THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC MEN'S BASKETBALL
PACIFIC AT GEORGE FOX
Game No. 16 • Away Game No. 6
Tues., Jan. 20, 6 p.m., Wheeler Sports Center, Newberg
Live Stats & Video | Live Audio

WILLAMETTE AT PACIFIC
Game No. 17 • Home Game No. 9
Fri., Jan. 23, 6 p.m., Stoller Center, Forest Grove
Live Stats, Audio & Video

BOXER BYTES
• Pacific enters the week with a chance to even their Northwest Conference record at 4-4 to end the first half of the league schedule.  The Boxers watched Whitworth rebound from a three-point halftime deficit on Friday to roll to a 79-66 victory.  On Saturday, Pacific held off a Whitman rally to end a three-game losing skid, beating the Missionaries 61-59.

• Pacific saw three players, Mitch Wettig, Skyler Burgess and Bobby Ahern, each score 16 points in Friday's loss to Whitman.  Ahern went on to lead Pacific with 13 points, while Proctor and Burgess each scored 11 in the win over Whitman.  Burgess finished week shooting 73 percent from the field (11-15).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
GEORGE FOX BRUINS
Location: Newberg, Ore.
Conference: Northwest (NCAA Division III)
2014-15 Overall Record: 4-11
2014-15 Conference Record: 2-4
Head Coach: Maco "Shark" Hamilton
All-Time Series: George Fox leads 43-42
Last Meeting: Pacific won 73-69 in Forest Grove on Feb. 11, 2014

George Fox Notes
• George Fox is in the midst of a three-game losing streak and have dropped four of their last five games.  The Bruins dropped both games to the eastern Washington schools over the weekend.  George Fox dropped a close 83-78 decision to Whitman on Friday as the Missionaries came from eight points down with 8:23 left.  Whitworth was less kind to the Bruins on Saturday, handing the home team an 89-68 loss.

• Jonny Howard is George Fox's offensive leader, pacing the Bruins and the NWC with an average of 18.8 points per game.  He led the Bruins with 27 points (his second 20-plus point game in a row) in the loss to Whitman and scored 15 in the loss to Whitworth.  Eli Graham is the team's leading rebounder with an average of 7.9 rebounds per game.

• As a team, George Fox is averaging 77.3 points per game (fourth in NWC) and 32.9 rebounds per game (sixth in NWC).  The Bruins are being outscored by an average of 7.6 points per game and are being outrebounded by an average of 7.8 boards per game.

• Maco "Shark" Hamilton is in his second year leading the George Fox men's basketball program. Hamilton took over the Bruins after six seasons leading the successful Union (Camas, Wash.) high school program.

WILLAMETTE BEARCATS
Location: Salem, Ore.
Conference: Northwest (NCAA Division III)
2014-15 Overall Record: 4-11
2014-15 Conference Record: 2-4
Head Coach: Kip Ioane
All-Time Series: Willamette leads 72-34
Last Meeting: Pacific won 77-71 in Forest Grove on Feb. 4, 2014

Willamette Notes
• The Bearcats enters the week having dropped two games last weekend on the road.  On Friday, Willamette could not rebound from just nine shots made in the first half as Lewis & Clark shot 42.3 percent for the game to beat Willamette 68-59.  Willamette shot just 35.3 percent from the field against Pacific Lutheran as the Bearcats fell by a final of 62-55.

• Brandon Luedtke is Willamette's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 14.2 points and a league-best 9.5 rebounds per game in 11 games played.  Luedtke led the Bearcats with 13 points on Saturday's loss to Pacific Lutheran.

• As a team, Willamette is averaging 65.6 points per game (fifth in the NWC) and 33.2 rebounds per game (fifth in NWC), but are being outscored by an average of 5.7 points per game and outrebounded by an average of 9.8 boards per game.  The Bearcats' .379 field goal percentage ranks ninth in the league.

• Kip Ioane is now in his sixth season as Willamette head coach.  A finalist for the 2001 Josten's Trophy for the NCAA Division III player of the year, Ioane played for the Bearcats from 1997 to 2001 and took over from his head coach, the legendary Gordie James, in 2009.

PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
Keeping Up Appearances: After spending most of his first two seasons on the bench, Bobby Ahern (Jr., Madras, Ore.) has continued to be a critical part of the Boxers' successes as a starter.  Ahern added two more double-digit scoring performances over the weekend.  He was one of three players to score 16 points in Friday's loss to Whitworth, making four three-pointers while connecting on 4 of 5 from the free throw line.  In Saturday's victory over Whitman, Ahern led the Boxers with 13 points, which included two more three-pointers.  Ahern enters the week averaging 6.6 points per game in 14 games, including six starts.  He is averaging 38.8 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from three-point range and 71.4 percent from the free throw line.  Ahern ranks fifth in the NWC with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.0.

Outstanding In The Field: Skyler Burgess (Jr., Riverton, Utah) is emerging not only as a strong presence for the Boxers on the blocks, but one of the best most accurate shooters around.  The junior transfer finished the weekend with 27 points and made 73.3 percent of his shots from the field and 83.3 percent from the free throw line.  Burgess was one of three Pacific players to score 16 points in Friday's loss to Whitman, connecting on 7 of 10 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free throw line to go along with eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal.  On Saturday, Burgess hit for 11 points on 4 of 5 from the field and 3 of 4 from the charity stripe to go along with six rebounds.  Burgess enters the week as the Boxers' third leading scorer with an average of 8.7 points per game.  He leads the NWC with a .600 field goal percentage, having connected on 51 of 85 from the field.  Burgess also ranks third for the Boxers with an average of 4.8 rebounds per game and is 10th in the NWC with 25 offensive boards.

Another Double Double: After a couple of quieter performances, Mitch Wettig (Sr., Bend, Ore.) kept the Boxers competitive against Whitworth on Friday with his third double-double of the season.  Wettig was one of three players to score 16 points and added 10 rebounds.  He connected on 7 of 14 from the field with two blocks and a steal.  The senior continues to be a big part of the Boxers' game both inside the paint and on the perimeter.  Wettig enters the week ranked 10th in the NWC with an average of 12.5 points per game and is third in the league with an average of eight rebounds per game.  He is second in the league in both total rebounds (120) and defensive rebounds (79), fourth in offensive rebounds (41), fifth in field goals made (65), seventh in total points (187) and 10th in three-point percentage (.411).

Proctor Steps Up: Coby Proctor (Sr., Sublimity, Ore.) made a big contribution to the Boxers' win over Whitman on Saturday.  The Boxers' starting point guard finished with a season-high 11 points to go along with four assists and two steals.  His scoring included a lay-up with 5:43 left that broke a 49-49 tie and another lay-in with 2:14 to go to keep Pacific up by three points.  Proctor enters the week having started all 15 games and is averaging 4.8 points per game.  Proctor is second in the league with 49 steals and is tied for third in the league with 480 total minutes, tied for sixth with an average of 32 minutes per game and sixth with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.9.

Local Product Does Good: Michael Garcia (Fr., Forest Grove, Ore.) put together his best effort of the season in the Boxers' win over Whitman on Saturday.  Garcia came off the bench for a season-high seven points, hitting on 3 of 8 from the field.  His ledger included an amazing circus-style lay-in with 10:31 left, which allowed the Boxers to build a three-point lead.  Garcia has played in 12 of the Boxers' 15 games so far this season and is averaging two points per game.

Keeping Turnovers To A Minimum: Pacific continues to excel in making the most of every possession.  The Boxers enter the week ranked second in the NWC and 66th in NCAA Division III with an average of 12.1 turnovers per game.  So far this season, Pacific has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in five games and committed under 10 turnovers on three different occasions, led by a season-low five in the season opener against Schreiner on Nov. 15.

A Low Foul Count: Along with taking care of the ball, Pacific succeeds in not getting fouls called against them.  The Boxers lead the NWC and are 63rd in NCAA Division III with an average of 16.5 personal fouls per game.  Bobby Ahern became the first Pacific player to foul out of a game this season in the Jan, 10 contest at Puget Sound.  A total of three Pacific players have fouled out over the last two seasons.

Add NCAA Statistics: In the Jan. 18 NCAA Division III statistics report, Pacific ranked 46th in scoring defense (61.9 points allowed per game), 63rd in personal fouls per game (16.5), 66th in turnovers per game (12.3), 84th in fewest turnovers (184) and 98th in fewest fouls (247).

Individually, Marc Eppinger (Jr., Camas, Wash.) ranks 77th in free throw percentage at .850.  Riley Grandinetti ranks 81st in three-point field goal attempts (96), Coby Proctor ranks 91st in assist/turnover ratio at 2.05 and Mitch Wettig ranks 95th in total rebounds (120).  Updated NCAA Division III stats can be found at http://web1.ncaa.org/stats/StatsSrv/ranksummary.

Making It To 50 Wins: With Saturday's win over Linfield, Head Coach Tim Cleary became the seventh coach in Pacific men's basketball history to amass 50 victories.  Cleary, who was named head coach prior to the 2010-11 season, enters the week with a 51-64 record.  He is the first Pacific head coach to lead the Boxers to back-to-back winning seasons in 22 seasons (last happened in 1991-92 under Bob Bonn and 199-293 under Ken Schumann).

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 Dinari 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.