This Week
Friday, Jan. 8, Pacific Boxers (8-3/2-0 NWC) vs. the Whitworth Pirates (12-0/3-0)
Stoller Center, Forest Grove, Ore., 8 p.m.
All-Time Series: Whitworth leads, 51-24. The Pirates have won 14 straight vs. PU.
 
Saturday, Jan. 9, Pacific Boxers vs. the Whitman Missionaries (10-2/2-1)
Stoller Center, Forest Grove, Ore., 6 p.m.
All-Time Series: Pacific leads, 55-44. Teams split last years' meetings.
 
The Boxers return to Northwest Conference play on a five-game winning streak (8-3), but face what most believe to be the top two teams in the conference this weekend. No. 2 nationally ranked Whitworth (12-0) and No. 25 Whitman (10-2) visit Forest Grove for the top rung in the NWC standings.
 
Boxer Five Have Won Five Straight: After opening Northwest Conference play with convincing victories over Willamette and George Fox by 14 and 15 points respectively, Pacific continued its torrid pace with three lopsided non-conference wins over Evergreen State, Occidental and Portland Bible. That five-game run is the longest for a Boxer club since the 2013-14 team had a six-game streak in December of that season.
 
What if?????: Pacific's 8-3 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).
 
Chairmen of the Boards: Despite not having a player over 6'6", the Boxers have controlled the backboards so far this season. On the season they have a +15.2 advantage over their opponents, which ranks second in NCAA Division III statistics. Skyler Burgess leads the team with 8.3 rebounds a contest and Michael Joseph is right behind him at 7.9.
 
More National Listings: In addition to listing second nationally in rebound margin, the Boxers are also 10^th in scoring margin (+16.2), 16^th in field goal defense (.377), 22^nd in scoring defense (62.2) and 18^th in rebounds per game (44.7).
 
Boxer Balance: Pacific's attack through 11 games shows a balanced stat sheet. Four players average in double figures for the Boxers, and only 3.4 points per game separate the leading scorer from the fourth. Additionally, a fifth player sits at 9.6 ppg. Skyler Burgess is on top of the list with 13.5 points per game and a team-best 8.3 rebounds. K.C. Harrison checks in at 12.6 points a game and a team-best three assists a game, DeVon Pouncey averages 10.1, Michael Joseph adds 9.6 points and 7.9 rebounds a contest and Bobby Ahern 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 64-72 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.
 
Probable Starters: Coach Clearly likely will send this group to the floor this weekend when the starters are announced.
*G—#2 K.C. Harrison (6-2, 185, Jr., Las Vegas, Nev./Grays Harbor JC)
*G—#22 Michael Joseph (6-1, 205, Jr., Anchorage, Alaska/Columbia Basin JC)
*G—#4 D.J. Christian (5-11, 185, Jr., East Atlanta, Ga./Chemeketa CC)
*F—#23 Skyler Burgess (6-5, 215, Sr., Riverton, Utah/Treasure Valley JC)
*F—#44 Nate Olowo (6-6, 210, So., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Alta Loma HS)
 
Skyler Skies to Honors: Senior forward 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 24 total rebounds in two wins, the 6-5 senior forward also scored 24 and 22 points respectively against 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.
 
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.
http://www.nwcsports.com/sports/wbkb/2015-16/standings
 
Pirate Booty: Whitworth comes to the Stoller Center ranked second in the latest D3hoops.com national poll. They are unblemished (11-0), heading into a Tuesday night (Jan. 5) match-up with rival Whitman. The Pirates have barely been challenged this season, winning most games by double figures, with the closest verdict a 68-65 win over Calvin on Dec. 29. This is nothing new for Pirate fans, as the storied program has put together ten consecutive 20+-win seasons and is 165-23 in their last 187 games. During that run, the Pirates are 103-7 in Northwest Conference play. Christian Jurlina (F, 6-5, Jr., Sydney, Australia), a First Team-All NWC last year, leads his team with 15.9 points per game. George Valle (G-F, 6-4, Sr., Bellevue, Wash.), who has played in every game since arriving on campus four years ago, adds 15.0 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds. Kenny Love (G, 6-1, Jr., Santa Rosa, Calif.), the reigning NWC Player of the Week and last years' NWC Player of the Year, adds 13.6 ppg while Matt Staudacher (G, 6-0, Sr., Kirkland, Wash.) is a click under ten at 9.9 points and a club-leading 35 assists. Head coach Matt Logie is in his fifth year and picked up where former Pirate legends Warren Fredrichs and Jim Heyford left off. His mark going into Tuesday's game versus Whitman, Logie is 111-18 on the Whitworth bench. He was the first coach in NCAA Division III history to reach 100 wins in just four seasons.
 
Missionary Mentions: No. 25 nationally ranked Whitman is just a shade behind their rivals at 10-1 heading into a Tuesday clash with the Pirates. The only loss for the Missionaries this season was during the Christmas break when they fell to No. 22 Tufts, 107-95. The fast-paced squad averages 96 points a game and have broken the 100-point barrier five times. Their imprint is all over the statistical NCAA top 10 list. They are first in scoring margin (24.2), second in turnover margin (10.5), third in steals (151), fifth in turnovers forced (22.6) and seventh in scoring (96.0).  Tim Howell (G, 6-1, So., Calabasas, Calif.), the NWC Player of the Week on Dec. 23, leads his team with 17.5 points per outing. Another sophomore, Christian McDonald (G, 6-3, Lake Oswego, Ore.) checks in at 16.5 points. Ballhawk Austin Butler (W, 6-3, Fr., Los Angeles, Calif.) has 32 steals and 36 assists in 11 games. The Missionaries had a 9-game winning streak before the loss to Tufts, and that run included NWC victories over Linfield (89-53) and Lewis & Clark (87-80). Head coach Eric Bridgeland is in his eighth season in Walla Walla, turning the Missionary program around after previously building Puget Sound into a national power. Overall, Bridgeland is an astounding 135-34 in his time with the Loggers and Whitman.
 
Looking Ahead: After this weekends' games, the Boxers will head to Tacoma to take on Puget Sound (Jan. 15) and Pacific Lutheran (Jan. 16).
 
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.