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 GEORGE FOX
Game No. 20/Away Game No. 10
Fri., Feb. 3, 8 p.m., Wheeler Sports Center, Newberg, Ore.
Live Audio:
www.goboxers.com/webcasts
Live Stats:
bit.ly/x37JFp
Live Video:
client.stretchinternet.com/client/georgefox.portal#
WILLAMETTE AT PACIFIC
Game No. 21/Home Game No. 10
Sat., Feb. 4, Stoller Center, Forest Grove
Live Stats:
www.goboxers.com/livestats
Live Audio:
www.goboxers.com/webcasts
BANGED UP BOXERS HEAD HOME IN SEARCH OF A VICTORY
The injury depleted Pacific men's basketball team hopes that a return to the Stoller Center will create some magic to end the team's seven-game losing streak. The Boxers will conclude a three-game road trip on Friday night at George Fox before coming home to take on Willamette on Saturday. Pacific will conclude the 2011-12 season with four of five games in Forest Grove.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific rallied back from a 24-point second half deficit Tuesday night, falling just short at the end in a 72-66 loss to Linfield on Tuesday.
Ernesto Mayz led three Pacific players in double figures with 14 points, which included four three-pointers.
• The Boxers shot 56 percent in the second half against Puget Sound on Saturday, but the Loggers shot 52 percent for the game and 55 percent in the first half to make up the difference in a 74-63 Loggers' victory.
Cameron Hayes and
Ernesto Mayz each scored 12 points to lead the Boxers.
•
Ernesto Mayz was Pacific's leading scorer over the week, finishing with 26 points (13 points per game) on 7 of 15 from the field, 5 of 9 from three-point range and 7 of 8 from the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds, four assists and four steals and did not give up a turnover.
• Injuries continue to keep the Boxers from reaching their full potential. Forward
Dustin Bowser will be out for the season with a broken hand while guard
Colin Wester has missed the last three games after suffering a rolled ankle. To date, Pacific has seen three starters go down with season-ending injuries.
• Following Friday's game at George Fox, the Boxers will end the season with four of their last five games at the Stoller Center. Pacific played just two home games during the month of January and have played nine of their last 11 on the road.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
GEORGE FOX
The Bruins are keeping pace in the NWC playoff picture, entering the week in fifth place at 6-4 (a half game behind three teams tied for second) and are 9-10 overall. After winning five in a row, George Fox dropped both weekend games at home this weekend to the eastern Washington schools. On Saturday, No. 11 Whitworth outscored the Bruins 58-41 in the second half to pull away for an 85-66 win. Wade Gebbers scored 21 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to help the Pirates bury the Bruins. Anthony Sanchez and Sean Atkins led George Fox with 14 points apiece. On Saturday, Whitman's David Michaels went off for 40 points to lead the Missionaries to a 82-62 rout over the Bruins. At one point, Michaels outscored the Bruins 17-3 over a seven-minute stretch of the second half. Like Whitworth the night before, Whitman pulled away from a narrow two-point halftime lead by outscoring the Bruins 46-28 in the final 20 minutes. Sean Atkins led the Bruins with 20 points. Mike Taylor leads George Fox with averages of 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. As a team, the Bruins are averaging 66.3 points per game and are being outscored by an average of six points per game. George Fox enters the week leading the NWC in assists (14 per game) and personal fouls (15.1 per game). Mark Sundquist is in his 12th season as George Fox head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES: George Fox leads 41-39
AGAINST CLEARY: George Fox leads 3-0
LAST MEETING: George Fox won 61-53 in Forest Grove on Jan. 7, 2012
WILLAMETTE
The struggling Bearcats enter the week in ninth place in the NWC at 0-10 and are 2-17 overall. Willamette has lost their last 10 games with their last victory coming on Dec. 10 in a 64-63 win over Northwest Christian. On Friday, Willamette took an 85-64 loss at Puget Sound. The two teams combined for 58 turnovers. Puget Sound won the game in the first half, shooting 58 percent from the field to build a 49-32 halftime lead. Taylor Mounts led Willamette with 11 points. On Saturday, Willamette shot 51.7 percent from the field against Pacific Lutheran, but free throws made the difference in an 89-78 loss. The Lutes hit 19 of 33 from the chairy stripe while the Bearcats went 10 of 12. PLU also committed just two turnovers and finished with nine steals. Mounts led the Bearcats with 30 points. Mounts leads the Bearcats with averages of 16.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. As a team, Willamette is averaging 73.3 points per game, but is being outscored by an average of 14 points per game. The Bearcats enter the week leading the NWC in field goal attempts (64.1 per game), defensive rebounds (25.7 per game) and blocks (3.3 per game). Kip Ioane is in his third year as Willamette head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Willamette leads 74-28
AGAINST CLEARY: Pacific leads 2-1
LAST MEETING: Pacific won 78-66 in Salem, Ore., on Jan. 6, 2012
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
ITENSIFICAR CUANDO MAS LO NECESITAN: As Pacific continues to battle with injury problems,
Ernesto Mayz (So., Caracas, Venezuela) has stepped up the last few days to do his part fill the void. The Venezuela native, who came to Pacific via Cascade Coll. and Portland CC, led the Boxers last week with 26 points in the two games. He went 7 of 15 from the field, 5 of 9 from three-point range and 7 of 8 from the free throw line to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals while not turning the ball over. Mayz led the Boxers in scoring in both games. He scored 14 points, which included four three-pointers, at Linfield on Tuesday night. He shared the honors by
Cameron Hayes (So., Milton, Wash.) with 12 points in the loss to Puget Sound. Mayz has played in 15 games for the Boxers this season and has started five since the Boxers' starting guards have gome down to injury. He is averaging 3.1 points per game. Mayz missed all of the 2010-11 season due to a broken foot.
WEEKEND WITH BERNEY: David Berney (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) has managed to keep himself in the game during a season where may of Pacific's guards have succombed to injury. Berney finished just behind
Ernesto Mayz in scoring Tuesday in the loss at Linfield, scoring 13 points with two rebounds and two assists. He finished the week with 22 points in the two games last week. Berney has played in all 19 games and has started 14, bouncing between the starting five and the bench. He is the Boxers' third leading scorer, averaging 10 points per game. He also ranks second for the Boxers with 21 steals and second in three-point percentage at 35.4 percent (23-65).
CHARLES KEEPING UP: As the only remaining fully healthy member of Pacific's original starting five this season,
Charles Mosley (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) just continues to work on being the best player he can be. Mosley is the only Pacific player to have started all 19 games this season and finished the week by scoring 21 points and pulling down 15 rebounds in the two games. Mosley scored 13 points in the loss to Linfield on Tuesday and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. He added an eight-point performance with six rebounds against Puget Sound on Saturday. Mosley enters the week as the team's second leading scorer, averaging 10.8 points per game while grabbing 5.7 boards per contest. He is tied for fourth in the NWC in offensive rebounds (39), ranks eighth in total rebounds (108) and is tied for seventh with a field goal percentage of .510 (80-157).
CHECKING THE MEDICAL CHART: Much of Pacific's struggles over the last month can be traced to the rash of injuries the Boxers have experienced this season. The Boxers have seen three key players go down for the season with injuries.
Carson Bartlett (Sr., St. Helens, Ore.) never saw the floor after he suffered a season-ending injury knee injury on the first day of practice.
Andrew Beatty (Sr., Lynnwood, Wash.) went down after the third game of the season with a broken wrist. Two weeks ago,
Dustin Bowser (Jr., Bellingham, Wash.) was lost for the season when he broke his hand during an in-practice injury. In addition, the Boxers have played the last three games without leading scorer
Colin Wester (Jr., Sherwood, Ore.), who suffered an ankle injury in the Jan. 20 game at Lewis & Clark. In all, at least six of the Boxers' 16 rostered players have missed significant time this season due to injury. Five of those have been either part-time or regular starters.
A GREAT START: Before their two losses to Trinity (Texas) and New Hope Christian in December, 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.
IN THE NCAA STATS: Pacific has dropped off of most of the NCAA Division III team statsitics, according to the report released on Jan. 16. The Boxers rank 96th in personal fouls, having committed just 16.7 fouls per game. Individually,
Colin Wester continues to rank 73rd among Division III players with 2.2 steals per game. The NCAA Division III statistics report is released twice weekly and can be found at
http://bit.ly/xGFIIk.
HOME SWEET HOME: After playing just two games at home the entire month of January, Pacific is looking forward to finishing up on the Stoller Center home pine. After their upcoming three-game road trip to Linfield, Puget Sound and Willamette, the Boxers will close the season with four of their final five games in Forest Grove. The schedule includes appearances by league-leaders Whitman and Whitworth. Pacific currently owns a 5-4 record at the Stoller Center. Pacific has played nine of their last 11 games on the road.
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.
