This Week
Friday, Dec. 4, Pacific Boxers (3-3) vs. Willamette Bearcats (1-4)
Stoller Center, Forest Grove, Ore., 8 p.m.
All-Time Series: Willamette leads 74-34, won both games in 2014-15

Saturday, Dec. 5, Pacific Boxers vs. George Fox Bruins (0-4)
Stoller Center, Forest Grove, Ore., 6 p.m.
All-Time Series: Pacific leads 44-43, Pacific has won last three games

Northwest Conference play begins this weekend when the Boxers host Willamette and George Fox at the Stoller Center.

Home, Sweet Home: Pacific returns home for four straight games after suffering through a few heartbreaks on the road. In back-to-back weekend trips to northern and southern California, the Boxers went 1-3—which included a triple overtime loss to Menlo (103-97) and a buzzer beating deflator at La Verne (68-67).

Dying by the Three: Basketball people say you can live or die by the three-pointer. In Pacific's case in those two California losses, they died—from the sword of their opponent's treys. In the loss to La Verne, Pacific led the entire contest before Hakim Arnold's long bomb three at the horn from the left side gave the Leopards its first lead since the opening tap. At Menlo, the Oaks used a three-point play with no time left to send the game into its' first OT, and then hit three more free throws (after being fouled on a trey attempt) to extend the game into a third extra period. Menlo hit ten three-pointers in the game.

Boxer Balance: Pacific's attack through six games shows a balanced stat sheet. Four players average in double figures for the Boxers, and only 1.4 points per game separate the leading scorer from the fourth. Junior guard K.C. Harrison leads the group at 13.0 points per game, followed by Michael Joseph (12.5), Skyler Burgess (11.8) and DeVon Pouncey (11.7). One more basket would have put Bobby Ahern in that category as well, as the Boxer sharpshooter has 58 points in six games (9.7).

Transfer duo: The top two scorers on that stat sheet arrived on campus this fall. Harrison is a Las Vegas native that averaged 19 p.p.g. at Grays Harbor JC last year. Joseph is from Anchorage and played at Columbia Basin JC in 2014-15.

Michael's Mention: Michael Joseph already has one new certificate for his Pacific scrapbook. The 6-1 guard was named the Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week on Nov. 22. During three games that week, he tallied 49 points, 25 rebounds and six steals. He had 21 points at Menlo and a double-double versus UC Santa Cruz (20 points, 10 rebounds).

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 59-72 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 currently NWC standings can be found here. http://nwcsports.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/standings

Probable Starters: Coach Clearly likely will send this group to the floor this weekend 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)

Bearcat Bits: Willamette (1-4) won its opener over Macalaster MN but has since lost four straight to Southern Oregon, Chapman, La Verne and Corban. Yet, two of those four losses were by a total of four points. The Bearcats have an exhibition game on Wednesday at Boise State and will come to Forest Grove trying to snap a four-game losing streak and open NWC play with a win. Returning senior guard Brandon Luedtke (6-4, Meridian, Idaho) was a First Team All-NWC selection last season and a Second Team All-West Region pick. He is currently pacing the Bearcats with 15.6 ppg and 9.8 rebounds a contest. In 2014-15, Willamette finished 10-16 overall and were 8-8 in the NWC. Head coach Kip Ioane is in his seventh season at Willamette and spent eight years on the bench as an assistant prior to that.

Bruin Bites: George Fox (0-4) looks to get in the win column this weekend and open Northwest Conference play on the plus side of the scoreboard. The Bruins also look forward to playing familiar opponents after tipping off with losses against Wheaton IL, Wabash IN, Northwest WA and St. John's MN. J.J. Lacey (6-4, Jr., Auburn, Wash.) leads his team with 17.0 ppg and 6.5 rebounds. Lacey was GFU's second leading scorer in 2014-15. The Bruins will open NWC play on Friday, hosting Puget Sound. In 2014-15, George Fox was 5-20 on the season and 3-13 in conference play. Head coach Maco Hamilton enters his third year on the Bruin bench, after spending six years developing and directing the program at brand new Union High School in Camas, Wash.

Looking Ahead: After the early NWC tip-off, Pacific will return to non-conference play to close out the 2015 portion of its schedule. The Boxers will host Evergreen State on Tuesday (Dec. 8), followed by a home encounter with Occidental (Dec. 20) and a road tilt at Portland Bible (Dec. 29).

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.