This Week
Sunday, Dec. 20, Pacific Boxers (6-3) vs. the Occidental Tigers (5-1)
Stoller Center, Forest Grove, Ore., 1 p.m.
All-Time Series: Pacific leads 4-1, Boxers won 71-70 in OT, 12/17/13 in Los Angeles
 
After breaking for academic finals, the Boxers look to shake off the rust when hosting a hot Occidental squad. Pacific brings a three-game win streak into the afternoon encounter, while the Tigers have won five straight.
 
Basketball Hiatus: After opening the season with nine games in a little over three weeks, the Boxers are now in the midst of just two games during a month-long span over academic finals and the holiday break. One of those games is this Sunday, when the Occidental Tigers visit on Sunday (1 pm).
 
Forced Cool Down: The break from basketball maybe doesn't come at the best time for head coach Tim Cleary and his Boxers. Pacific has won three straight games, including their opening two Northwest Conference encounters, and they did so in convincing fashion.
 
What if?: Pacific's 6-3 record thus far doesn't tell the whole story. Two of the Boxers' three losses could have gone either way—a triple overtime loss to Menlo (101-97) and a one-point buzzer beater at La Verne (68-67).
 
View from Top: Thanks to a pair of wins in early December conference action, Pacific can now enjoy sitting on top of the Northwest Conference standings for the next month—as they won't play another league encounter until January 8. The Boxers topped Willamette (72-56) and George Fox (79-64) on Dec. 4-5 to jump out to a share of the NWC lead with Whitworth, Whitman, and Pacific Lutheran.
 
Excellent against Evergreen: The Boxers led by as many as 25 points before settling for a 75-60 victory over Evergreen State in their only game last week (Dec. 8) at the Stoller Center. K.C. Harrison had a game-high 17 points and Skyler Burgess added 14 points and eight boards (all in the first half) as the hosts cruised to the non-conference victory.
 
Chairmen of the Boards: Despite not having a player over 6'6", the Boxers have controlled the backboards so far this season. They out-rebounded the Geoducks 50-31 and on the season have a +15.4 advantage over their opponents, which ranks third in NCAA Division III statistics. The Boxers are also eighth nationally in rebounds per game (46.6). Skyler Burgess leads the team with 8.9 rebounds a contest and Michael Joseph is right behind him at 8.4.
 
Skyler Skies to Honors: In part due to his rebound work, Skyler Burgess was named the Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week on Dec. 7 and was named to the D3Hoops.com Team of the Week on Dec. 8. In addition to the 24 total rebounds in the two games, the 6-5 senior forward also scored 24 and 22 points respectively against the Willamette and George Fox. In that process, he nailed 21 of 28 shots from the field (75 percent) and also had four assists and three blocked shots. Burgess is Pacific's second NWC honoree this season, as Michael Joseph also earned the honor on Nov. 11. The D3Hoops award is given to only five NCAA Division III players from across the country each week.
 
Boxer Balance: Pacific's attack through nine games shows a balanced stat sheet. Five players average in double figures for the Boxers, and only 4.4 points per game separate the leading scorer from the fifth. Skyler Burgess is on top of the list for the moment with 14.6 points per game and a team-best 8.9 rebounds. K.C. Harrison checks in at 13.0 points a game, DeVon Pouncey averages 10.6, Michael Joseph adds 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds a contest and Bobby Ahern also averages 10.2 an outing.
 
Cleary Capsule: Pacific head coach Tim Cleary is now in his sixth season in Forest Grove. Boise State's former top assistant coach is now 62-72 on the Boxer sidelines, leading Pacific to back-to-back winning seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14—and then just missed last year when his team finished 12-13. Pacific went 15-10 three seasons ago and 16-9 in '13-14.
 
Pre-Season Look: Pre-season No. 3 nationally ranked Whitworth is the coach's pick to win the Northwest Conference again this season. The Pirates have won eight of the last nine league titles. The poll favored Whitworth, followed by Whitman, Lewis & Clark, Willamette, Puget Sound, Pacific, George Fox, Pacific Lutheran and Linfield. The current NWC standings can be found here.
 
Probable Starters: Coach Clearly likely will send this group to the floor on Sunday when the starters are announced.
*G—K.C. Harrison (6-2, 185, Jr., Las Vegas, Nev./Grays Harbor JC)
*G—Michael Joseph (6-1, 205, Jr., Anchorage, Alaska/Columbia Basin JC)
*G—Bobby Ahern (6-2, 200, Sr., Madras, Ore./Madras HS)
*F—Skyler Burgess (6-5, 215, Sr., Riverton, Utah/Treasure Valley JC)
*F—Nate Olowo (6-6, 210, So., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Alta Loma HS)
 
Tiger Tales: Occidental comes into the week on a five-game winning streak and with a 5-1 overall record. After dropping its opening game of the year to Cal Tech, they have run the table heading into a Dec. 16 home game against Bristol University (the Tigers will also play at Willamette on Dec. 19). Oxy is balanced with four players averaging double-figure scoring. Spencer Levy (6-0 guard) leads the way with 17.5 per contest, followed closely by 6-5 forward Andrew Johnson at 17.0 ppg and 7.2 rebounds. Jay Miller checks in at 15.8 and Kory Hamane adds 10.2. 6-foot-8 Seattle native Andrew Garrison is a double threat at nine points and eight rebounds a game. The Tigers finished 11-14 last year and were 7-9 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).
 
Looking Ahead: After Sunday's game, the Boxers won't play again until Dec. 29 at Portland Bible and will then return to Northwest Conference action on January 8-9 at home against conference front-runners and currently unbeaten Whitworth and Whitman.
 
Watch and Listen: Pacific's NWC home basketball games are streamed live at goboxers.com with Matt Richert handling the play-by-play. Additionally, tune in on Sunday evenings to listen to Coach Cleary on the Portland Metro Small College Hoops Podcast, hosted by Greg Crawford. The show begins at 9:30 p.m. and can be found at http://bit.ly/1x4RjqG.