Feb. 11, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

UPDATE: There's no place like home. At least that's the hope this week for the Western Washington University men's basketball team as it faces a make-or-break three-game homestand in its bid for a berth in the NCAA Division II West Regional.

The Vikings, who are 8-1 this season on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium, entertain nationally top 10-ranked University of Alaska Anchorage on Thursday (7 p.m.) and University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday (7 p.m.).

Western, 12-8 overall and sixth in the league standings at 5-6, lost two GNAC road contests last weekend, falling 83-71 to Western Oregon on Feb. 7 and being edged 85-83 in overtime by Saint Martin's on Feb. 9. The Vikings, 4-7 on the road, have not been ranked among the top 10 in the first two West Region polls. Eight teams qualify for the regional tournament.

Poor free-throw shooting has plagued the Vikings all season. They are next to last in the GNAC in with a school-record low pace of 61.4 percent (299-of-487), hitting 59.4 percent (148-of-249) on the road, including just 17-of-34 against Saint Martin's, and 63.4 percent (151-of-238) at home. Making matters worse, Western opponents are hitting 72.9 percent (320-of-439) at the line.

Western junior guard Ira Graham leads the GNAC in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game on 54.8 percent (143-of-261) field-goal shooting. He has been the Vikings' top scorer in 16 of their 20 games and has scored double figures 19 times this season, both team bests.

Junior forward Steve Alford is averaging 11.3 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Vikings, scoring double-figures in 13 games. He came off the bench to score 19 points in the overtime loss at Saint Martin's after starting the first 19 contests.

Sophomore center Steve Severin is contributing 7.0 points and is third among GNAC leaders in rebounds with a team-high 7.8 average per game. He leads the GNAC in blocked shots with 51 (2.6 avg.). Severin had career highs of 16 rebounds and eight blocks against Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 17.

Junior forward Calin Schell is averaging 9.2 points on 52.4 percent field-goal shooting (76-of-145) and his 7.5 rebound average is fourth in the conference. Schell is second in the GNAC in offensive rebounds (56, 2.8 avg.) and ranks seventh in blocked shots (0.8).

Junior guard Derrick Webb is scoring at a 9.6 per game clip, coming off the bench to score 27 points in a span of 25 minutes against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 19. Junior guard Andrew Ready is averaging 8.5 points and a team-best 3.1 assists.

Two junior reserves - forward Zach Bruce and center David Brittinen - give Western inside depth. Bruce is averaging 5.8 points on team-high 59.0 (49-of-83) floor accuracy, shooting 67.3 percent (37-of-55) from the field over the last 13 games. Brittinen is hitting 74.4 percent (29-of-39) from the floor in limited action, averaging 8.3 points over the last four games.

Western leads the GNAC in 3-point defense at 29.0 percent (97-of-334) and blocked shots (5.3 avg.), and the Vikings are second in scoring offense (82.1).

Alaska Anchorage, ranked No.5 nationally in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA II Top 25 and No.1 in the West Region, is 19-3 overall (8-0 on the road) and leads the GNAC with a perfect 10-0 record, winning its last 17 straight. All three of the Seawolves' losses have been to NCAA I opponents - Texas Tech, Western Kentucky and Eastern Washington - at the Great Alaska Shootout.

UAA, which tops the conference in scoring defense (58.2 avg.) is led by Division II Bulletin preseason honorable mention All-American and first-team all-GNAC 6-0 senior guard Luke Cooper (6.0 ppg, 8.3 apg), who leads the nation in assists. A finalist for the 2008 Bob Cousy Award honoring the top point guard in college basketball, being one of just two D-II players among the final 16, he already is the GNAC career leader in assists with 752, leading the conference in each of the last three seasons.

Two other top returnees for coach Rusty Osborne (4th year, 69-40) are 6-6 senior forward Carl Arts (18.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg), a second-team GNAC all-star last season; and 6-8 senior center McCade Olsen (15.5 ppg).

A huge addition for the Seawolves has been transfer 6-4 senior guard Chris Bryant (13.6 ppg, 59-135, .437 3-pt. pct.). Bryant averaged 7.0 points in 78 career games at Drake University, knocking down 120 three-pointers. He scored in double figures 25 times, including a career-high 26 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Western, which has dropped the last three series meetings and trails 8-6 overall, lost 63-62 at Anchorage on Jan. 19.

Alaska Fairbanks is 4-15 overall and 1-9 in league action, losing 14 of its last 15 games following a 3-1 start, but one of the Nanooks' wins came over NCAA I Oregon State, 62-60.

First-year coach Clemon Johnson has three solid returnees in 6-6 sophomore forward Kevin Atkins (13.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg), 6-8 junior center Colin Matteson (12.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and 6-2 senior guard Mike Titus (9.2 ppg). A standout transfer from New Mexico JC is 6-5 junior guard Mladen Begojevic (12.3 ppg).

Western holds a 14-8 series edge, snapping a three-game series losing streak with an 81-63 win at Fairbanks on Jan. 17.

UPCOMING GAMES:

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: Two years ago, Western ranked No.1 nationally in free throw percentage at 78.6 ... Graham scored a career-high 33 points against Western Oregon on Jan.12 and has a three-year career total of 844. 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 ... 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 ... Four of Western's eight 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.

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 (421-247) and winning percentage (.630). 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 Calin Schell, 6-7, **Jr., Chelan, WA/Chelan
F Steve Alford, 6-5, Jr., Bakersfield, CA/South/Bakersfield College

G Derrick Webb, 6-3, Jr., Port Orchard, WA/South Kitsap/Highline CC
G Harold McAllister, 6-0, *So., Vancouver, WA/Mountain View
F Zach Bruce, 6-8, Jr., Oceanside, CA/Oceanside/Highline CC
F David Brittinen, 6-8, Jr.**, Hoquiam, WA/Hoquiam
G Jason Pegues, 6-2, Jr., Seattle, WA/Cleveland/Edmonds CC
*letters

GAME SUMMARIES:

Feb. 7 - Western Oregon 83, WESTERN 71 at Monmouth, Ore.

A surge late in the first half proved decisive as Western Oregon defeated Western, 83-71, in a GNAC game at the New P.E. Building. The Vikings were led by the 21 points of Graham. Western Oregon improved to 11-8 overall and 4-6 in the conference. The Wolves, who are 8-2 at home, got a game-high 22 points from forward Travis Kuhns, and reserve center Adonal Arrington had 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The Vikings never led, but trailed by just two, 33-31, after a layin and free throw by Graham with 4:22 left in the first half. But the Wolves responded with 10 straight points to take a 43-31 lead with 1:20 left in the period and held a 45-33 lead at halftime. Arrington scored 14 points in the first half on 6-of-6 field-goal shooting. Western never got the margin into single digits in the second half, although it was never down by more than 16 points. Webb came off the bench to score 13 points for Western, which shot just 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the floor and was outrebounded 44-33. Mike McLaughlin had 16 points for Western Oregon.

Feb. 9 - Saint Martin's 85, WESTERN 83 OT at Lacey, Wash.

Despite having a four-point lead in the final minute of regulation, Western lost in overtime to Saint Martin's, 85-83, in a GNAC contest at the SMU Pavilion. Alford led the Vikings with 19 points, coming off the bench for the first time this season. Saint Martin's, which improved to 10-10 overall and 5-6 in the GNAC, was led by reserve Blake Poole, who had game-highs of 25 points and 14 rebounds. Guard Jake Linton added 21 points and seven assists, hitting the game-winning free throws with seven seconds left in overtime. Western had taken a 73-69 lead on a driving layin by Webb with 1:29 to go in regulation and a fastbreak dunk by Alford with a minute left. Two Tyler Nixon free throws cut the margin to two with 41 seconds left. Webb made one of two free throws to push the lead back to three, 74-71, with 21 seconds to go, but Linton nailed a deep 3-pointer with 10 seconds left, forcing overtime. The Saints led much of overtime, but Western tied the score at 83-83 on a basket by guard Andrew Ready (Jr., Chicago, IL/Westinghouse) with 37 seconds left, setting up Linton's game-winning free throws. On Western's final possession, Graham attempted to drive to the basket, but was cut off and fed the ball back out to Webb, whose off-balance 3-pointer missed as time expired. Graham finished the game with 18 points. Webb had 11 points and eight rebounds. The Vikings were again hurt by poor free throw shooting, making just 17-of-34 attempts (50.0 percent). Poole, who entered the game averaging just six points a game, had 12 in the first 14 minutes, helping the Saints take a 29-21 lead. But the Vikings closed the half with a 15-3 run, taking a 36-32 lead at halftime. The Vikings led by as much as 11 in the second half, using a run of eight straight points to take a 49-38 lead with 14:26 to play. Saint Martin's then clawed back, eventually regaining the lead, 59-57, on a Linton 3-pointer with 6:39 to go.