February 3, 2010

MBSK: WHAT’S BRUIN - Coach Sundquist Goes for 100th Win on Homecoming Weekend

* Upcoming Games:

- Fri., Feb. 5, 8:00 pm - vs. Whitman College (NWC), Newberg, Ore.

- Sat., Feb. 6, 8:00 pm - vs. Whitworth University (NWC), Newberg, Ore.

NEWBERG, Ore. - Sitting on 99 wins as the head coach at George Fox University, Mark Sundquist hopes to pick up his milestone 100th win and become the second-winningest coach in the program's history when the Bruins host Whitman College and Northwest Conference-leading Whitworth University for Homecoming weekend Feb. 5-6.

Friday's game against the Whitman Missionaries and Saturday's game against the Whitworth Pirates both tip off at 8:00 p.m., following women's NWC games at 6:00 p.m. The university will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day, honoring all senior athletes and athletic trainers, and the WBCA's "Pink Zone" promotion for breast cancer awareness and research during Friday's doubleheader. The Homecoming Court will be introduced during halftime of the men's game on Saturday.

George Fox campus radio station KFOX webcasts, live stats, and live video streaming through Stretch Internet will be available for all four of this weekend's games at the following links:

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

Women's Live Stats: http://webservices.georgefox.edu/athletics/livestats/wbasketball/xlive.htm

Men's Live Stats: http://webservices.georgefox.edu/athletics/livestats/mbasketball/xlive.htm

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

Sundquist has a record of 99-144 in his 10th season at George Fox, tied for second in wins among Bruins coaches with Lorin Miller, who was 99-72 from 1970-76. Tops on the list is GFU Sports Hall of Fame coach Mark Vernon, who was 318-218 from 1982-2000.

George Fox is 9-10 overall and 6-4 in the conference, standing in 3rd place a half-game ahead of Pacific Lutheran University. Only two-and-a-half games separate the 3rd through 7th-place teams in the conference in a battle for the 3rd and 4th spots in the NWC Tournament; PLU is 6-5, Lewis & Clark College is 5-5, Whitman is 4-6, and the University of Puget Sound is 4-7. Whitworth at 10-0 and Linfield College at 8-2 have established themselves in the top two spots in the conference.

The Bruins are coming off an 87-75 win at Puget Sound in Friday in which they rallied from 12 down in the first half and from 10 down with 16 minutes left, out-scoring the Loggers 53-31 over that final span. For the second time this season, six players reached double figures in points for the Bruins. Alex Stockner topped the team with 19 points, followed by Stephen Wiseley with 18, Cole Whitehurst with 13, Travis Toedtemeier and Rich Smith with 12 each, and Evan Atwater with 10, including his 1,000th career point that made him the 34th player in Bruin history to achieve that mark.

Whitman (10-9, NWC 4-6, 6th): The Missionaries from Walla Walla, Wash., were picked to tie for 5th with Pacific while George Fox and Willamette tied for 7th in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll ... Whitman snapped a five-game losing streak with a 103-82 win at home over Willamette on Saturday, with Brandon Shaw scoring 25, Justin Artis 24, Peter Clark 18, LuQuam Thompson 16, and Jordan Wheeler 12 ... Series record (since 1971): George Fox leads 24-16 (15-3 home, 9-13 away) ... Whitman won the first meeting this season 90-85 on Jan. 8 in Walla Walla ... The Bruins won the final meeting of '08-09 77-71 in Newberg on Jan. 31 ... Whitman is 1st in the NWC in scoring (85.5, 8th nationally), steals (11.16, 15th nationally), turnover margin (+7.16, 3rd nationally), 3rd in 3-pt field goals (8.84, 16th nationally), 4th in rebounding (38.2), 7th in free throw pct. (.694), 8th in defense (82.4), 9th in field goal pct. (.404) ... G Brandon Shaw is 8th in scoring (16.0), 1st in steals (2.42, 38th nationally), 6th in field goal pct. (.511) ... G Justin Artis is 18th in scoring (11.9), 5th in steals (1.95), 9th in 3-pt field goals (1.74) ... G LuQuam Thompson is 23rd in scoring (11.2), 10th in assists (2.42), steals (1.37) ... G Peter Clark is 30th in scoring (10.2), 1st in 3-pt field goals (2.74, 49th nationally) ... F David Michaels is 8th in blocked shots (0.58), 17th in rebounding (4.5) ... Coach Eric Bridgeland is in his 2nd season at Whitman and his 8th season overall, including five years at Puget Sound and a 14-game stint as interim head coach at Pepperdine ... Next game: Feb. 6 at Pacific, 8 p.m.

Whitworth (17-2, NWC 10-0, 1st): The Pirates from Spokane, Wash., have won the last three NWC Tournament titles to earn NCAA Tournament berths and were picked to win the conference this year in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll ... Whitworth is riding a school-record 16-game winning streak and is ranked 10th in the D3hoops.com national poll ... The Pirates are coming off an 85-63 win over Lewis & Clark on Saturday in which Bo Gregg scored 22 points, Nate Montgomery 21, and David Riley 20 ... Series record (since 1974): George Fox trails 11-23 (6-10 home, 5-13 away) ... Whitworth has won the last eight meetings, including a 75-70 win in Spokane on Jan.9 in their first meeting this season, the closest any conference team has come to the Pirates thus far ... The Bruins' last win in the series was 77-69 in overtime in Newberg on Dec. 2, 2005 ... Whitworth is 1st in the NWC in defense (69.4), scoring margin (+14.7, 9th nationally), field goal pct. (.479, 36th nationally), assists (17.00, 13th nationally), assist/TO ratio (1.36, 6th nationally), 2nd in scoring (84.1, 11th nationally), free throw pct. (.736), 3-point field goals (8.89, 13th nationally), rebound margin (+4.7), 3rd in blocked shots (2.74) ... C Nate Montgomery is 5th in scoring (16.6), 1st in field goal pct. (600, 28th nationally), 4th in rebounding (7.6) ... F David Riley is 10th in scoring (14.9), 2nd in 3-point field goals (2.68), 3-pt field goal pct. (.436, 20th nationally), 7th in field goal pct. (.507) ... G Eric Beal is 14th in scoring (13.1), 2nd in assists (6.11, 16th nationally), 3rd in steals (2.05), 6th in free throw pct. (.814), 9th in 3-point field goals (1.74) ... F Bo Gregg is 24th in scoring (10.6), 6th in 3-pt field goals (1.84), 8th in field goal pct. (.477), 13th in rebounding (4.8) ... G Clay Gebbers is 8th in assists (2.78) ... F Jack Loofburrow is 6th in blocked shots (0.78) ... Coach Jim Hayford is 180-54 to date in his 9th season at Whitworth, and 217-81 in his 11th season overall ... The Pirates visit Pacific Friday before meeting the Bruins ... Next game: Feb. 12 vs. Puget Sound, 5:30 p.m.

BRUIN BITS:

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

Leading George Fox in scoring in a big road win at Puget Sound, Alex Stockner has been named the Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week for Jan. 25-31, and received honorable mention for Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week as the Bruins went 1-1.

In a 72-69 loss at Pacific on Jan. 26, Stockner scored 13 points on 3-6 field goals (1-2 on threes) and 6-6 free throws, along with 5 rebounds and a blocked shot. In an 87-75 win at Puget Sound, he scored 19 points, one of six Bruins in double figures, on 5-10 field goals (1-2 on threes) and 8-8 free throws, with 8 rebounds and an assist, a block, and a steal. For the week, he totaled 32 points (16.0 ppg) on 8-16 field goals (.500), including 2-4 (.500) on threes, and 14-14 free throws (1.000), with 13 rebounds (6.5 rpg), 2 blocked shots, an assist and a steal.

Stockner, a senior forward from Monmouth, Ore., has been named BAA Athlete of the Week and received honorable mention for NWC honors four times this season. He ranks 5th in the NWC in field goal pct. (.525) and free throw pct. (.825), 8th in rebounding (5.6), 11th in scoring (14.4), and 14th in blocked shots (0.42).

* 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; Jan. 25-31

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 23-29; HM, Dec. 7-13; HM, Dec. 28-Jan. 3; HM, Jan. 25-31

Evan Atwater

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 30-Dec. 6; Jan. 18-24

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 30-Dec. 6; HM, Jan. 18-24

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. 31): Wiseley Among Leaders in FT Pct., Assists

- George Fox is 26th in free throw pct. (.753) 30th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.388), 31st in assists (16.1), 31st in 3-pt field goals (8.2), ...

- Stephen Wiseley is 7th in free throw pct. (.910), 45th in assists (5.1) ...

* NWC Stats (thru Feb. 2): Bruins Lead League in 3-Point FG and FT Pct.

- George Fox is 1st in free throw pct. (.753), 3-pt field goal pct. (.388), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.312), 2nd in assists (16.11), 3rd in field goal pct. (.452), assist/TO ratio (1.02), rebounding defense (36.4), 4th in 3-pt field goals (8.16), blocked shots (2.32, T), 5th in scoring margin (-2.7), rebounding margin (-2.4), field goal pct. defense (.462), 6th in defense (77.6), 7th in scoring (74.8), rebounding (34.1), 8th in steals (6.26), turnover margin (-2.37) ...

- Alex Stockner is 5th in field goal pct. (.525), free throw pct. (.825), 8th in rebounding (5.6), 11th in scoring (14.4), 14th in blocked shots (0.42) ...

- Stephen Wiseley is 1st in free throw pct. (.910), 3rd in assists (5.06), 6th in assist/TO ratio (1.30), steals (1.83), 8th in 3-pt field goals (1.78), 15th in 3pt field goal pct. (.356), 17th in scoring (12.1) ...

- Rich Smith is 5th in rebounding (7.4), 13th in blocked shots (0.47), 15th in scoring (12.7) ...

- Evan Atwater is 3rd in free throw pct. (.851), 5th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.413), 11th in 3-pt field goals (1.63), 20th in scoring (11.3) ...

- Dan Lingenfelder is 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.414), 9th in blocked shots (0.56, T) ...

* 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 Becomes 34th Member of Bruins' 1,000-Point Club

- Evan Atwater: By scoring the Bruins' first two points of the game with a layup at the 17:27 mark in an eventual 87-75 win at Puget Sound on Jan. 29, Atwater became the 34th player in the Bruins' 106-year history to reach 1,000 points for a career. He finished with 10 points in the game, giving him 1,008 career points to move past Mike Rasmussen (1,004, 198993) into 33rd place. Ahead on the chart are Kurt Ronnow (1,013, 1988-92), Curtis Kimbrough (1,023, 1983-87), Rolly Hartley (1,026, 1953-56), and Larry Jury (1,027, 1983-85).

* Statistician "Biggs" Adds Another Game to His Streaks

With the Bruins' game at Puget Sound on Jan. 29, long-time statistican Mike "Biggs" Wirta stretched his streak of Bruin men's basketball games attended, home and away, to 684 in a row. He has worked 626 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 (1,095 of 2,122 for 51.60%) in the 106 seasons of Bruin basketball.

* Head Coach Mark Sundquist

Head coach Mark Sundquist (Seattle Pacific '87) is 99-144 (.407, 53-53 home, 34-77 road, 12-14 neutral) to date in his 10th season at George Fox ... He is tied for the second-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 Whitman, he is 10-9 (7-2 home, 3-7 away) ... Against Whitworth, he is 5-14 (3-6 home, 2-8 away) ...