Men's Basketball Weekly Notebook
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
PACIFIC AT PACIFIC LUTHERAN
Game No. 12/Away Game No. 4
Fri., Jan. 11, 8 p.m., Olson Auditorium, Tacoma, Wash.
Live Stats:
www.plu.edu/athletics-stats/mbball/livestats/xlive
Live Audio Webcast:
www.goboxers.com/webcasts
LINFIELD AT PACIFIC
Game No. 13/Home Game No. 6
Sat., Jan. 12, 6 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
BOXERS LOOK TO REBOUND AFTER TOUGH OPEN TO LEAGUE PLAY
The Pacific men's basketball team had a tough start to their 2012-13 Northwest Conference schedule, dropping games to the league's top teams in Whitworth and Whitman. The Boxers will look to rebound this weekend, traveling Friday for their first NWC road game of the season at Pacific Lutheran. Pacific returns home Saturday as they host Linfield.
BOXER BYTES
• Pacific came back from a 17-point deficit with 12:29 left to come within three points late, but the Boxers could not get over the top in a hard-fought 80-77 loss to No. 6 ranked Whitworth on Friday night. Pacific stayed in the game thanks to three-point shooting, connecting on 9 of 18.
Coby Proctor and
Colin Wester led the Boxers with 19 points apiece.
• The Boxers struggled against Whitman's pressure offense and defense on Saturday, shooting just 36.7 percent from the field and commiting 17 first half turnovers in a 76-65 loss to the Missionaries.
Danny Brakebush led the Boxers with 23 points, hitting on 7 of 16 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
• Pacific was out-rebounded for just the second time this season on Friday as Whitworth owned a 34-27 advantage. The Boxers had a 47-30 edge on the boards against Whitman. They enter the week ranked first in the NWC in rebounding margin (+10.5) and third in total rebounding at 40.9 boards per game.
•
Danny Brakebush enters the week ranked fourth in the NWC in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game. He also ranks second in the league in free throw percentage (.861) and third in three-point percentage (.466).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
PACIFIC LUTHERAN
The Lutes enter the week at 4-9 overall, but stand fifth in the NWC with a 2-2 mark after winning both of their games to start the 2013 portion of their schedule. PLU opened up on Tuesday by beating cross-town rival Puget Sound 78-64. The Lutes played solid defense, limiting the Loggers to 35.9 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded Puget Sound 45-33. Andrew Earnest led four Lutes in double figures with 18 points on 7 of 12 from the field and 4 of 7 from three-point range. Traveling to McMinnville on Saturday, the Lutes were easy 75-61 winners over Linfield. PLU built a 41-29 halftime lead thanks in part to six three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. They finished the night shooting 57.1 percent from the arch and 43.8 percent from the field. Cameron Schilling led the Lutes with 17 points. Schilling and Earnest lead the Lutes in scoring, each averaging 12.9 points per game. Schilling is the leading rebounder, averaging seven boards per game. As a team, PLU is shooting 40.7 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from three-point range and average 61.8 points and 34 rebounds per game. Steve Dickerson is in his seventh year as PLU head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES: PLU leads 62-29
AGAINST CLEARY: PLU leads 3-1
LAST MEETING: PLU won 78-41 in Tacoma, Wash., on Feb. 17, 2012
LINFIELD
The Wildcats enter the week with a 2-11 record and are 1-3 in the NWC, tied for sixth with Lewis & Clark and Puget Sound. Linfield has lost five games in a row and dropped both NWC contests over the weekend. On Friday, the Wildcats dropped a close 71-67 overtime decision to Yamhill Country rival George Fox. The Bruins rebounded from an 11-point deficit late in the first half to force overtime and outscored the Wildcats 13-9 in the extra period. Andrew Batiuk led Linfield with 24 points and 10 rebounds on 11 of 22 from the field. On Saturday, the Wildcats took a 75-61 loss to Pacific Lutheran. The Wildcats shot a respectable 42.1 percent from the field for the contest, but found themselves trailing 41-29 at the half thanks to a 6 of 10 performance from three-point range by the Lutes in the first half. Brandon Harris led the Wildcats with 21 points while Batiuk finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Batiuk leads the NWC in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game, and ranks second in the league in both rebounding (8.4 per game) and three-point shooting (.468). As a team, Linfield is averaging 69.3 points and 37.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 42.4 percent from the field. They are also being outscored by an average of six points per game. Larry Doty is the longest tenured basketball coach in the NWC, entering his 26th year as Linfield head coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Linfield leads 72-26
AGAINST CLEARY: Linfield leads 3-1
LAST MEETING: Linfield won 72-66 at McMinnville, Ore., on Jan. 24, 2012
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
STAYING ON TARGET: Danny Brakebush (Fr., Portland, Ore.) has continued his role as the spark plug of the Pacific offense. The freshman guard has started the Boxers' last six games and enters the week averaging 15.3 points per game to lead the Boxers. He is connecting on 43.5 percent of his shots from the field, 43.9 percent from three-point range and 86.1 percent from the free throw line. He ranks fourth in the NWC in scoring, second in free throw percentage and third in three-point percentage. Brakebush had a quiet night against Whitworth on Friday, finishing with 11 points. Seven of those points came from the free throw line in the second half. On Saturday, Brakebush led all scorers with 23 points on 7 of 16 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line. He also finished with seven rebounds, two assistrs and four steals. A product of Portland's Central Catholic High School, Brakebush has led the Boxers in scoring in three of the last four games and in six of the team's 12 games in 2012-13.
A GOOD RETURN FOR WESTER: After missing two games with injury,
Colin Wester (Sr., Sherwood, Ore.) returned to the Pacific lineup with little doubt that his scoring touch was affected. Coming off the bench in his return on Friday against Whitworth, Wester shared top scoring honors with
Coby Proctor (So., Sublimity, Ore.) with 19 points, hitting on 7 of 14 from the field and 2 of 4 from three-point range. He had a quieter night against Whitman on Saturday, scoring six points. Wester enters the week ranked eighth in the NWC in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game, and also ranks eighth in the league in rebounding with an average of 6.4 boards per contest.
A RENEWED OPPORTUNITY: Coby Proctor yielded his starting point guard role at the start of the year to the returned veteran
Andrew Beatty (Sr., Lynnwood, Wash.), but has had the opportunity over the last few weeks to show he has the ability to lead the Boxers. Returning to the starting lineup over the last four games, Proctor was a major factor for keeping the Boxers in the 80-77 loss to No. 6 Whitworth, sharing top scoring honors with 19 points on 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 6 from the three-point line. Proctor was pressed into service as Pacific's starting point guard as a freshman in 2011-12 after Beatty broke his wrist three games into the season. He averaged 4.4 points per game last year. He enters thsi week averaging 3.6 and one assist per game.
ADD SECOND CHANCES: After seeing limited playing time as a freshman,
Mitch Wettig (So., Bend, Ore.) has also benefited from a second chance to show what he can do for the Boxers. The sophomore has appeared in 10 of 11 games this season and has earned the start in the Boxers' last three contests. He has proven to be a consistent shooter in those three starts and had a season-high eight points against Whitworth on Friday in 25 minutes of action. Wettig came off the bench in 12 games last season, averaging 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. He enters this week averaging 3.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
POST PRESENCE: Despite coming off the bench over the last three games,
Dustin Bowser (Sr., Bellingham, Wash.) has continued to be a productive player on the blocks for the Boxers. Bowser put together his best effort of the last seven games on Saturday night against Whitman, finishing just short of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds to go along with a block. Bowser enters the week ranked ninth in the NWC in rebounding, averaging 6.3 boards per game. He is tied for sixth in the league with 26 offensive boards and is eighth with his 69 defensive rebounds. In addition, Bowser is tied for 10th in the NWC with eight blocks. He has had a block in each of the last four games.
CLEANING THE GLASS: One of the biggest keys to Pacific's success this season has been their ability to rebound. The Boxers enter the week ranked third in the NWC with an average of 40.9 rebounds per game. The team ranks third in total defensive rebounds (26.2 per game) and second in offensive boards (14.7). Pacific also leads the NWC with a rebounding margin of +10.5. The Boxers ranked fourth among all Division III teams (through games played by Jan. 2) with a rebounding margin of +12.1. Pacific was out-rebounded by Whitworth 34-27 on Friday, marking just the second time this season that the Boxers have been outdueled on the boards.
Pacific continues to feature three players in the NWC's top-10 individually for rebounding.
Daniel Zitani (Jr., Oakland, Calif.) is ranked fifth with an average of seven rebounds per game and is tied for second with a total of 33 offensive rebounds.
Colin Wester ranks eighth with an average of 6.4 rebounds per game and
Dustin Bowser ranks ninth with an average of 6.3 boards 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.
