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MBSK: WHAT’S BRUIN - Bruins at Linfield for First NWC Tourney Game Since ‘98 Thursday
Upcoming Games
- Thur., Feb. 25, 7:00 pm - at Linfield College, McMinnville, Ore. (NWC Tournament)
- Sat., Feb. 27, 7:00 pm - vs. TBA (Whitworth or Lewis & Clark), site TBA (NWC Tournament)
NEWBERG, Ore. - Making only their second appearance in the Northwest Conference Tournament since becoming a league member in 1995, the George Fox University Bruins will take on their Yamhill County rivals, the Linfield College Wildcats, in a semi-final game Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Ted Wilson Gym in McMinnville.
George Fox is 12-13 overall and tied for third with Lewis & Clark College, both 9-7 in league play. The Bruins swept the season series with the Pioneers and thus received the #3 seed in the tournament. Linfield is the #2 seed at 12-12 overall and 10-6 in the NWC. #4 seed Lewis & Clark will travel to Spokane, Wash., to take on the #1 seed Whitworth University Pirates, who are 23-2 overall, 16-0 in the conference, and riding a school-record 21-game winning streak.
The championship game is set for Saturday, Feb. 27, at 7:00 p.m. at the site of the highest-remaining seed after Thursday's games to determine the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. If the bottom two seeds win, the Bruins would host that game, which could turn into a doubleheader if the George Fox women, who are the #1 seed in the NWC women's tournament, win their semi-final game with Lewis & Clark Thursday. In that case, tentative times are 6:00 p.m. for the women's game and 8:00 p.m. for the men's game.
Linfield has announced that tickets for the game will be $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and seniors 65 and up. Linfield and George Fox students will be admitted free with a valid college ID; faculty and staff will need to purchases tickets. NWC passes only are valid for the game, and no other regular season passes will be honored. All seats are general admission and will be sold on the day of the game only.
Live audio will be provided by Linfield via Stretch Internet for Thursday's game at http://www.stretchinternet.com/linschedule.html.
If the Bruins get to host on Saturday, live stats, live internet audio from campus station KFOX radio, and live video streaming via Stretch Internet will be provided for at the following links:
Live Stats: http://athletics.georgefox.edu/livestats/index
Live Audio: http://www.georgefox.edu/offices/asc/kfoxradio/
Live Video: http://secure.stretchinternet.com/demo/games.php?user=georgefox&o=cal_stamp&sd=today
The only other time the Bruins appeared in the NWC Tournament was a 91-77 loss at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 25, 1998. There was no conference tournament from 2000-2005 as the NWC opted to send only its regular-season champion to the NCAA playoffs because of a limited number of at-large bids. As the NCAA field expanded, the NWC reinstituted its tournament in 2006.
Linfield (12-12, NWC 10-6, 2nd): The Wildcats from McMinnville, Ore., were picked to finish tied for 2nd in the pre-season NWC coaches' poll, George Fox tied for 7th ... Series record (since 1972): Tied 41-41 (George Fox is 23-16 home, 18-24 away, 0-1 neutral) ... The Wildcats have won the last three meetings, winning 84-80 in Newberg on Jan. 16 and 74-70 in McMinnville on Feb.13 ... The Bruins' last win in the series was 71-67 in Newberg on Jan. 17 last year ... Linfield is 1st in the NWC in blocked shots (3.42), 3rd in field goal pct. (.458), field goal pct. defense (.439), 4th in defense (77.4), 5th in rebounding (36.7), 6th in scoring (74.2), 9th in free throw pct. (.685) ... G Cody Tesoro in 2nd in scoring (17.8), 10th in 3-pt field goals (1.71), 11th in steals (1.33), 12th in free throw pct. (.768), 15th in assists (2.17), ... F Kris Rainwater is 1st in blocked shots (1.70) ... C K.C. Wiser has missed several games due to injury and does not qualify for NWC stats, but has averaged 17.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and shot .530 from the field when he has played ... G Drew Schroeder is 13th in assists (2.21), 17th in rebounding (4.7) ... Coach Larry Doty is 300-272 to date in his 23rd season at Linfield.
BRUIN BITS:
* Stockner's Clutch Play Earns BAA Award, HM for NWC Honors
Highlighted by a game-winning three-point play that put the Bruins into the conference tournament, Alex Stockner had two games that have earned him the Bruin Athletic Association Men's Athlete of the Week for Feb. 15-21 and honorable mention for Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week.
In a 91-90 overtime win over Lewis & Clark on Feb. 19, Stockner scored a game-high 26 points on 9-13 field goals (1-1 on threes) and 7-7 free throws, with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. With the Bruins down by two late in the overtime, he scored a layup off a pass from Jack Martin, was fouled, and hit the free throw to give the Bruins the win and secure only the second appearance in the NWC Tournament for the team since joining the league in 1995. In a 70-67 loss at Pacific Lutheran on Feb. 20, he scored 10 points on 2-4 field goals (1-1 on threes) and 5-7 free throws, with 3 rebounds and 2 steals. For the week, he totaled 36 points (18.0 ppg) on 11-17 field goals (.647), including 2-2 (1.000) on threes, and 12-14 free throws (.857), with 10 rebounds (5.0 rpg), 4 steals, and 2 assists.
Stockner, a senior forward from Monmouth, Ore., has been named BAA Athlete of the Week and received honorable mention for NWC honors six 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; Feb. 15-21
- 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; HM, Feb. 15-21
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. 21): Bruins in Top 20 in Three National Stats
- George Fox is 6th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.406), 14th in 3-pt field goals (8.8), 17th in assists (16.6), 32nd in free throw pct. (.743) ...
- Stephen Wiseley is 10th in free throw pct. (.897), 38th in assists (5.0) ...
* NWC Stats (thru Feb. 21): Wiseley Remains Best FT Shooter in NWC
- George Fox is 1st in 3-pt field goal pct. (.406), 3-pt field goal pct. defense (.322), assists (16.56), 2nd in field goal pct. (.461), free throw pct. (.743), 3rd in 3-pt field goals (8.80), assist/TO ratio (1.05), rebounding defense (36.6), 4th in scoring margin (-1.9), field goal pct. defense (.458), 5th in scoring (77.2), blocked shots (2.28), rebounding margin (-2.1), 6th in defense (79.1), 7th in rebounding (34.5), 8th in steals (6.24), turnover margin (-2.44) ...
- Alex Stockner is 4th in field goal pct. (.538), free throw pct. (.810), 8th in scoring (15.0), 10th in rebounding (5.4), 15th in steals (1.16) ...
- Stephen Wiseley is 1st in free throw pct. (.897), 3rd in assists (5.00), 5th in steals (1.79), 6th in assist/TO ratio (1.28), 8th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.390), 9th in 3-pt field goals (1.92), 15th in scoring (13.0) ...
- Rich Smith is 5th in rebounding (7.6), 9th in field goal pct. (.479), 10th in blocked shots (0.57), 16th in scoring (12.8) ...
- Evan Atwater is 3rd in 3-pt field goal pct. (.414), 11th in 3-pt field goals (1.64, T), 12th in assists (2.24), 25th in scoring (10.8) ...
- Dan Lingenfelder is 10th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.385), 11th in blocked shots (0.54) ...
- Travis Toedtemeier is 4th in 3-pt field goal pct. (.408) ...
* Double-Doubles
- Rich Smith: season 6, career 6 - 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; 25 pts/12 reb vs. Lewis & Clark
- Alex Stockner: season 1, career 1 - 26 pts, 14 reb vs. Puget Sound, 1/2
* Career Lists: Atwater Up to 28th on All-Time Points List
- Evan Atwater: With 19 points in the Bruins' last two games, Atwater raised his career points total to 1,063 and passed Dave Alteneder (1,049, 1965-69) for 28th on the GFU all-time scoring list. Ahead are 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" Goes Over 1,100 Total Bruin Games
With the Bruins' two games vs. Lewis & Clark and at Pacific Lutheran this past weekend, long-time statistician Mike "Biggs" Wirta stretched his streak of Bruin men's basketball games attended, home and away, to 690 in a row. He has worked 629 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 (1,101 of 2,128 for 51.74%) in the 106 seasons of Bruin basketball.
* Head Coach Mark Sundquist
Head coach Mark Sundquist (Seattle Pacific '87) is 102-147 (.410, 55-54 home, 35-79 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 Linfield, he is 7-14 (5-5 home, 2-8 away, 0-1 neutral) ...
