece. Taylor Mounts leads Willamette in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Meehan is averaging 12.7 points per game. As a team, Willamette is averaging 74.4 points per game, third in the NWC, but are being outscored by an average of 12 points per game. Kip Ioane is in his third season as Willamette head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Willamette leads 74-27 AGAINST CLEARY: Series tied 1-1
LAST MEETING: Willamette won 80-76 in Salem, Ore., on Feb. 5, 2011
GEORGE FOX
The Bruins enter the week with a 4-7 overall record and are tied with Pacific and Whitman for fourth in the NWC at 1-1. Like the Boxers, George Fox split their two games at the Trinity National Invitational. On Dec. 20, the Bruins went overtime to knock off Trinity (Texas) 57-55. Mike Taylor hit a running jumper with 27 seconds left to win it as neither team led by more then seven points the entire contest. Anthony Sanchez led the Bruins with 14 points. On Dec. 21, the Bruins fell to Buena Vista 82-73. George Fox had trouble solving Buena Vista 6-foot-7 forward Wes Nordquist as the Beavers out-rebounded the Bruins 49-31. Sanchez scored 24 points to lead the Bruins. Taylor leads George Fox in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.2 points and 5.2 boards per game. The Bruins average 63.9 points per game as a team, but are outscored by an average of 11 points per game. George Fox enters the week ranking first in the NWC in three-point attempts (26.8 per game), assists (14.4 per game) and fouls (15.5 per game). Mark Sundquist is in his 12th year as George Fox head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES: George Fox leads 40-39
AGAINST CLEARY: George Fox leads 2-0
LAST MEETING: George Fox won 100-82 at Forest Grove on Feb. 4, 2011
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
AN EFFORT WORTHY OF RECOGNITION: Colin Wester's (Jr., Sherwood, Ore.) scoring accumen earned the junior Pacific's first selection of the season as Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week on Dec. 23. Wester was recognized for his effort in the Boxers' first four games of the holiday break, which included wins over Walla Walla, New Hope Christian and Southwestern (Texas). Wester finished the stretch averaging 18 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during the stretch. He connected on 54.2 percent of his shots (26-48), including eight three-pointers, and 70.6 percent of his free throws. He added seven assists, a block and nine steals. Despite being quiet in the shooting department in his last two games, Wester continues to rank as one of the top all-around players in the NWC. He enters the week ranked fourth in the NWC with an average of 15.7 points per game and leads the league with his 26 steals. Wester is tied for fifth in field goals made (59), and tied for seventh in assists (27) while ranking 10th in both field goal percentage (.492) and three-point percentage (.391).
BIG MAN COMING ON: Forward
Dustin Bowser (Jr., Bellingham, Wash.) has used the end of the non-conference schedule to hone his game into one of note among Northwest Conference big men. The junior put together one of his best all-around efforts of the season at New Hope Christian on Dec. 29, scoring 10 points to go along with nine rebounds. He opened the Christmas Break with his first double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds in the home matchup with the Deacons on Dec. 19. In addition, Bowser notched a season best 14 rebounds in the victory over Southwestern (Texas) on Dec. 21. Bowser has gone from not ranked to among the top NWC rebounders in the last two weeks. He enters the week ranked third in total rebounds (80) and rebounding average (7.3 per game) and leads the league in offensive rebounds (31). One of the most accurate shooters in the league, Bowser ranks fifth in the NWC in field goal percentage at .565.
CHUCKIN' IT IN...FROM THE STRIPE: While many aspects of
Charles Mosley's (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) game has changed for the better, the junior forward has been especially potent when he gets fouled. Mosley enters the week as one of the top free throw shooters in the conference, ranking 10th with a percentage of .727. He has made 33 of 44 charity shots this season, which ranks ninth best in the league. The total is a big step up from the 2010-11 season, where Mosley shot 53.1 percent from the stripe (17-32), meaning he has performed better in the enhanced starting role. One of four players to have started all 11 games this season, Mosley enters the week as the Boxers' third leading scorer, averaging 10.5 points per game.
TRANSFER OF POWER: The presence of junior transfer
David Berney (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) continues to pay dividends for the Boxers. A starter in all 11 games this season, Berney has teammate with
Colin Wester to be a significant three-point threat. Berney enters the week ranked eighth in three-point shooting at 40 percent, having completed 18 of 45 from the arc. In addition, Berney enters the week ranked in a tie for ninth in the league with 14 steals. While Berney has yet to approach the 27 points he scored in his Pacific debut on Nov. 15, the former Northwest Christian player has been a steady scoring presence. His high over the break with a 12-point effort against Southwestern (Texas) on Dec. 21.
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.
A GREAT START: Before their two losses to Trinity (Texas) and New Hope Christian, Pacific rode the best start to the season in well over a decade. The Dec. 21 victory over Southwestern (Texas) ran Pacific's record to 7-2, the best start for a Pacific program since the Boxers' 1996-97 NWC championship season. That team also started the year with a 7-2 record. Pacific last started the season 7-4 in 1999-2000. That squad won six of their first seven games en route to earning one of the conference's first two spots in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.
SOLID SHOOTING TEAM: While their percentages have slipped thanks to their two losses, the Boxers continue to be a good shooting squad that ranks among the top in the NWC and the nation. Pacific enters the week ranked second in the NWC in field goal percentage (.462), trailing only the .463 posted by league-leading Whitworth. Pacific saw their other percentages slip over the last two weeks, dropping to fifth in both three-point shooting (.326) and free throw percentage (.700). In the last NCAA Division III statistics report on Dec. 19, prior to the Boxers' last four games, Pacific ranked 22nd nationally in field goal percentage (.491), 58th in free throw percentage (.733) and 75th in three-point percentage (.377). The next NCAA Division III statistics report will be released on Tuesday and can be found at
http://bit.ly/xGFIIk.
GOOD DEFENSIVE TEAM: More impressive than Pacific's shooting statistics are the Boxers' defensive stats, which also stand up as some of the best in the nation. In the Dec. 19 NCAA Division III stats report, Pacific ranked 24th in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 58.9 points per game. That total increased to 61.3 points allowed per game after the last four games, which still ranks second in the NWC behind the 59.9 points allowed by Whitman. In that last NCAA stats report, the Boxers also ranked 47th in three-point defense (.289) and 72nd in field goal defense (.405).
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.
