SPOKANE, Wash. -- Lewis & Clark College gained a hard fought 66-60 comeback win over the University of Puget Sound in Wednesday night's Northwest Conference semifinal to earn a spot opposite 16th-ranked Whitworth in Saturday afternoon's NWC tournament final. The game between the Pioneers (19-6) and Pirates (22-3) will tip off at 4:00 pm in the Whitworth Fieldhouse. The winner of the game earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. The NCAA tournament bracket will be announced on Monday, Feb. 26th with First Round games beginning on Thursday, March 1st.
The Pirates: Whitworth (22-3 overall, 13-3 NWC) earned a share of its first NWC title since 2003, sharing with L&C. The Pirates started the season on a school-record 13 game winning streak. They have won three in a row heading into Saturday's game. Last week the Pirates used a pair of big second halves to gain the conference-clinching wins. On Tuesday at Whitman, the Pirates broke away from a two-point halftime deficit with a 25-3 run to start the second half. Whitworth eventually won 84-72. In Friday night's regular season finale against Willamette, the Pirates shot 66.7% from the field in the second half to turn a two-point halftime lead into an eventual 19 point lead on the way to an 81-66 win over the Bearcats. Whitworth is still making a remarkable 53.1% of its shots from the field this season, including a hot 41.0% from three point range. The Pirates have outscored opponents by more than 14 points per contest so far this season. Whitworth has been very good defensively as well, holding opponents to an NWC-lowest 41.1% shooting from the floor. The Bucs have outrebounded opponents by 4.5 boards per game (33.5 - 28.9) and have forced almost 9 steals per game. Tickets: All reserved seats are sold out. The price for adult general admission is $6, while seniors and children are $3. All Whitworth and L&C students with valid student ID will be admitted free. Whitworth Fieldhouse doors will open at 3:00 pm on Saturday for general admission seating. Nationally Ranked: Whitworth's outstanding season has earned the attention of the voters in the D3hoops.com top 25 poll. The Pirates have been ranked in the D3hoops.com top 25 all year, including this week's rating of 16th. Click here for the entire poll. Radio/Internet: Saturday's game will be carried live by KSBN 1230 am and Bob Castle will call the play by play. In addition to the on-air broadcast, the KSBN internet simulcast can be picked up either on the Whitworth Athletics site, or at KSBN.net by selecting the "listen now" button. National Leaders: Whitworth is again ranked first in all of NCAA Division III in field goal percentage at 53.1%. The Pirates are also ranked highly in several other statistical categories). Those include: Scoring Margin (11th: +14.6 ppg)
On the Oregon Trail: Winning on the road in the Northwest Conference has always been a challenge. But since the arrival of head coach Jim Hayford for the 2001-02 season, Whitworth has found success playing in the state of Oregon. Including this season's 4-1 mark, the Pirates are 22-8 (.733) in NWC regular season contests played in Oregon during Hayford's six seasons. Dishing the Ball: Bryan Williams (Sr., G, Colbert, Wash. - Mead) will retire following this season as one of Whitworth's all-time leaders in assists, and could set a school record for single season assists average. This season he has 178 assists through 24 games played, averaging 7.4 per contest, which ranks fourth at the NCAA Division III level. 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. He is averaging 11.1 points per game and became the 19th player in Whitworth history to score more than 1,000 points in his career. He is the second player in Whitworth history with more than 1,000 career points and 500 career assists. Steve Mihas had 1,070 career points and 716 assists from 1988-91 in 115 games. Sir James is Back!: James Jones (Sr., G, Manchester, England - St. Mary Coll.), Whitworth's leading scorer through the first 12 games of the season, has returned to the lineup after missing six games with a broken right hand. He has averaged 17.5 points per game in his five games back, surpassing the 16.1 points per game through the first 12 games. He has made more than 50% (20/40) of his three pointers since his return, giving the Pirates a much-needed extra weapon from the outside. 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 308 career three pointers in 764 tries (.403). He is also the 18th player in Whitworth history to score more than 1,000 career points, surpassing that total in last season's NWC Playoff Championship at UPS. Young capped his final regular season by earning this week's NWC Player of the Week award. He scored 33 points on 64% shooting in last week's victories. Big Hos: Kevin Hasenfus (Sr., P, Lodi, Calif. - Delta Coll.) responded well to the absence of James Jones in the lineup with the best stretch of games in his career. He was the NWC Player of the Week on January 22nd after averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds in that weekend's wins over Whitman and Willamette. The 6'-7" center is currently averaging 12.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. Symes of the Times: Ryan Symes (Jr., F, Palo Alto, Calif. - Delta Coll.) has consistently been Whitworth's second leading scorer this season, currently averaging 14.9 points per game. He scored a career-high 27 points in the win at Pacific on January 26th. He is making 54% of his shots from the floor, 80% of his free throws and grabs 5.3 rebounds per contest. The List of 1,000 Point Scorers (19 total): 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- ) 1,279; Brian Meyers (1984-87) 1,107; Steve Mihas (1987-1991) 1,070; Ryan Nelson (1998-2001) 1,069; Doug Loiler (1991-92) 1,060; Steve Street (1987-88) 1,059); Chase Williams (2000-2003), 1,053; Bryan Williams (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 114-37 (.754) in his sixth season at Whitworth (151-64 overall in eight years as a head coach), 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: Lewis & Clark comes into Saturday's game as the hottest team in the NWC. Including Wednesday night's win, the Pioneers have won ten in a row, the second longest winning streak in the conference this season to Whitworth's 13-0 to start the schedule. Head coach Bob Gaillard is in his 18th season leading the Pioneers. This is the fifth championship he has won or shared during that time. L&C is a balanced team with four players averaging between 11 and 13 points per game. Nine different players are averaging at least ten minutes of playing time per game. Joey Taboni (Jr., G) is leading the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game, while David Berggren (So., G) and Mark Robinowitz (Jr., G) are adding 12.8 and 12.5 points per game respectively. The pair are making a combined 5.6 three pointers per game. But Thomas Tillery (Jr., G) is the engine that makes the team run. He averages 11.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. L&C came back from a nine-point halftime deficit to win on Wednesday at home. Taboni posted a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Tillery added 12 points, four rebounds and three steals for the Pioneers, who held UPS to only 22 second half points on 28% second half shooting. Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Basketball > Sports Releases > |
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