January 20, 2010

MBSK: WHAT’S BRUIN - Bruins to End First Half of NWC Play at L&C, Home vs. PLU

* Upcoming Games:

- Fri., Jan. 22, 8:00 pm - at Lewis & Clark College (NWC), Portland, Ore.

- Sat., Jan. 23, 8:00 pm - vs. Pacific Lutheran University (NWC), Newberg, Ore. (*** Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2010 to be introduced at halftime of 6:00 p.m. women's game ***)

- Tue., Jan. 26, 8:00 pm - at Pacific University (NWC), Forest Grove, Ore.

NEWBERG, Ore. - Having established themselves as contenders for one of the four Northwest Conference Tournament berths, the George Fox University Bruins will take on two of the teams that are also challenging for tournament positions this weekend as the conference schedule reaches the halfway point.

The Bruins visit the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers Friday before hosting the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes Saturday, then open the second half of the conference season Tuesday on the road against the Pacific University Boxers. All three games tip off at 8:00 p.m. and will follow women's conference games at 6:00 p.m. KFOX radio will webcast all six of the upcoming George Fox games, while live stats and live video from Stretch Internet will also be provided for the PLU games at the following links:

KFOX Radio: http://www.georgefox.edu/offices/asc/kfoxradio/

Live Video: http://secure.stretchinternet.com/demo/games.php?user=georgefox&o=cal_stamp&sd=today

Live Stats: http://athletics.georgefox.edu/livestats/index

George Fox is 6-9 overall and 3-3 in the conference, tied for 4th place in the standings with Lewis & Clark, one game behind Pacific Lutheran. The Bruins, who were picked to finish 7th in the pre-season coaches' poll, split their two games at home last weekend, defeating the Willamette University Bearcats 87-74 on Friday before falling to the Linfield College Wildcats 84-80 on Saturday.

Rich Smith scored 21 points to lead the Bruins against Willamette, while Jack Martin added 11 and Cole Whitehurst and Stephen Wiseley scored 10 each. Wiseley added nine assists. Wiseley and Alex Stockner scored 20 points apiece in the Linfield game as the Bruins rallied from 18 down in the second half to get within three with six minutes to play but could never quite catch up to their Yamhill County rivals. Evan Atwater added 10 points as he edged closer to 1,000 career points, and Martin handed out 11 assists.

Lewis & Clark (4-10, NWC 3-3, 4th T): The Pioneers from Portland, Ore., were picked to finish 4th in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll ... Lewis & Clark has won its last two, including a 73-61 win at Pacific Saturday in which Kelly Edwards scored 19 points, James Hollins 13, and Kyle Meeuwsen and Josh Kollasch 11 each ... Series record (since 1965): George Fox trails 20-36 (10-14 home, 10-22 away) ... The Pioneers have won the last six meetings, including 97-83 in Portland on Jan. 9 and 63-49 in Newberg on Feb. 6 last year ... The Bruins' last win in the series was 71-62 in Newberg on Feb. 10, 2006 ... Lewis & Clark is 1st in the NWC in 3-pt field goals (9.29, 10th nationally), 2nd in defense (75.0), 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.337), 7th in field goal pct. (.414), free throw pct. (.680), 9th in scoring (70.1), rebounding (33.4) ... G Kelly Edwards in 2nd in scoring (17.3) ... G James Hollins is 3rd in scoring (17.0), rebounding (7.9), 2nd in 3-pt field goals (2.43) ... G Josh Kollasch is 21st in scoring (11.5), 4th in assists (3.91), 3-pt field goals (1.91) ... PG Tyler Tsukazaki is 4th in 3-pt field goals (1.91) ... Coach Bob Gaillard is 342-212 to date in his 21st season at Lewis & Clark, and 507-270 in his 29th season overall ... ... Next game: Jan. 23 vs. Puget Sound, 8 p.m.

Pacific Lutheran (6-7, NWC 4-2, 3rd): The Lutes from Tacoma, Wash., are one of the early-season surprised in the conference, having been picked to finish 9th in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll ... PLU had a four-game winning streak snapped in its last game Saturday 75-52 at home by Whitworth, despite 18 points from Curtis Trondsen and 10 from Victor Bull ... Series record (since 1985): George Fox trails 12-17 (7-7 home, 5-10 away) ... The Lutes have won the last five meetings, sweeping last year 81-74 in Tacoma on Jan. 24 and 84-78 in Newberg on Feb. 21 ... The Bruins' last win in the series was 77-68 in Tacoma on Jan. 19, 2007 ... PLU is 3rd in the NWC in defense (76.3), 3-pt field goal pct. (.370), assists (15.46), 4th in field goal pct. (.438), 5th in free throw pct. (.716), 6th in rebounding (34.9), 8th in scoring (72.5) ... W Kyle MacTaggart is 10th in scoring (14.6), 3rd in blocked shots (1.15) ... P Victor Bull is 28th in scoring (9.8), 7th in rebounding (5.9), 8th in field goal pct. (5.00) ... PG James Conti is 29th in scoring (9.7), 3rd in free throw pct. (.871), 5th in assists (3.62), steals (1.85) ... W Curtis Trondsen is 1st in 3-pt field goal pct. (.513) ... Coach Steve Dickerson is 33-49 to date in his 4th season at PLU ... PLU visits Willamette Friday before meeting the Bruins ... Next game: Jan. 29 vs. Linfield, 8 p.m.

Pacific (4-11, NWC 0-6, 8th T): The Boxers from Forest Grove, Ore., were picked to tie for 5th with Whitman in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll ... Pacific has dropped its last seven in a row, including a 73-61 setback at home to Lewis & Clark Saturday in which Ross Bartlett was the only Boxer in double figures with 18 points ... Series record (since 1966): George Fox trails 38-42 (25-14 home, 13-28 away) ... The teams split last year, Pacific winning 76-66 in Newberg on Jan. 13 and George Fox winning 85-68 in Forest Grove on Feb. 10 ... The Bruins took this year's first meeting 80-68 in Newberg on Jan. 4 ... Pacific is 1st in the NWC in rebound margin (+5.3), 2nd in rebounding (40.1), 4th in free throw pct. (.724), blocked shots (2.47), steals (7.07), 5th in scoring (76.3), defense (78.1), field goal pct (.436), 6th in assists (13.80) ... P Ross Bartlett is 7th in the NWC in scoring (15.1), 2nd in rebounding (9.0), 4th in blocked shots (1.13), 6th in field goal pct. (.523) ... F LeMar Anglin is 15th in scoring (12.7), 5th in field goal pct. (.544), 11th in rebounding (5.3) ... G Colin Wester is 13th in assists (2.20) ... G Adam McElwee is 2nd in 3-pt field goal pct. (.439) ... Coach Jason Lowrey is 45-67 in his 5th season at Pacific, and 65-111 in his 7th season overall ... The Boxers host Puget Sound Friday and Willamette Saturday before meeting the Bruins ... Next game: Jan. 30 at Pacific Lutheran, 8 p.m.

BRUIN BITS:

* Wiseley Named BAA Athlete of the Week, HM for NWC Honors

The passing and scoring abilities of Stephen Wiseley shone through as the Bruins went 1-1 for the week of Jan. 11-17, earning the George Fox pouint guard Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week honors and honorable mention for the Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week.

In an 87-74 win over Willamette on Jan. 15, Wiseley scored 10 points on 2-6 field goals (12-5 on threes) and 5-5 free throws, with 9 assists, a steal and a rebound. In an 84-80 loss to Linfield on Jan. 16, he scored 20 points on 6-10 field goals (4-7 on threes) and 4-5 free throws, with 2 assists, a blocked shot and a rebounds. For the week, he collected 30 points (15.0 ppg) on 8-16 field goals (.500), including 5-12 (.417) on threes, and 9-10 free throws (.900), with 11 assists (5.5 apg), 2 rebounds, a steal and a block.

Wiseley, a 5-9 junior from Kirkland, Wash., and Bellevue Community College, was also named BAA Athlete of the Week for Nov. 16-22 and was honorable mention for NWC honors at the same time. He leads the NWC

* 2009-10 Honors

Stephen Wiseley

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 16-22; Jan. 11-17

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 16-22; HM, Jan. 11-17

Alex Stockner

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 23-29; Dec. 7-13; Dec. 28-Jan. 3

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 23-29; HM, Dec. 7-13; HM, Dec. 28-Jan. 3

Evan Atwater

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 30-Dec. 6

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 30-Dec. 6

Jack Martin

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Jan. 4-10

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Jan. 4-10

* NCAA Stats (thru Jan. 17): Wiseley Among Leaders in FT Pct., Assists

- George Fox is 35th in assists (16.1), 36th in 3-pt field goals (8.1), 48th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.381) ...

- Stephen Wiseley is 10th in free throw pct. (.909), 46th in assists (4.9) ...

* NWC Stats (thru Jan. 19): Wiseley Takes League Lead in FT Pct.

- George Fox is 1st in 3-pt field goal pct. (.381), 2nd in free throw pct. (.733), assists (16.07), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.311), 3rd in field goal pct. (.441), assist/TO ratio (1.00), 4th in rebounding defense (37.9), 3-pt field goals (8.07), 5th in field goal pct. defense (.471), blocked shots (2.40), 6th in defense (79.3), rebounding margin (-4.3), 7th in scoring (73.2), 8th in scoring margin (-6.1), rebounding (33.7), steals (6.20), 9th in turnover margin (-2.47) ...

- Alex Stockner is 4th in field goal pct. (.544), 9th in scoring (14.7), rebounding (5.7), 10th in free throw pct. (.776) ...

- Stephen Wiseley is 1st in free throw pct. (.909), 3rd in assists (4.93), 4th in steals (2.00), 5th in assist/TO ratio (1.21), 8th in 3-pt field goals (1.79), 18th in scoring (11.9) ...

- Rich Smith is 5th in rebounding (7.1), 12th in blocked shots (0.54), 14th in scoring (13.3) ...

- Evan Atwater is 6th in free throw pct. (.816), 13th in assists (2.20, T), 14th in 3-pt field goals (1.47, T), 3-pt field goal pct. (.361), 23rd in scoring (11.0) ...

- Dan Lingenfelder is 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.420, T), 10th in blocked shots (0.60) ...

* Double-Doubles

- Rich Smith: season 3, career 3 - 13 pts, 15 reb vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 11/20; 13 pts, 11 reb vs. Menlo at Redlands, Calif., 12/3; 23 pts, 12 reb at Whitman, 1/8

- Alex Stockner: season 1, career 1 - 26 pts, 14 reb vs. Puget Sound, 1/2

* Career Lists: Atwater Moves Closer to Bruins' 1,000-Point Club

- Evan Atwater: With 18 points in the Bruins' games vs. Willamette and Linfield, Atwater now has 958 career points and needs 42 to become the 34th player in Bruin history to reach 1,000 for a career ... In 33rd place is Mike Rasmussen (1989-93) with 1,004 points ...

* Statistician "Biggs" Adds Two Road Games to His Streaks

Adding the Bruins' two games vs. Willamette and Linfield to his totals this past weekend, long-time statistican Mike "Biggs" Wirta has stretched his streak of Bruin men's basketball games attended, home and away, to 680 in a row. He has worked 625 straight men's home games, not missing one since 1972 when he was in military service. In all, he has seen over half of all games ever played by the George Fox men's team (1,091 of 2,118 for 51.51%) in the 106 seasons of Bruin basketball.

* Head Coach Mark Sundquist

Head coach Mark Sundquist (Seattle Pacific '87) is 96-143 (.401, 52-53 home, 32-76 road, 12-14 neutral) to date in his 10th season at George Fox ... He is the third-winningest coach in Bruin history behind Mark Vernon (318-218, 1982-2000) and Lorin Miller (99-72, 1970-76) ... He was the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year in 2004-05 ... Against Lewis & Clark, he is 4-14 (3-6 home, 1-8 away) ... Against Pacific Lutheran, he is 8-10 (4-5 home, 4-5 away) ... Against Pacific, he is 7-12 (4-6 home, 3-6 away) ...