SPOKANE, Wash. -- Despite seeing a nine-game winning streak come to an end last Saturday night, Whitworth University still hits the road this week tied for first place in the Northwest Conference men's basketball standings. Whitworth is 15-4 overall and 8-2 in the NWC and hopes to continue the success the team has had over the last several years in Oregon (see more below).
The Pirates will take on Lewis & Clark College on Friday night and Pacific University on Saturday. The Saturday tip off against the Boxers will be the final early start (6:00 p.m.) of the season. Ross Nakamura (Jr., G, Moraga, Calif. - Diablo Valley JC) continues to lead all of NCAA Division III in Assist-to-Turnover ratio. Nakamura sat out last Sunday's win over UC Santa Cruz, so in 16 games Nakamura has 93 assists and only 20 turnovers for a ratio of 4.65 to 1. Radio/Internet: All the Pirates' NWC 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. Also, Whitworth now offers "Live Stats" for all home games. The live stats link is: http://www.whitworth.edu/Athletics/Teams/Basketball/livestats/xlive.htm. Early Start: The February 9th NWC doubleheader at Pacific University will begin with the women's game at 4:00 p.m. and the men at 6:00 p.m. It is the final early start of the season for the Pirates. The Pirates: Whitworth saw a nine game winning streak come to an end. The Pirates avenged an early season loss to Linfield, but then fell to Willamette. Both games were at home. Whitworth opened up a pair of 19 point leads in the first half against Linfield, and led 43-25 at the break. But the Wildcats pulled within 65-60 with just over three minutes to play after a pair of back to back three point field goals. But Ryan Symes (Sr., F, Palo Alto, Calif.) answered with a key basket and Calvin Jurich (Jr., P, Spokane, Wash.) sank a pair of free throws to stem the tide. Whitworth led by 12 when Linfield sank another three in the final seconds to make the final score 77-68. Symes totaled 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. Whitworth made 92% of its free throws (23 of 25), led by Symes, who was 16 of 17 from the stripe.
The following night Whitworth struggled through a miserable first half against a well-prepared team from Willamette. The Pirates shot only 28% from the field (7-25) in the half and fell behind 38-29. While Whitworth was able to rally to tie the game 61-61 with under six minutes to play, the Pirates could not get over the hump and the Bearcats made their free throws down the stretch to win 82-74. Willamette's win not only ended the Pirates' nine game winning streak dating back to January 5th, the Bearcats ended their own nine-game losing streak to Whitworth that dated back to 2003-04. Symes finished with 19 points, while David Riley (Fr., G, Palo Alto, Calif.) added 17 points and 7 rebounds. Colin Willemsen (Sr., F, Moraga, Calif.) totaled 12 points and 12 boards for his league-leading eighth double-double of the season. DEFENSE: Despite four new starters this season, the way the Pirates are winning should look very familiar to Whitworth fans. The Bucs have taken their usually tough defense up a notch this year, leading the NWC in both scoring defense (60.3 points per game allowed, 12th nationally) and field goal percentage defense (41.4%). In addition, Whitworth leads the rebounding margin category (+7.1, 20th nationally). Offense, Too: Also familiar is how efficient the Bucs have been on offense. Whitworth leads the NWC in assists per game (15.8) and leads in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41 assists for every turnover, 3rd in the nation). The Pirates commit the fewest turnovers in the league (11.3 per game, 9th in the NCAA) as well. Therefore Whitworth shoots at a high percentage (46.8%, 3rd in the NWC) and when the team gets to the free throw line, the Pirates make a league-best 77.6% (8th in the NCAA). Steady Symes: Ryan Symes is providing the solid leadership that was expected of the team's only returning starter and a returning First Team All-NWC selection. The 6-5 forward is leading the team in scoring with an average of 18.1 points (5th in the NWC) and he adds 6.3 rebounds per game (8th in the NWC). He has added a three-point shot to his game this season, making 36% from beyond the arc. He has led the Bucs in scoring 11 times this season and became the first Whitworth player during the 2007-08 year to win the NWC Player of the Week award on January 21st. Frosh Phenom: David Riley is having a breakthrough freshman season. The 6-5 guard is third on the team in scoring (12.6 points per game). He has been deadly from three point range, and is the only player in the Northwest Conference to rank in the top six of the league stat leaders in both three-pointers made (6th, 2.72 per game) and three point percentage (3rd, 48.5%). In Whitworth's second game of the season, he broke the school record for three-pointers made in a game when he was 8 for 13 in the win over Caltech. The previous record of seven in a game was shared by three players. Riley has led the Pirates in scoring four times this season.
"Will"-do-it-all: One of the best sixth-men in the NWC last season, Colin Willemsen has been the do-everything player as a starter for the Pirates this year. Willemsen leads the team and is second in the NWC in rebounding (8.1 per game) and is second in the league lead in offensive rebounds (2.8 per game). Willemsen is also seventh in the NWC (second on the team) in assists (3.4 per game). Finally, Willemsen leads Whitworth and is eighth in the NWC in steals (1.4 per game). All of this goes along with a strong 13.0 scoring average (second on the team). His eight double-doubles this season lead the NWC. Ross Runs the Ship: Even before his breakthrough performance (26 points) in a win at Willamette on January 5th, Ross Nakamura had been a steadying influence as the Pirate point guard this season. A transfer from Diablo Valley JC in Concord, California, Nakamura is fourth in the NWC in assists (5.17 per game). Perhaps more telling about Nakamura's play this season, he leads the NWC and all of NCAA Division III in assist-turnover ratio (4.65 assists per turnover). His steadiness with the ball is matched by his shooting ability, as he ranks 5th in the Northwest Conference in three-point percentage (43.5%) this season. Nearly Last: There is one category in which the Pirates nearly rank last in NCAA Div. III. Whitworth was the second-to-last NCAA Division III team to play a scheduled home game this season when the Bucs hosted Lewis & Clark in the Fieldhouse on January 11th. Only Lawrence College (Wis.) played its first home game later (by one day, opening on January 12th). However, the Vikings only played seven games to that point, while Whitworth played 10 games before getting to play at home. Neither Whitworth or Lawrence can complain much, however, when compared to UC Santa Cruz. Because of refurbishing of their gym, the Banana Slugs will not play a home game this season.
On the Oregon Trail: Winning on the road in the Northwest Conference has always been a challenge and opening this season's NWC schedule at Linfield and Willamette was tough. 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 1-1 mark, the Pirates are 23-9 (.718) in NWC regular season contests played in Oregon during Hayford's seven seasons as coach. Whitworth will put that record on the line this weekend at L&C and Pacific. The Opponents: Lewis & Clark College (11-7 overall, 5-5 NWC), the unanimous preseason favorite in the NWC, is in danger of missing the conference playoffs. But if any team has the talent to rally over the final three weeks of the season, it is the Pioneers. Last week L&C defeated Pacific 85-79 at home before losing a heartbreaker at PLU 78-76. Five different Pioneers average 10 points per game, led by Mark Robinowitz who averages 13.1 and makes 40% of his three point attempts. Tyson Pappenfus, a junior post, averages 11.2 points and 4.1 rebounds. On January 11th Whitworth defeated L&C 64-33, holding the Pioneers to 26% shooting and their lowest point output in the shot clock era. Ryan Symes led the Bucs with 17 points in the win. Pacific University (6-13, 4-6) is still in the hunt for the third and final NWC playoff spot, but the Boxers have little margin for error down the stretch. In addition to its 85-79 loss at L&C last week, Pacific fell 90-65 at Puget Sound. Junior forward Gerald Howe leads the the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game, but he has averaged 25 points per contest over the last six games. Senior post Joe Van Domelen adds 13.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Whitworth defeated Pacific 61-44 on January 12th in Spokane to extend the Pirates' winning streak over the Boxers to eight in a row. Colin Willemsen had 17 points for Whitworth. The Coach: Whitworth head coach Jim Hayford became the fastest coach in Pirate history to record his 100th victory as head coach of the Bucs with a win over Whittier on November 25th of last season. Now 134-43 (.757) in his seventh season at Whitworth (171-68 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) and led the Pirates to a pair of conference championships. Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Basketball > Sports Releases > |
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