MBSK: WHAT’S BRUIN - Bruins Hoping to Nail Down Tournament Berth on Final Weekend

Upcoming Games

- Fri., Feb. 19, 8:00 pm - vs. Lewis & Clark College (NWC), Newberg, Ore.

- Sat., Feb. 20, 8:00 pm - at Pacific Lutheran University (NWC), Tacoma, Wash.

NEWBERG, Ore. - There will be plenty of scoreboard watching by several Northwest Conference men's basketball teams, the George Fox University Bruins included, as the final weekend of conference play approaches, with four teams vying for three as-yet-to-be-determined positions in the NWC Tournament coming up Feb. 25 and 27.

The Bruins conclude the regular season with games against two other tournament contenders, hosting the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers Friday and visiting the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes Saturday. Both games tip off at 8:00 p.m., following women's NWC games at 6:00 p.m.  George Fox campus radio station KFOX webcasts will webcast all four of this weekend's games, while live stats and live video streaming via Stretch Internet will be available for the Lewis & Clark home 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

The top four teams in the final standings make the NWC Tournament.  George Fox is 11-12 overall and 8-6 in the conference, tied for third with Lewis & Clark (8-6) and one game behind second-place Linfield College (9-5).  Pacific Lutheran (6-8) still has a mathematical chance to tie for fourth with either George Fox or Lewis & Clark, while Whitworth University (15-0) has clinched the league title and home-court advantage for the entire tournament.  Other key games to watch this weekend include: Friday - Whitman at Linfield, Willamette at Pacific Lutheran; Saturday - Whitworth at Linfield, Lewis & Clark at Puget Sound.  The only previous appearance by the Bruins in the NWC Tournament was Feb. 25, 1998, when they lost at Lewis & Clark 91-77 (George Fox joined the conference in 1995).

The Bruins split two road games this past weekend, rallying to defeat the Willamette University Bearcats 89-81 on Friday before falling at Linfield 74-70 on Saturday.  A 63% shooting percentage in the second half enabled the Bruins to come from 11 down at Willamette as Stephen Wiseley scored 22 points, Alex Stockner 19, Rich Smith had a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Cole Whitehurst scored 11 off the bench.  At Linfield, the Bruins fell behind by 24 with 12 minutes to play but stormed back to get within three in the final two minutes before running out of steam.  Wiseley led the Bruins with 20 points and Jack Martin scored 13 in a reserve role.

Lewis & Clark (9-13, NWC 8-6, 3rd T): The Pioneers from Portland, Ore., were picked to finish 4th in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll ... Lewis & Clark is coming off a 78-35 rout of Pacific at home in which Josh Kollasch scored 17 points, Kelly Edwards 14, and Kyle Meeuwsen and James Hollins 12 each ... Series record (since 1965): George Fox trails 21-36 (10-14 home, 11-22 away) ... The Bruins ended a six-game losing streak to the Pios with a 76-71 win in Portland on Jan. 22 behind 17 points from Jack Martin, 16 from Alex Stockner, and 10 each from Stephen Wiseley, Evan Atwater, and Rich Smith ... The Pioneers' last win in the series was 63-49 in Newberg on Feb. 6 last year ... In the NWC, Lewis & Clark is 2nd in defense (71.8), 3-pt field goals (9.09, 11th nationally), 5th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.334), 6th in field goal pct. (.428), rebounding (34.5), 8th in scoring (71.4), free throw pct. (.691) ... G Kelly Edwards in 4th in scoring (16.9), 9th in free throw pct. (.782), 12th in rebounding (5.1) ... G James Hollins is 7th in scoring (15.8), 3rd in rebounding (7.7), 4th in 3-pt field goals (2.14), 14th in steals (1.18) ... G Josh Kollasch is 15th in scoring (13.0), 4th in assists (3.89), 8th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.389), 9th in 3-pt field goals (1.95) ... F Kyle Meeuwsen is 6th in field goal pct. (.516), blocked shots (0.74), 16th in rebounding (4.7) ... G P.J. Taylor is 5th in 3-pt field goals (2.11) ... Coach Bob Gaillard is 347-215 to date in his 21st season at Lewis & Clark, and 512-273 in his 29th season overall ... Next game: Feb. 20 at Puget Sound, 8 p.m.

Pacific Lutheran (8-13, NWC 6-8, 5th): The Lutes from Tacoma, Wash., were picked to finish 9th in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll ... PLU  has lost its last five games, including a 97-55 setback at Whitworth on Saturday in which Curtis Trondsen scored 11 points and James Conti 10 ... Series record (since 1985): George Fox trails 13-17 (8-7 home, 5-10 away) ... The Bruins sanpped a five-game losing skid to the Lutes with a 92-67 win in Newberg on Jan. 23 as Evan Atwater had 17 points, Stephen Wiseley 13, and Cole Whitehurst 10 ... The Lutes' last win in the series was 84-78 in Newberg on Feb. 21 last year ... In the NWC, PLU is 3rd in 3-pt field goal pct. (.348), assists (15.10), 4th in free throw pct. (.715), steals (7.24), 5th in defense (77.9), field goal pct. (.432), 9th in scoring (70.8), rebounding (33.1) ... W Kyle MacTaggart is 9th in scoring (14.9), 4th in blocked shots (0.90), 13th in field goal pct. (.473), 18th in rebounding (4.6) ... P Victor Bull is 11th in rebounding (5.1), blocked shots (0.52), field goal pct. (.479) ... PG James Conti is 30th in scoring (9.7), 3rd in free throw pct. (.827), 4th in steals (1.86), 5th in assists (3.62), ... W Curtis Trondsen is 28th in scoring (10.4), 3rd in 3-pt field goal pct. (.418) ... G Tony Polis is 2nd in assist/TO ratio (2.25, 31st nationally) ... Coach Steve Dickerson is 35-55 to date in his 4th season at PLU ... PLU hosts Willamette Friday before meeting the Bruins ... Next game: end of season.

BRUIN BITS:

* Wiseley's Hot Hand Earns BAA Athlete Award, HM for NWC Honors

With two 20-point games during the week as the Bruins fight for a conference tournament berth, Stephen Wiseley has been named the Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week for Feb. 8-14 and also received honorable mention for Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week.

In an 89-81 win at Willamette on Feb. 12, Wiseley scored 22 points on 6-9 field goals (4-5 on threes) and 6-7 free throws, with 2 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.  He scored eight points in a row late in the second half as the Bruins rallied from 11 down to go ahead.  In a 74-70 loss at Linfield on Feb. 13, he scored 20 points on 6-11 field goals (4-7 on threes) and 4-4 free throws, with 2 assists, 3 steals, and a rebound.  For the week, he totaled 42 points (21.0 ppg) on 12-20 field goals (.600), including 8-12 (.667) on threes, and 10-11 free throws (.909), with 7 assists (3.5 apg), 5 steals (2.5 spg), and 3 rebounds.

Wiseley, a junior point guard from Kirkland, Wash., has been named BAA Athlete of the Week and received honorable mention for NWC honors three times this season.  He ranks 1st in the NWC in free throw pct. (.902), 8th in rebounding (5.7), and 10th in scoring (14.9).

* 2009-10 Honors

Stephen Wiseley

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 16-22; Jan. 11-17; Feb. 8-14

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 16-22; HM, Jan. 11-17; HM, Feb. 8-14

Alex Stockner

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 23-29; Dec. 7-13; Dec. 28-Jan. 3; Jan. 25-31; Feb. 1-7

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - HM, Nov. 23-29; HM, Dec. 7-13; HM, Dec. 28-Jan. 3; HM, Jan. 25-31; HM, Feb. 1-7

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 Feb. 14): Bruins Climb Several Rungs in 3-Pt Shooting

- George Fox is 11th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.402), 17th in 3-pt field goals (8.6), 25th in assists (16.2), 28th in free throw pct. (.746) ...

- Stephen Wiseley is 9th in free throw pct. (.903), 39th in assists (5.0) ...

* NWC Stats (thru Feb. 16): Wiseley Remains Best FT Shooter in NWC

- George Fox is 1st in 3-pt field goal pct. (.402), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.323), 2nd in free throw pct. (.746), assists (16.17), 3rd in field goal pct. (.458), 3-pt field goals (8.61), assist/TO ratio (1.02), rebounding defense (36.4), 4th in scoring margin (-2.0), 5th in scoring (77.0), blocked shots (2.22), rebounding margin (-2.0), field goal pct. defense (.462), 6th in defense (79.0), 7th in rebounding (34.4), 8th in steals (6.30), turnover margin (-2.26) ...

- Alex Stockner is 4th in field goal pct. (.530), 7th in free throw pct. (.804), 10th in scoring (14.8), rebounding (5.4) ...

- Stephen Wiseley is 1st in free throw pct. (.903), 3rd in assists (4.95), 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.404), 6th in 3-pt field goals (2.00, T), steals (1.77), assist/TO ratio (1.22), 14th in scoring (13.5) ...

- Rich Smith is 5th in rebounding (7.5), 13th in blocked shots (0.48), 18th in scoring (12.6) ...

- Evan Atwater is 3rd in 3-pt field goal pct. (.407), 11th in 3-pt field goals (1.61), 24th in scoring (11.9) ...

- Dan Lingenfelder is 9th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.386), blocked shots (0.59) ...

- Travis Toedtemeier is 11th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.385) ...

- Cole Whitehurst is 20th in rebounding (4.2) ...

* Double-Doubles

- Rich Smith: season 5, career 5 - 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; 12 pts, 11 reb vs. Whitman, 2/5; 12 pts. 12 reb at Willamette, 2/12

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

* Career Lists: Atwater Ranks 29th on All-Time Points List

- Evan Atwater:  With 12 points in the Bruins' last two games, Atwater raised his career points total to 1,044 and ranks 29th on the all-time scoring list.  Ahead are Dave Alteneder (1,049, 1965-69), Howard Crow (1,090, 1957-61), and Dan Newman (1,092, 1986-88).  He became the 34th player in the Bruins' 106-year history to reach 1,000 points with his first goal of the game at Puget Sound on Jan. 29.

* Statistician "Biggs" One Game Away from Seeing 1,100 Games

With the Bruins' two games at Willamette and Linfield this past weekend, long-time statistician Mike "Biggs" Wirta stretched his streak of Bruin men's basketball games attended, home and away, to 688 in a row.  He has worked 628 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 (1,099 of 2,126 for 51.69%) in the 106 seasons of Bruin basketball.

* Head Coach Mark Sundquist

Head coach Mark Sundquist (Seattle Pacific '87) is 101-146 (.409, 54-54 home, 35-78 road, 12-14 neutral) to date in his 10th season at George Fox ... He became the second-winningest coach in Bruin history, breaking a tie with Lorin Miller (99-72, 1970-76), when he picked up his 100th coaching win in a 103-90 victory over Whitman at home on Feb. 5.  The all-time leader is Mark Vernon (318-218, 1982-2000) ... He was the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year in 2004-05 ... Against Lewis & Clark, he is 5-14 (3-6 home, 2-8 away) ... Against Pacific Lutheran, he is 9-10 (5-5 home, 4-5 away) ...