SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth College, ranked 8th in the latest D3hoops.com top 25 poll, will play its first games of 2007 on the road, beginning with the final non-conference contest of the season at UC Santa Cruz on January 2nd, followed by a Northwest Conference trip to Linfield and George Fox over the weekend.

Williams is averaging 8.1 apg and 10.7 ppg

The Pirates: Whitworth (10-0) is off to the second best start in school history, surpassed so far by the 12-0 start of the 2002-03 team. Prior to 2002-03, the team had started 6-0 three times (the last in 1983).

Whitworth is making a remarkable 54.1% of its shots from the field this season, including a hot 42% from three point range. All five starters continue to average double figures in scoring. The Pirates have outscored opponents by nearly 18 points per contest so far this season.

Whitworth has been very good defensively as well, holding opponents to an NWC-lowest 41.6% shooting from the floor. The Bucs have outrebounded opponents by more than three boards per game (31.5 - 28.4) and have forced 10.4 steals per game.

Nationally Ranked: Whitworth's perfect start has earned the attention of the voters in the D3hoops.com top 25 poll. The Pirates are ranked 8th in the latest release (Dec. 19) of the poll. Click here for the entire poll. Whitworth's rating is the team's highest as an NCAA Division III member. The Pirates' previous high ranking was 11th on January 6, 2003.

SATURDAY START TIMES: The Northwest Conference has allowed for earlier start times for games involving Whitworth and Whitman that occur on Saturdays. This allows for an earlier return home. Therefore, the George Fox double header on Saturday, January 6th will begin with a women's game at 4:00 p.m. followed by the men's game at 6:00 p.m.

Dishing the Ball: Bryan Williams (Sr., G, Colbert, Wash. - Mead) will retire following this season as Whitworth's all-time leader in assists, and is on a record setting pace for the single season mark as well. This season he has 81 assists through 9 games played, averaging 9.0 per contest, which ranks first in the NWC by a wide margin. He led the conference last year by averaging 5.7 assists per game. He also led the league as a sophomore when he dished 5.58 assists per contest. He has averaged nearly 5.5 assists per game during his career.

Sir James: James Jones (Sr., G, Manchester, England - St. Mary Coll.) is Whitworth's leading scorer this season, after coming off of the bench as the Pirates' sixth man last year. He is putting up 15.3 points per game (while making 52.4% of his shots) and adding 4.7 rebounds per contest.

The Shooter: Jon Young (Sr., G, Tracy, Calif. - Tracy) holds the Whitworth single season records for most three pointers made (92) and attempted (225), set in 2004-05. At the end of last season he broke Ryan Nelson's (1998-01) career marks for three pointers made (252) and attempted (583). Young has made 281 career three pointers in 686 tries (.410). He is also the 16th player in Whitworth history to score more than 1,000 career points, surpassing that total in last season's NWC Playoff Championship at UPS.

The List of 1,000 Point Scorers: Bryan Depew (2001-04) 2,013; Rod McDonald (1964-67) 1,807;Jim Doherty (1951-53) 1,726; Nate Dunham (1994-97) 1,551; Marv Adams (1955-57) 1,457; Todd Martin (1987-90) 1,403; Tommy Stewart (1982-85) 1,358; Jason Hull (1991-94) 1,348; Ralph Polson (1951-52) 1,302; Bob Mandeville (1981-84) 1,296; Jon Young (2002- ) 1,129; Brian Meyers (1984-87) 1,107; Ryan Nelson (1998-2001) 1,069; Doug Loiler (1991-92) 1,060; Chase Williams (2000-2003), 1,053; Phil Jordan (1953-55) 1,024.

Hayford Nets His 100th: Whitworth head coach Jim Hayford became the fastest coach in Pirate history to record his 100th victory as head coach of the Bucs with the win over Whittier on November 25th. Now 105-35 (.750) in his sixth season, Hayford is only the third coach in school history to reach the 100 win plateau. Hayford was the 2003 NWC Coach of the Year.

Dick Kamm (1961-64, 66-69) was the first, but he did it at the end of his seventh season. He was 110-99 in eight years. Warren Friedrichs (1986-2001) is Whitworth's all-time winningest coach (251-195, 16 years), but he didn't get his 100th win until his 7th season.

Globetrotters: The Pirates traveled more than 9,300 miles around the United States over the course of eight days to pick up their first six wins of the season. Whitworth won two games at the Lee Pfund Classic hosted by Wheaton, Illinois on November 17th and 18th. Then the Bucs won both of their games at the US Bank - Whitworth Maui Classic in Hawaii on November 22nd and 23rd. The Pirates closed the trip in Southern California with the two wins at the Caltech/Whittier Thanksgiving Classic last weekend.

The Opponents: Whitworth is returning to California to play at UC Santa Cruz for the second time this season. The previous meeting (a 76-52 Pirates' victory on December 10th) was hastily arranged after a contest against Reed College was dropped from the schedule. Jon Young tied the school record for three pointers in a game with seven while leading the Bucs with 22 points. It is the third time in his career he has hit seven three pointers in a game. Ryan Symes (Jr., F, Palo Alto, Calif. - Delta Coll.) added 17 points for Whitworth. The Banana Slugs are 2-8 and have played two games since the loss to the Pirates - winning 61-49 at Caltech and losing 82-47 at Cal Lutheran.

Linfield College enters the weekend with an 5-5 record. The Wildcats have one more game at the Cactus Jam Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona tomorrow. Senior forward Evan Timperly is leading the NWC in scoring at more than 20 points per game. Whitworth swept a pair of meetings with Linfield last season, winning 100-68 in McMinnville, Oregon and 90-54 in Spokane.

George Fox University is also 5-5 heading into the holiday weekend. The Bruins will host Whitman on January 5th in their next game and have not played since a 78-67 loss at NCAA DII St. Martin's on December 20th. Chris Parker and Phil Heu-Weller are averaging 16.6 and 16.5 points per game, respectively. Whitworth split with George Fox last season. The Bruins took a 77-69 decision in overtime last season, coming back from 21 points behind in the second half. The Pirates won 79-69 in Spokane later in the season.

2006-07 Schedule

2006-07 Roster

2006-07 Statistics