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 Schedule/Results | Roster | Stats | News | Archives WEEKLY RELEASE: Vikings travel to Western Oregon and Saint Martin's
Feb. 4, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - UPDATE: Back on track following two home wins, the Western Washington University men's basketball team is on the road this week for a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests, meeting Western Oregon on Thursday and Saint Martin's on Saturday. The Vikings, 12-6 overall and fifth in the league standings at 5-4, swept a pair of home games last week, walloping Montana State Billings, 116-66, on Jan. 31 and using a strong second half to defeat Seattle U., 79-68, on Feb. 2. They are 8-1 on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium this season, but just 4-5 away from home. Western junior guard Ira Graham, who scored a career-high 33 points against Western Oregon on Jan.12, leads the GNAC in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game. He has been the Vikings' top scorer in 15 of their 18 games. Graham is shooting 56.7 percent (132-of-233) from the floor. Earlier in the campaign he had a school-record 10-game streak as Western's leading scorer as well as a 19-game string scoring double figures, both of which began last season. Sophomore center Steve Severin is contributing 7.0 points and 7.8 rebounds, leading the GNAC and ranking 13th nationally in blocked shots with 46 (2.6 avg.). He has had five double-figure rebound games. Junior forward Calin Schell is averaging 9.6 points on 53.7 percent field-goal shooting (72-of-134) and his 7.8 average rebounds per game is tied for third in the conference with Severin. Schell tops the GNAC in offensive rebounds (54, 3.0 avg.) and ranks seventh in blocked shots (0.8) and 10th in field goal shooting. Another junior forward, Steve Alford, is averaging 11.3 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Vikings, scoring double-figures in 12 games. That included 14-point efforts in each of Western's wins last week. Junior guard Andrew Ready, a transfer from Bakersfield College as is Alford, is averaging 9.3 points and a team-best 3.5 assists. Junior guard Derrick Webb is averaging 9.3 points, coming off the bench to score 27 in a span of 25 minutes against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 19. Webb, a transfer from Highline CC, has hit 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from 3-point range over the last six games. Sophomore guard Harold McAllister is averaging 5.5 points, shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range (18-of-42), sixth in the conference. Two junior reserves - forward Zach Bruce and center David Brittinen - give Western inside depth. Bruce, like Webb a transfer from Highline CC, is averaging 5.9 points on team-high 58.4 (45-of-77) floor accuracy, shooting 67.3 percent (33-of-49) from the field over the last 11 games. Brittinen had 22 points on 9-of-13 field-goal shooting and 15 rebounds in the victories over MSU-Billings and Seattle U. Western leads the GNAC in field goal shooting at 50.0 percent (559-of-1119), 3-point defense at 29.3 percent (90-of-307) and blocked shots (5.4), and the Vikings are second in both scoring offense (82.6) and scoring margin (13.2). Western Oregon, 10-8 overall (7-2 at home) and 3-6 in conference action, has a huge trio of post players. Two are returnees - 6-8 junior forward Travis Kuhns (14.4 ppg, 3.2 apg, 4.5 rpg), who was the 2005-06 GNAC Freshman of the Year, and 6-11 senior Adonal Arrington (8.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, .530 FG Pct.) - and 7-3 senior Liam Hughes (7.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, .552 FG Pct.), a transfer from Oregon State where he played in 21 games. Two other top returnees for coach Craig Stanger (3rd year, 19-26) are 5-10 senior guard Brad Krichevsky (12.0 ppg) and 6-7 sophomore forward Mike McLaughlin (10.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .667 FG Pct.). Another talented transfer is 6-5 junior guard Sam Kelly (11.7 ppg) from Salt Lake CC, the son of former WOU coach Tim Kelly. Western has won six of the last seven series meetings with the Wolves and holds a 32-10 all-time edge after an 84-80 win at Carver Gym in Jan. 12. Kuhns scored a career-high 32 points in that game. Saint Martin's, 9-9 overall (Feb. 7 host Central Washington) and 4-5 in league play, has lost three straight following an 8-2 stretch. The Saints, who are 5-2 at home, are led by Division II Bulletin preseason All-America 5-10 junior guard Jake Linton, who is averaging 17.9 points, third among GNAC leaders, and 4.1 assists and is making 96.5 percent of his free throws (109-of-113). Linton was a first-team GNAC all-star last season, averaging 20.2 points and 5.2 assists. Two other top players for the Saints, coached by Keith Cooper (5th year, 42-84), are honorable mention all-GNAC 6-5 senior forward Brendan Campbell (13.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and 6-7 junior center Bill Richardson (13.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .567 FG Pct.), who missed last season with a broken wrist after earning first-team NWAACC all-region honors at Grays Harbor CC. Western, which holds a 115-58 series advantage, has lost two of the last three meetings. The Saints snapped an eight-game series losing streak at Carver Gym with a 71-67 win on Jan. 10 as Richardson scored 21 points. It is the Vikings' only home loss this season. UPCOMING GAMES:
Feb. 7 (Thu.) at Western Oregon*# (Monmouth, OR - P.E. Building - 7 p.m.) Feb. 9 (Sat.) at Saint Martin's*# (Lacey - SMU Pavilion - 7 p.m.) Feb. 14 (Thu.) ALASKA ANCHORAGE* (CARVER GYM - 7 p.m.) Feb. 16 (Sat.) ALASKA FAIRBANKS*# (CARVER GYM - 7 p.m.) Feb. 23 (Sat.) CENTRAL WASHINGTON*# (CARVER GYM - 7 p.m.) Home games (all caps) on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium #broadcast on KBAI Radio (930 AM) and via the internet at wwuvikings.com *Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest THREE-DOT NOTES: The Vikings' eight home wins ties the most by a GNAC team this season ... Graham has scored double figures in a team-high 17 games ... Western connected on 44.4 percent (16-of-36) of its 3-point attempts in last week's victories ... Alford, Graham, Schell and Severin have started every game for the Vikings ...Western has reached the century mark in scoring twice this season. The Vikings did not score 100 points in a game last year, the first time that had happened since the 1983-84 campaign ... Severin has blocked 21 shots (4.3 avg.) in the last five games ... Four of Western's six setbacks this season have been to Top 25 ranked teams in the National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Poll. Those losses were to defending GNAC co-champion and No.17-ranked Seattle Pacific, No.14 Alaska Anchorage and twice to defending West Region champion and No.10 Cal State San Bernardino ... The Vikings are next to last in the GNAC in free-throw shooting with a school-record low pace of 62.1percent (266-of-428), but made 10-of-12 in the final 3:21 of their win over Seattle U.. Meanwhile, Western opponents are hitting 73.3 percent (269-of-367). Graham has been named to three all-tournament teams this season, and Schell to two ... McAllister set a school record earlier this season by making eight straight 3-pointers over a four-game stretch and tied another WWU mark by hitting all five of his 3-pointers against Multnomah Bible ... Western scored 125 points in its victory over Multnomah Bible on Dec. 15, the only time that the Vikings have reached the century mark since the 2005-06 campaign ... Brad Jackson has 421 career victories in 23 years as head coach. That is the most by any coach in any sport in school history. Current WWU director of athletics Lynda Goodrich posted 411 victories in 19 campaigns as the Vikings' women's basketball coach from 1971-90 ... Alford was a first-team conference all-star at Bakersfield College, and Webb was co-MVP of the NWAACC Western Region last year at Highline CC, where Bruce was a second-team NWAACC regional all-star. COACH JACKSON: Brad Jackson, who chairs the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee where he has been a Division II representative for four years, is in his 23rd year and is the most successful men's coach in school history, both in total wins (421-245) and winning percentage (.632). He ranks No.19 among active NCAA II coaches in victories and 35th in winning percentage. In 2001, Jackson directed Western to a 27-4 record and the semifinals of the NCAA II National Championship, being named NABC/NCAA II West Region, Northwest small college and Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year. Five times named district/region Coach of the Year, Jackson has directed Western to 16 post-season playoff appearances, including district/region/conference championships and national tournament appearances in 1988, 1994, 2001, 2005 and 2006. He has had nine 20-win campaigns (1986-90, 1993-94, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2004-05, 2005-06). RADIO BROADCASTS: Selected Western games are being broadcast this season on KBAI Radio (930 AM) with Doug Lange handling the play-by-play and Mark Scholten providing the color commentary. They also can be heard on the internet at www.wwuvikings.com. ON THE WEB: For up-to-date statistics, box scores of every game, records, stories, etc., see the Western Athletic web page at www.wwuvikings.com. Up-to-date league standings and statistics can be found on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web page at www.gnacsports.com. PROBABLE WESTERN STARTERS & TOP RESERVES:
G Ira Graham, 6-1, **Jr., Fontana, CA/Fontana G Andrew Ready, 6-1, Jr., Chicago, IL/Westinghouse/Bakersfield College C Steve Severin, 6-10, *So., Richland, WA/Hanford F Steve Alford, 6-5, Jr., Bakersfield, CA/South/Bakersfield College F Calin Schell, 6-7, **Jr., Chelan, WA/Chelan GAME SUMMARIES: Jan. 31 - WESTERN 116, Montana State Billings 66 at Bellingham Webb had 19 points and Severin added 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, helping Western defeat Montana State Billings, 116-66, in a GNAC game at Carver Gym. The Vikings shot 62.3 percent (48-of-77) from the field. MSUB, which started four freshmen and a sophomore, fell to 1-18 overall and 1-7 in conference play. Guard John Brooks had a game-high 23 points for the Yellowjackets. The Vikings took control of the contest quickly, using a 25-5 run to take a 33-13 lead with 7:19 left in the first half. Western, which shot 62.5 percent (25-of-40) from the field in the opening period, held a 58-27 lead at halftime. Webb had 16 points in the opening half, going 6-of-7 from the field, including 5-of-6 on 3-pointers. Severin had 12 points and eight rebounds in the first half, and Graham finished with 15 points in just 20 minutes. Alford had 14 points and Brittinen came off the bench to contribute 12 points and eight rebounds while going 6-of-7 from the field. The Vikings had a 50-28 advantage in rebounds and held MSUB to 32.3 percent shooting (21-of-65) from the field. Feb. 2 - WESTERN 79, Seattle U. 68 at Bellingham Graham and Ready each scored 17 points as Western defeated Seattle U., 79-68, in a GNAC contest at Carver Gym. Seattle U. fell to 11-7 overall and 4-5 in the GNAC. The Redhawks, who are moving up to NCAA I next season, have lost six of their last 11 games after a 6-0 start and being ranked No.7 nationally. Guard Michael Knight came off the bench to lead Seattle U. with 18 points. The score was tied at 40-40 at halftime. Center Ryan Coldren gave Seattle the first points of the second half on a short jumper, but Western then went on a 13-2 run, holding the Redhawks without a field goal for five minutes and taking a 53-44 lead with 13:28 to play. Seattle responded with six straight points to pull within three, 53-50, with 11:42 left, but never got that close again, and was never closer than eight points in the final seven minutes. Alford had 14 points for Western, and Brittinen came off the bench to add 10 points and seven rebounds. The Vikings shot 48.9 percent (23-of-47) from the field and had a 35-31 edge in rebounds, with Schell grabbing a game-high 10. Coldren had 12 points for Seattle, and guard Chris Gweth added 11. Michael Wright grabbed nine rebounds for the Redhawks. Graham scored eight points in the first seven minutes as the Vikings jumped to a 21-10 lead. But the Redhawks responded with a 21-5 charge, concluding with 12 straight points, and took a 36-31 lead with 6:56 left in the first period. |
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