Men's Basketball Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
PACIFIC AT LEWIS & CLARK
Game No. 14/Away Game No. 5
Tues., Jan. 15, 8 p.m., Pamplin Sports Center, Portland, Ore.
Live Audio Webcast:
www.goboxers.com/webcasts
Live Video Webcast:
client.stretchinternet.com/client/lclark.portal#
PUGET SOUND AT PACIFIC
Game No. 15/Home Game No. 7
Sat., Jan. 19, 8 p.m., Stoller Center, Forest Grove
Live Stats:
www.goboxers.com/livestats
Live Audio Webcast:
www.goboxers.com/webcasts
Live Video Webcast:
www.goboxers.com/webcasts
PACIFIC BOUNCES BACK TO EVEN CONFERENCE RECORD
After losing their first two games of the Northwest Conference season, the Pacific men's basketball team rebounded to win both games last weekend, including a solid road victory at Pacific Lutheran. The Boxers return to the road again on Tuesday, traveling to Lewis & Clark before returning home on Saturday to take on Puget Sound.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific snapped a two-game losing streak on the road on Friday night, shooting 47 percent from the field and 20 of 27 from the free throw line to beat Pacific Lutheran 81-73.
Danny Brakebush scored a Pacific season-high 26 points to lead the Boxers while
Colin Wester poured in 17 points.
• The Boxers were just plain dominant both offensively and defensively against Linfield on Saturday, scoring a 69-53 victory. The Boxers shot 54 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range, led by 17 points by
Danny Brakebush. Pacific also outrebounded the Wildcats 30-21 and had more offensive boards (13) than Linfield did defensive rebounds (11).
•
Danny Brakebush put together the best weekend of his young Pacific career thus far, finishing with 43 points in the two games and shooting 62.5 percent from both the field and three-point range. He led the weekend with a Pacific season high 26 points against PLU on 9 of 15 from the field and 5 of 10 from three-point range.
• Pacific enters the week leading the conference and seventh in NCAA Division III with a rebounding margin of +8.8. The Boxers rank fourth in the NWC with 39.2 rebounds per game and rank second with 14.2 offensive boards per game. Pacific was outrebounded 37-31 against PLU on Friday, marking the first win in a game where they have been outrebounded.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
LEWIS & CLARK
The Pioneers enter the week with a 9-6 overall record and tied for fifth in the NWC with Whitman at 3-3. L&C evened their league record with two weekend wins. On Friday, the Pioneers took an 89-78 over a much improved Willamette team. L&C rebounded from a five-point halftime deficit to outscore the Bearcats 46-30 in the second half while shooting 47.7 percent from the floor, 45.8 percent from the three-point line and 94.1 percent from the free throw line. Connor Freeberg led Lewis & Clark off the bench with 15 points, one of five Pioneers to score in double figures. On Saturday, the Pioneers never trailed in taking a 94-83 win over Puget Sound in Portland. L&C was strong once again on offense, finishing with 48.4 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from three-point tange. James Hollins went off for 36 points, connecting on 9 of 14 from the field, 4 of 8 from three and 14 of 17 from the free throw line to go along with a game-high eight rebounds. Hollins leads the Pioneers, averaging 18.2 points per game in five games back after an injury. Ross Erickson is averaging 13.2 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with 6.6 boards per game. As a team, the Pioneers are averaging 75 points and 35.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 43.7 percent from the field. Dinari Foreman is in his second year as L&C head coach, taking over from Bob Gaillard in 2011 after 10 seasons as an assistant coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Lewis & Clark leads 68-35
AGAINST CLEARY: Lewis & Clark leads 4-0
LAST MEETING: Lewis & Clark won 70-57 at Forest Grove on Feb. 18, 2012
PUGET SOUND
The struggling Loggers enter the week in ninth place in the NWC at 1-5 and are 6-9 overall after having lost four of their last five games. Puget Sound lost both games on their trip to the Willamette Valley last weekend. On Friday, the Loggers took a 70-65 loss to Linfield. Puget Sound shot 39.7 percent from the field and could not hold back a 51 percent shooting performance by the Wildcats. Rex Holmes led the Loggers with 17 points. On Saturday, the Loggers were unable to neutralize a 36-point performance by James Hollins as they lost to Lewis & Clark 94-83. Puget Sound shot 43.5 percent from the floor, but just 3 of 14 from three-point range. Holmes once again led the Loggers with 24 points while Riggs Yarbro had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Holmes leads the Puget Sound offense, averaging 13.2 points per game while Yarbro is averaging 12.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. As a team, Puget Sound is averaging 70.9 points and 40.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 39.8 percent from the field. Justin Lunt is in his seventh season as Puget Sound head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Puget Sound leads 27-11
AGAINST CLEARY: Puget Sound leads 4-0
LAST MEETING: Puget Sound won 74-63 in Tacoma, Wash., on Jan. 28, 2012
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
GOING FROM WARM TO HOT: Danny Brakebush (Fr., Portland, Ore.) was a very hard player to stop as he led the Boxers offensively in their two weekend wins. Brakebush scored 43 points in the two games and shot 62.5 percent from both the field (15-24) and from three-point range (10-16) to go along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. On Friday night, Brakebush scored a Pacific season-high 26 points in the Boxers' 81-73 win over Pacific Lutheran. He went 9 of 15 from the field, 5 of 10 from three-point range and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. In Saturday's win over Linfield, Brakebush led the Boxers with 17 pointas on 6 of 9 from the field and 5 of 6 from long range. The freshman, a First Team Oregon 6A All-State selection in 2012 at Portland's Central Catholic High School, enters the week leading the Boxers and ranking fourth in the NWC with an average of 16.4 points per game. He is the league's top free throw shooter, averaging 85 percent (34-40) and the conference's second best three-point shooter with an average of 47.6 percent (39-82). In the Jan. 10 NCAA Division III stats report, Brakebush ranked 40th nationally in three-point percentage (.439), 47th in free throw percentage (.861) and 72nd in three-pointers made per game (2.64).
COLIN ALL SHOOTERS: Colin Wester's (Sr., Sherwood, Ore.) comeback continues to play his way back to form after missing three games with an injury. Wester. The senior posted his second double-digit performance since his return on Friday, scoring 17 points on 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free throw line in the Boxers' victory over Pacific Lutheran. He also had eight assists, one block and one steal in the victory. Wester played more of a supporting role in Saturday's win over Linfield, scoring eight points with three rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. The 2012 Honorable Mention All-NWC selection enters the week ranked ninth in the NWC and second for the Boxers with 13.2 points per game and ranks 10th in the league in rebouding with an average of 5.9 boards per game. Wester also ranks eighth in the league wquth 39 assists and ninth with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.8.
A BOUNCE BACK IN THE POST: After not cracking double figures since November,
Dustin Bowser (Sr., Bellingham, Wash.) put together one of his best performances of the season in Saturday's victory over Linfield. Bowser finished the night with 11 points and 14 rebounds, notching his second double-double of the season. He shot 5 of 7 from the field, pulled down six offensive boards and also had three assists and two blocks. It was the third game this season where Bowser has had two blocks and his fifth game with one block or more in his last six contests. In addition, Bowser provided the highlight of the night when he slammed home a missed
Mitch Wettig (So., Bend, Ore.) lay-in early in the second half. The video can be viewed at
http://youtu.be/MdO6pbITYMk. Bowser enters the week ranked sixth in the NWC with an average of 6.5 rebounds per game and 85 total rebounds and is tied for ninth with 10 blocks.
CHUCK AMUCK: Making his return to the starting lineup this weekend,
Charles Mosley (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) make great contributions to the Boxers' two victories. After not starting in the previous three games, Mosley scored 10 points and had five rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal in the Boxers' win at Pacific Lutheran on Friday. He was back in the starting five on Saturday and finished with seven points, three rebounds, three assists and a block in the victory over Linfield. Mosley has made his most impact for the Boxers this season on the defensive side of the ball, averaging five rebounds per game while ranking in a tie for 10th in the NWC with 26 offensive rebounds. On the offensive end, Mosley ranks third for the Boxers with an average of 9.5 points per game, making 41.4 percent of his shots.
CONTRIBUTING IN NEW ROLE: While
Andrew Beatty (Sr., Lakewood, Wash.) has not started in the Boxers' last six games, he has continued to find ways to be productive and contribute to the Boxers' successes. Beatty played key minutes in the Boxers' win at Pacific Lutheran on Friday, finishing with seven points and two rebounds in 16 minutes of action. The previous weekend, Beatty finished with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in the Boxers' loss. Beatty has played in all 13 games for the Boxers and enters the week averaging 4.3 points and 2.2 assists per game.
BIG ON THE BOARDS: Pacific continues to use their efforts on the boards as a barometer for success. The Bxoers enter the week ranked fourth in the NWC in rebounding, averaging 39.2 per game. The team continues to be one of the best on the offensive glass, ranking second in the NWC with 14.2 offensive boards per game. Pacific leads the league with a rebounding margin of +8.8 and is currently outrebounding opponents by an average of 10 per game. In the Jan. 10 NCAA Division III statistics, the Boxers ranked seventh in rebounding margin at +10.9. On Friday at PLU, Pacific was outrebounded 37-31 by the Lutes. It marked only the third time this season that the Boxers have been outrebounded and the first time Pacific has won while being outrebounded.
The Boxers continue to have three individual players ranked in the conference's top-10 in rebounding.
Dustin Bowser ranks sixth at 6.5 rebounds per game and ranks fourth in the league with 32 offensive rebounds.
Daniel Zitani (Jr., Oakland, Calif.) ranks eighth at 6.2 rebounds per game and is third with 33 offensive boards.
Colin Wester is ranked 10th in rebounding at 5.9 per game.
A RECORD SHOOTING NIGHT: It wasn't until after the Nov. 17 home game against La Verne was in the books that anyone realized how well Pacific shot in their home opener. The Boxers finished shooting a single game record 69.2 percent from the field, connecting on 27 of 39 shots. That performance surpassed the record 68.9 percent set against Whitman back on Jan. 24, 1987. Pacific made 13 of 22 in the first half (59.1 percent), but ended up nearly perfect in the second half as the Boxers shot 82.4 percent (14-17). The Boxers also finished the night going 5 of 9 from three-point range.
ALL HOME GAMES TO BE VIDEO STREAMED: For the first time, Pacific will provide a live video stream of all 10 home men's basketball games as well as all 10 home women's basketball games. The stream can be accessed by visiting
goboxers.com/webcasts. The stream for non-conference games will be provided without play-by-play audio. Matt Richert will return to the microphone to play descriptions for the Boxers' Northwest Conference contests this season.
CLEARY APPEARING ON WEEKLY SMALL COLLEGE HOOPS PODCAST: Head Coach
Tim Cleary is one of five coaches regularly featured on a new Portland small college basketball podcast hosted by Comcast SportsNet NW hoops analyst Greg Crawford. The Portland Metro Small College Hoops podcast runs live every Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. the live stream and archived podcasts can be accessed at
www.blogtalkradio.com/smallcollegehoops.
PACIFIC PICKED EIGHTH IN NWC PRESEASON POLL: Northwest Conference coaches have picked Pacific to finish eighth in the league this season according to results of the annual coaches poll, released on Monday. The Boxers received 20 of a possible 80 votes in the poll, finishing seven points of ahead of Willamette, who was selected ninth. Linfield was selected seventh with 22 points while George Fox is four points ahead of the Boxers, picked to finish sixth. Whitworth was picked to win their fourth consecutive NWC title, gaining seven first place votes and a total of 70 points. Whitman is selected to finish second with 54 points, including two first place votes.
