THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
PACIFIC AT EVERGREEN STATE
Game No. 6 • Away Game No. 4
Fri., Dec. 12, 8 p.m., Constantino Recreation Center, Olympia, Wash.
Live Stats & Video

BOXER BYTES
• The Pacific men's basketball team returns to the court after taking a week off to concentrate on their final exams.  The Boxers last competed on Nov. 29 in Honolulu, Hawaii, where they beat Luther 60-55.

• Mitch Wettig was named the Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of Nov. 23-30. Wettig averaged 23.5 points per game and shot 70 percent from three-point range in the two Hawaii games.  He finished with 26 points against Luther, shooting 8 of 12 from the field and 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

• Pacific is in the midst of a stretch of four games away from the Stoller Center in a month's time and a stretch of seven of eight games away from Forest Grove.  Pacific plays next at home on Tues., Dec. 23 against Cornell (Iowa), and then do not return until their Jan. 9 game against Lewis & Clark.

• While Pacific is the NWC's lowest scoring team (54.6 points per game), they are holding their opponents to low totals as well.  The Boxers are limiting opponents to 57.6 points per game, leading the NWC and ranking 26th among NCAA Division III Teams.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
EVERGREEN STATE
Location: Olympia, Wash.
Conference: Cascade (NAIA Division II)
2014-15 Overall Record: 2-5
2014-15 Conference Record: 0-2
Head Coach: Tim Malroy (1st Season)
All-Time Series: Pacific leads 4-3
Last Meeting: Pacific won 70-54 at Forest Grove on Dec. 11, 2011

Evergreen State Notes
• Evergreen State was picked 10th in the Cascade Collegiate Conference's preseason coaches poll, picking up 12 out of a possible 100 points.  The Geoducks finished the 2013-14 season at 4-21, 3-15 in conference to finish tied for ninth.

• The Geoducks have lost their last three games after having won on Nov. 25 over New Hope Christian, 112-71.  The Geoducks are 1-1 against NWC competition, having beat Linfield 81-63 on Nov. 15 before losing 77-74 to Lewis & Clark the next day.

•  Tim Malroy is in his first year as head coach, moving over to Evergreen after 10 seasons as the head coach at Green River CC.  He took over from Arvin Mosley, who led the Geoducks' program for six years.

• Jordan Dam is the Geoducks' leading scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game  The forward has made 54.9 percent of his shots from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 71 percent from the free throw line.

• Founded as an experimental & non-traditional college by the Washington state legislature, The Evergreen State College opened in 1971.  The school has no majors, with students instead enrolling in one 16-credit program per semster.  The school's motto, omnia extares, translates to "let it all hang out."

PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
Wettig Earns NWC Weekly Laurels: A pair of double-digit scoring performances and some impressive shooting overall for Mitch Wettig (Sr., Bend, Ore.) landed the senior as the Northwest Conference's Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of Nov. 23-30.  Wettig averaged 23.5 points over the two games in Hawaii and shot 57.1 percent from the field and 70 percent from three-point range.  In their Nov. 28 loss to Cal Lutheran, Wettig led the way with 21 points on 8 of 16 from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc to go along with nine rebounds.  His performance was even better in their win over Luther on Nov. 29, going off for a career high 26 points by shooting 8 of 12 from the field and 5 of 7 from three-point range.  Wettig has emerged once again as a strong inside-outside threat for the Boxers.  He is the Boxers' second leading scorer, averaging 12.8 points per game. while connecting on 45.5 percent from the three-point line.  He is ranked eighth in the NWC in thre-point shooting and is tied for sixth in the league with his average of six rebounds per game.

Many Happy Returns: After missing all of the 2013-14 season with a knee injury, Danny Brakebush (So., Portland, Ore.) has certainly made his return known much to the pleasure of the Boxers.  In four games back, Brakebush is averaging 17.2 points per game to rank third in the NWC.  He is also tied for sixth with teammate Mitch Wettig in rebounding at six boards per game.  A double-digit scorer in three of his four games, Brakebush finished with 51 points and 14 rebounds in the first two games on his return at home.  He went off for a career-high 33-point performance against Caltech on Nov. 23 where he nailed 17 of 19 from the free throw line.  Brakebush enters the week as the NWC's leading free throw shooter.  He ranks 95th in Division III at 88.6 percent.  He also leads the NWC and is 34th in Division III with 31 free throws made.

Epp And Flow: Marc Eppinger (Jr., Camas, Wash.) has also been another great return for the Boxers after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury.  The junior has started three of five games for the Boxers so far this season and is fourth in the team in scoring, averaging seven points per game.  He re-started his collegiate career with a 17-point performance in the Boxers' opener against Schreiner on Nov. 15.  Eppinger followed that up with a career high 10 rebounds against La Verne on Nov. 22.  Eppinger has also followed suit with fellow returnee Danny Brakebush in effectiveness at the charity stripe.  He enters the week tied for second in the NWC and 99th in Division III with an .882 free throw percentage, having connected on 15 of 17.

A Burgeoning Star: In three games since joining the Boxers, Skyler Burgess (Jr., Riverton, Utah) has shown promise as a future star on the blocks.  In three games, Burgess is third for the Boxers in scoring with an average of 10 points per game.  He is connecting on 50 percent of his shots from the field (13 of 26).  Burgess is also the Boxers' leading scorer with seven rebounds per game, but he has not played 75 percent of the team's game to meet the minimum for NWC statistical rankings.  Burgess opened his Pacific career by scoring 14 points on 6 of 9 from the field against Schreiner on Nov. 15.  He averaged eight points and 6.5 rebounds per game in the two games in Hawaii, led by nine points and 11 rebounds in the victory over Luther on Nov. 29.

Holding Down The Scoring: Pacific has not set the rims on fire in terms of their own offensive productions, but they have also kept opposing offenses from scoring as well.  The Boxers enter the week leading the NWC and ranked 26th in Division III in scoring defense, allowing 57.6 points per game.  The most an opponent has scored against Pacific this season is 67 points, which Cal Lutheran did on Nov. 28.  The Kingsmen are the only team to score more than 60 points against Pacific this season.

Taking Care Of The Ball: As they did last year, Pacific is making the most of their possessions and keeping turnovers to a minimum.  The Boxers enter the week first in the NWC and 25th in Division III in fewest turnovers, giving the ball up just 11 times per contest.  Pacific's season low for turnovers is five against Schreiner on Nov. 15.  The Boxers finished last season leading the NWC and ranked 23rd in Division III with an average of just 10.5 turnovers per game.  The Boxers finished with 12 or less turnovers in 18 of their 25 games and had a season-low five turnovers at Willamette on Jan. 7 and against Pacific Lutheran on Jan. 18.

A Low Foul Count: While Pacific is going to the foul line a lot, they are not giving opponents the same opportunity.  Pacific is committing 16.4 personal fouls per game.  The total ranks fourth in the NWC and 65th among NCAA Division III teams.  The Boxers have committed no more than 19 fouls in a game and no one has fouled out.  When they do get to the line, opponent have not fared well.  In five games, Pacific opponents have made 50 of 90 from the stripe, a .556 percentage.

Homegrown: The Pacific roster this year features a welcomed rarity in the form of a homegrown player.  Michael Garcia (Fr., Forest Grove, Ore.) made the decision to play at Pacific after a standout career at Forest Grove High School.  A three-time All-Pacific Conference selection as a point guard, Garcia averaged 14.6 points and 2.2 steals per game as a senior.  In his junior campaign, Garcia averaged 18.1 points, 3.4 assists and 2.4 steals contest.  "I knew Michael was a very good player, but he has really exceeded my expectations," head coach Tim Cleary said.  "He will go through his growing pains, but he has done a really good job of jumping right in and asserting himself in the system and our program."

On The Way To 50 Wins: Head coach Tim Cleary is four wins away from becoming just the third Pacific men's basketball coach to win 50 or more games.  Cleary enters the week with a 46-59 record in four-plus seasons.  He entered the 2014-15 season having put together Pacific's first back-to-back winning seasons since the mid 1990s.  His 16 victories in 2013-14 are the most for a Pacific basketball team since the 1999-2000 team had 16 wins on their way to a NCAA Division III appearance.

Portland Metro Small College Hoops Podcast: For the third year, Pacific head coach Tim Cleary will be one of four Portland-area small college coaches featured on a weekly podcast hosted by Greg Crawford.  The Portland Metro Small College Hoops Show airs each Sunday night at 9:30 p.m.  The show regularly features Cleary, Lewis & Clack coach Dinare Foreman, Concordia (Ore.) coach Brad Barbarick, Multnomah coach Curt Bickley and Clackamas CC coach Clif Wegner.  To listen to the podcast, visit http://bit.ly/1x4RjqG.