SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth College, ranked 13th in the latest D3hoops.com top 25 poll, will host Linfield (Friday night) and George Fox (Saturday night) this weekend in another key Northwest Conference series. Despite splitting last weekend's road trip at Pacific and Lewis & Clark, the Pirates are now a game ahead of the rest of the league in the NWC standings with six games to play on the schedule. The top three teams in the final regular season standings make the conference playoffs, with the regular season champion earning a first round bye.
The Pirates: Whitworth (17-2 overall, 8-2 NWC) is one game ahead of both Puget Sound and Lewis & Clark in the NWC standings. UPS lost both games last weekend, while L&C won twice. The Pirates are fighting for the first conference title since 2002-03. Whitworth is making a remarkable 53.4% of its shots from the field this season, including a hot 39.7% from three point range. The Pirates have outscored opponents by almost 16 points per contest so far this season. Whitworth has been very good defensively as well, holding opponents to an NWC-lowest 40.1% shooting from the floor. The Bucs have outrebounded opponents by 5.3 boards per game (33.5 - 28.2) and have forced over 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 (Jan. 29) of the poll. 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. With last weekend's loss to L&C, the Pirates dropped from 7th in last week's poll. 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 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 53.4%. The Pirates are also ranked highly in several other statistical categories. Those include: Scoring Margin (9th: +15.8 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 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 147 assists through 18 games played, averaging 8.2 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 needs 28 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 297 career three pointers in 736 tries (.404). 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 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 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 18.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. He has made 59% of his shots during that stretch and 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. 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- ) 1,217; 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 112-37 (.752) 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: Linfield College has won two of its last four NWC contests after starting the conference schedule 0-6. In addition to last Tuesday's heartbreaking 65-64 loss to George Fox at home, the Wildcats (7-12 overall, 2-8 NWC) defeated Pacific Lutheran 80-73 on Friday at home. Evan Timperly continues to lead the team in scoring average (16.7 points per game) while making 37% of his three points attempts. He is the only Wildcat averaging double figures in scoring. Whitworth defeated Linfield 77-64 in McMinnville on January 5th, giving the Pirates three straight wins in the series. George Fox comes into the weekend on a three game winning streak. The Bruins (11-8 overall, 6-4 NWC) have moved within a game of an NWC playoff spot after winning 65-64 at Linfield last Tuesday and knocking off co-leader (at the time) UPS 75-63 at home on Saturday. George Fox beat Northwest Christian last night 73-68 in the final non-conference game on the Bruins' schedule. Chris Parker averages 16.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while guard Brent Satern adds 15.4 points and 5.5 assists per contest. The Bruins were also missing second leading scorer Phil Heu-Weller (15.4 ppg) last week. His status is uncertain for this weekend. Whitworth defeated the Bruins 83-53 in Newberg on January 6th. Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Basketball > Sports Releases > |
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