SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth College, ranked 7th in the latest D3hoops.com top 25 poll, will hit the road to Oregon this weekend for a pair of crucial Northwest Conference contests. The Pirates are tied for first place in the NWC standings with Puget Sound, and will be play at Pacific on Friday and Lewis & Clark on Saturday. Both the Boxers and the Pioneers are in the thick of the NWC playoff chase.
The Pirates: Whitworth (16-1 overall, 7-1 NWC) is tied for first in the conference standings with UPS. Though they are an annual NWC contender, the Pirates are fighting for the first conference title since 2002-03. Whitworth is making a remarkable 54.1% of its shots from the field this season, including a hot 40.1% from three point range. The Pirates have outscored opponents by almost 18 points per contest so far this season. Whitworth has been very good defensively as well, holding opponents to an NWC-lowest 39.9%% shooting from the floor. The Bucs have outrebounded opponents by six boards per game (33.6 - 27.6) and have forced almost 10 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 7th in the latest release (Jan. 22) of the poll. Click here for the entire poll. Whitworth's rating is the team's second highest as an NCAA Division III member. The Pirates' previous high ranking was 6th earlier this season and 11th on January 6, 2003. Radio/Internet: Both 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 Lewis & Clark double header on Saturday, January 27th 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 second in all of NCAA Division III in field goal percentage at 54.1%, trailing only Lawrence University's 54.4%. The Pirates are also ranked highly in several other statistical categories. Those include: Scoring Margin (6th: +17.6 ppg) Whitworth is ranked among the top twenty (out of a membership numbering more than 380) in six 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 3-0 mark, the Pirates are 21-7 in NWC regular season contests played in Oregon during Hayford's six seasons. Whitworth has a chance to duplicate the 5-0 record of 2003-04. 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 137 assists through 16 games played, averaging 8.6 per contest, which ranks tied for first 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 needs 50 more points to become the 17th player in Whitworth history to score 1,000 points in his career. Sir James Status Report: James Jones (Sr., G, Manchester, England - St. Mary Coll.), Whitworth's leading scorer through the first 12 games of the season, remains out with a broken right hand. If recovery efforts go well, he could return to the court by the end of the regular season. His absence has been keenly felt since he was putting up 16.1 points per game (while making 53.2% of his shots) and adding 4.2 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 295 career three pointers in 724 tries (.407). 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.) has responded to the absence of James Jones in the lineup with the best stretch of games in his career. He is the current NWC Player of the Week after averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds in last week's wins over Whitman and Willamette. The 6'-7" center is currently averaging 13.0 points and 6.6 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 eight games, Symes has averaged 18.4 points and 5.1 rebounds. He has made 63.3% of his shots during that stretch and has improved his season scoring average to 15.8 points 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- ) 1,194; 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 111-36 (.755) 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: Pacific University comes into the game with records of 8-8 overall and 4-4 in the NWC. As mentioned by head coach Jason Lowery in a recent Boxer press release, Pacific has handed first place UPS its only loss, and last place Linfield its only win. This match up of the two best defensive teams in the NWC should resemble December's 62-57 hard-fought Pirate win in Spokane. The Boxers rank second to the Pirates in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and three point percentage defense. Newcomer Donny Harrison-Davis is the team's leading scorer at 14.3 points per game. Senior post Ross Bartlett has played great inside, with averages of 13.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. The Pirates have won the last six meetings with the Boxers and the last five games Forest Grove. Lewis & Clark College (10-6 overall, 5-3 NWC) is currently in third place in the NWC standings. Only the top three teams make the conference playoffs. The Pioneers went 1-1 last week, giving co-leader UPS all it could before falling 94-88 on the road and beating George Fox 74-61 at home. L&C does two things particularly well: they take care of the ball (averaging an NWC best 10.0 turnovers per game) and they shoot three pointers (making an NWC highest 10.4 per game). Forward Mark Robinowitz is averaging 14.0 points per game and making almost 45% of his three point attempts. All five starters are averaging double figures in scoring, with point guard Thomas Tillery (10.7 ppg) running the show. Whitworth defeated L&C 82-73 in Spokane on December 2nd for their fourth win in row in the series. The Pirates have won the last in Portland. Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Basketball > Sports Releases > |
