SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth College, ranked 13th for the second straight week in the D3hoops.com top 25 poll, heads west this week to face Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran with a chance to extend its lead in the Northwest Conference standings. The first place Pirates take on the second place Loggers on Friday night, followed by a meeting with the Lutes on Saturday evening. The following Tuesday Whitworth will be in Walla Walla to take on Whitman.
The Pirates: Whitworth (19-2 overall, 9-2 NWC) is one game ahead of both Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark in the NWC standings. There are four games left in the regular season and the Pirates will play the next three on the road. So far this year the Bucs are 12-1 in games played away from the Whitworth Fieldhouse. Whitworth is making a remarkable 53.6% 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 16 points per contest so far this season. Whitworth has been very good defensively as well, holding opponents to an NWC-lowest 39.8% shooting from the floor. The Bucs have outrebounded opponents by 5.2 boards per game (33.4 - 28.2) and have forced almost 9 steals per game. Nationally Ranked: Whitworth's outstanding start has earned the attention of the voters in the D3hoops.com top 25 poll. The Pirates are ranked 13th in the latest release (Feb. 5) of the poll, the second straight week at that position. Click here for the entire poll. Whitworth has been ranked in the D3hoops.com top-20 all season, with a highest rating of 6th earlier this season. Radio/Internet: All three games 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. 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 Pacific Lutheran double header on Saturday, February 10th will begin with a women's game at 4:00 p.m. followed by the men's game at 6:00 p.m. National Leaders: Whitworth is ranked first in all of NCAA Division III in field goal percentage at 53.6%. The Pirates are also ranked highly in several other statistical categories. Those include: Scoring Margin (8th: +16.1 ppg) Whitworth is ranked among the top twenty (out of a membership numbering more than 380) in five different categories.
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 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 158 assists through 20 games played, averaging 7.9 per contest, which ranks third 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 10.3 points per game and became the 17th player in Whitworth history to score more than 1,000 points in his career. He is the first player in Whitworth history with more than 1,000 career points and 500 career assists. 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, returned to the lineup this weekend after missing six games with a broken right hand. He scored 15 points in the win over Linfield and 17 in the win over George Fox, virtually matching his scoring average of 16.1 points per game through the first 12 games. He made 7/10 three pointers during the weekend, 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 299 career three pointers in 744 tries (.402). 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. 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 12.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. Symes of the Times: Ryan Symes (Jr., F, Palo Alto, Calif. - Delta Coll.) has also stepped up his game recently. Over his last ten games, Symes has improved his season scoring average to a team-best 16.1 points per contest. He scored a career-high 27 points in the win at Pacific on January 26th. He is making 59% of his shots from the floor, 81% of his free throws and grabs 5.0 rebounds per contest. 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- ) 1,229; 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; Bryan Williams (2003- ) 1,002. 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: The University of Puget Sound, ranked 18th in the latest poll, improved to 16-4 overall and 9-3 in the NWC last week. The Loggers, 9-0 at home this season, defeated PLU 89-86 and Pacific 85-79 in a pair of home contests. Guard Taylor Marsh is the NWC Player of the Week after he scored 41 points in the two wins. Forward Jason Foster leads the team in scoring (17.6 points) and rebounding (6.8 boards) per game. UPS handed Whitworth its first loss of the season back on January 12th with a 77-72 victory in Spokane. Pacific Lutheran University is 7-12 overall and 4-8 in the NWC after last week's loss at UPS and a 59-55 setback at home against Lewis & Clark on Friday. The Lutes have dropped six of their last seven games, but forward Scott McDaniels has come on to lead the team in scoring in four of the last five contests, including 31 points in the loss at UPS. Guard Josh Dressler is the team's leading scorer at 15.9 points per game. Whitworth defeated PLU 80-56 in Spokane on January 13th. Whitman College won both its games last weekend to improve to 7-14 overall and 3-9 in the NWC. The Missionaries beat George Fox 69-59 and Linfield 60-57 to end a six game losing streak. Whitman will also play at PLU and UPS this weekend, in reverse order of Whitworth. Senior forward Kyle Born averages 19.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game to lead the NWC. Guard Chris Faidley adds 16.6 points per contest and made an NWC-best 3.3 three pointers per game. Whitman came from behind to scare Whitworth before losing 62-59 in Spokane on January 16th. Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Basketball > Sports Releases > |
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