SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth College is headed to the NCAA Division III tournament for the second time in school history and the Pirates will be playing in St. Louis, Mo. Whitworth, ranked 11th in the latest D3hoops.com poll and the champion of the Northwest Conference and the NWC tournament, will take on DePauw University of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in the first round on Friday night at 6:00 pm (CST). Host Washington University of St. Louis will play neighboring school Fontbonne College in the other first round match up at 8:00 pm.
The winners will play on Saturday at 7:00 pm. Click here to print the entire tournament bracket: The Pirates: Whitworth (23-3) earned a share of its first NWC title since 2003, sharing with L&C, then won the conference tournament for the first time since that same season. The Pirates started the season on a school-record 13 game winning streak. They have won four in a row heading into Friday's game. Since becoming head coach for the 2001-02 season, Whitworth's Jim Hayford has finished first or second in the NWC five of those six years. Last week the Pirates used a strong defense to overcome Lewis & Clark in the NWC tournament final. Whitworth held L&C to 34.8% (23/66) shooting from the field and 20.6% (7/34) shooting from three point range in a 69-62 win in the Fieldhouse. With the scored tied 53-53 with 7:20 to play, the Pirates did not allow another Pioneer field goal until Whitworth led by 10 with 19 seconds left. Whitworth is still making a remarkable 52.8% of its shots from the field this season, including a hot 40.4% 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 40.8% shooting from the floor. The Bucs have outrebounded opponents by 4.4 boards per game (33.7 - 29.3) and have forced almost 9 steals per game. Post Season Story: Even though the Pirates are only making their second appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament, Whitworth is no stranger to post-season. The Pirates played in the 1996 and 1998 NAIA Division II tournaments, hosted by Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho. In 1996 Whitworth advanced to the title game before losing in overtime to Albertson (Idaho) College. In 1998 Whitworth lost on a last-second basket to eventual champion Bethel College (Ind.) in the quarterfinals. Prior to the splitting of the NAIA into divisions in 1992, the Pirates played in the NAIA tournament in Kansas City five times. Whitworth advanced to the quarterfinals in 1952 and then suffered first-round losses in 1954, 1955, 1961 and 1991. Tickets: The WU-St. Louis box office will open at 4:45 pm (CST) Friday. Ticket prices are $3 for students with an ID and $6 for adults. Radio/Internet: Friday's game will be carried live by KSBN 1230 am and Bob Castle will call the play by play. The broadcast will begin at 3:45 pm (PST). 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. The Award Winners: Whitworth's Jim Hayford was named 2007 NWC Coach of the Year, while Bryan Williams (Sr., G, Colbert, Wash. - Mead) was named NWC Player of the Year. Both Ryan Symes (Jr., F, Palo Alto, Calif. - Delta Coll.) and James Jones (Sr., G, Manchester, England - Univ. of St. Mary) were selected to the six-member All-NWC First Team. Kevin Hasenfus (Sr., P, Lodi, Calif. - Delta Coll.) was an Honorable Mention All-NWC choice. 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 11th. Click here for the entire poll. National Leaders: Whitworth is ranked first in all of NCAA Division III in field goal percentage at 52.8%. The Pirates are also ranked highly in several other statistical categories. Those include: Scoring Margin (11th: +14.3 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 183 assists through 25 games played, averaging 7.3 per contest, which ranks fifth 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 11.0 points per game and recently 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 16.1 points per game in his six games back, matching the 16.1 points per game he averaged through the first 12 games. He has made 49% (21/43) 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 312 career three pointers in 773 tries (.404). 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, then led the Pirates to Saturday's win in the NWC final with a game-high 22 points. 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 11.8 points and 6.4 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 15.0 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, 81% of his free throws and grabs 5.2 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; Jon Young (2002- ) 1,301; Bob Mandeville (1981-84) 1,296; Brian Meyers (1984-87) 1,107; Steve Mihas (1987-1991) 1,070; Ryan Nelson (1998-2001) 1,069; Bryan Williams (2003- ) 1,062; Doug Loiler (1991-92) 1,060; Steve Street (1987-88) 1,059; 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 115-37 (.756) in his sixth season at Whitworth (152-64 overall in eight years as a head coach), Hayford is only the third coach in school history to reach the 100 win plateau. Hayford has won two NWC Coach of the Year awards at Whitworth (2003, 2007). 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. The Opponents: DePauw University (22-5, 12-2) was regular season co-champion of the SCAC. The Tigers received an at-large bid to the tournament after losing to Trinity (Texas) 77-72 in the semifinals of the SCAC tournament last weekend, which led to the team falling out of this week's D3hoops.com top-25 poll. DePauw, led by head coach Bill Fenlon (14th year), is making its 12th NCAA Division III tournament appearance and second in a row. Senior wing Austin Brown earned First Team All-SCAC this season after averaging 14.8 points per game while making 54% of his shots from the floor. Stephen Schott, a 6-6 junior post, adds 11.7 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game. Sophomore point guard Mike Moore chips in 11.0 points and 5.4 assists per contest, while making 44% of his three point attempts. Both Schott and Moore were Second Team All-SCAC selections. Whitworth and DePauw have never played in men's basketball. Should Whitworth advance past the Tigers in the first round, the Pirates would play either one of the following: Washington University - St. Louis, the host of the regional, is 20-4 overall and ranked 8th in the latest D3hoops.com poll. The Bears tied with University of Chicago for the championship of the University Athletic Association (UAA) with 11-3 records. But Washington earned the automatic bid based on a season sweep of the Maroons, including a regular season ending 79-74 victory. Washington is making its 15th NCAA appearance and 12th as a Division III school. The Bears are led by a pair of strong forwards in 6-6 junior Troy Roths and 6-6 sophomore Tyler Nading. Roths averages 19.2 points and 7.8 rebounds, while Nading adds 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. Mark Edwards, in his 26th year as head coach of Washington University, was previously an assistant coach at Washington State for nine years (1972-1981). Fontbonne College (16-11) comes into the tournament as a team on a roll. The Griffins began the season with a 2-7 record before finishing 14-4. Fontbonne tied for third place with Eureka College in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 12-6, but then defeated top-seeded Webster 67-62 in the SLIAC semifinals before beating Eureka 88-79 in overtime of the tournament final. The Griffins, like Whitworth, are making their second tournament appearance, the first coming in 1996. Head coach Lee McKinney has been there 19 seasons, also serving as athletics director. First Team All-SLIAC forward Brian Fogerty averages 18.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Freshman forward Trevor White adds 15.3 points per contest and makes 47% of his three pointers. Whitworth has never played either Washington U. or Fontbonne in men's basketball. The close neighbors did play earlier this season, when the Bears defeated the Griffins 83-68 at home in December. Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Basketball > Sports Releases > |
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