SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth University hosts George Fox University on Saturday in the final game of the first half of the Northwest Conference schedule. The Pirates (12-3 overall, 6-1 NWC) have surged to the top of the conference standings thanks to a six game winning streak that includes three straight road wins over the last five days. In addition, Whitworth will host UC Santa Cruz in a Sunday matinee in the final non-conference game of the season.
Ryan Symes (Sr., F, Palo Alto, Calif. - Delta JC) became the first Pirate to earn Northwest Conference Player of the Week honors this season for his efforts in the Tacoma sweep on January 18th and 19th. In the wins at Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound Symes scored 40 point while playing all 80 minutes. See more on Symes below. Ross Nakamura (Jr., G, Moraga, Calif. - Diablo Valley JC) now leads all of NCAA Division III in Assist-to-Turnover ratio. Heading into Tuesday night's win at Whitman, Nakamura had 4.6 assists to every turnover. After another turnover-free performance, he has increased that total. 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: All of Whitworth's Saturday NWC road doubleheaders will begin with the women's game at 4:00 p.m. and the men at 6:00 p.m. The Pirates: Whitworth turned the toughest stretch of games this season into a power surge to the top of the Northwest Conference standings. Facing three road games in five days, including the always-challenging Tacoma trip, the Pirates won all three to take over first place in the NWC. On Friday night Whitworth went 6 for 6 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds to hold off a furious rally of three-pointers by PLU to defeat the Lutes 66-62. The Bucs led 58-47 with 2:50 to go after a pair of free throws by Colin Willemsen (Sr., F, Moraga, Calif. - Diablo Valley JC). But PLU made three three-pointers over the next two minutes to pull within 62-60. But Willemsen, Symes and Nakamura each buried two free throws in the final seconds to seal the win. Whitworth was 16 of 20 from the line in the game and the Pirate defense held the hot-shooting Lutes to 40.4% from the field. PLU came into the game riding a streak of three straight 100+ point performances. Willemsen led the way with 18 points.
The following night the Whitworth pulled off a first, completing a weekend sweep of PLU and Puget Sound in Tacoma with an 83-78 win over the 7th-ranked Loggers. Symes led all players with 24 points, while Willemsen posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tim Sellereit (Jr., G, Bellingham, Wash. - Whatcom CC) contributed 17 important points off of the bench. The Bucs shot 55% from the floor while holding the high-powered UPS attack to 20 points below its season scoring average. Leading by two with less than a minute to play, Willemsen worked inside for a basket that gave the Bucs a 79-75 lead and put the pressure on UPS with 33 seconds to play. Symes and Willemsen each hit a pair of free throws in the final 15 seconds to secure the win. Leaving little time for celebration or rest, Whitworth hit the road to Walla Walla for a Tuesday night contest at Whitman College. The Bucs made 8 of their first 10 shots to grab an early 17-9 lead. But the Missionaries rallied to take 29-26 lead with just over five minutes to play in the first half. But David Riley (Fr., G, Palo Alto, Calif. - Gunn HS) sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around another three by Nakamura that turned the tied back in Whitworth's favor. The Bucs led 39-33 at halftime and went on to lead by as many as 26 points (85-59) late in the game. Willemsen finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds to post his sixth 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 (58.7 points per game allowed) and field goal percentage defense (40.6%). In addition, Whitworth leads the rebounding margin category (+8.6). Also familiar is how efficient the Bucs have been on offense. Whitworth is second in the NWC in assists per game (16.13) and leads in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.39 assists for every turnover). The Pirates commit the fewest turnovers in the league (11.6 per game) as well. Therefore Whitworth shoots at a high percentage (47%, 3rd in the NWC) and when the team gets to the free throw line, the Pirates make a league-best 75.1%. 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 6-6 forward is leading the team in scoring with an average of 16.0 points and he adds 5.9 rebounds per game. 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 eight 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 second on the team in scoring (13.1 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 five of the league stat leaders in both three-pointers made (4th, 2.9 per game) and three point percentage (3rd, 50.6%). 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 (8.3 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 ninth in the NWC in steals (1.5 per game). All of this goes along with a strong 12.0 scoring average. His six double-doubles this season ties for the lead in 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 (5.1 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 (4.63 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 (48.3%) 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. The Opponents: George Fox University (4-11 overall, 0-6 NWC) comes into the weekend looking to turn around an eight-game losing streak. The Bruins will play at Whitman on Friday night with each team looking to gain its first conference win of the season. GFU fell 76-55 at home to Lewis & Clark last Friday before scaring Pacific 74-70 on the road on Saturday. The Bruins have a pair of excellent perimeter players in senior Brent Satern and sophomore Evan Atwater. Both average 14.3 points per game, while Satern is second in the NWC in assists per game (6.5) and Atwater is the team's leading three-point shooter (39%, nearly three per game). Head coach Mark Sundquist is in his seventh season leading the Bruins. Last year Whitworth swept George Fox, winning 83-53 in Newberg, Oregon and 90-64 at home. UC Santa Cruz is 2-16 so far this season after three losses last weekend in Orange, California. In fact, all of UCSC's losses have come on the road, in addition to their wins, as the Banana Slugs are forced to play the entire season away from home during a refurbishing of their gymnasium. Whitworth met UCSC on December 20th in Burlingame, California at the Ameriprise Classic, winning 85-33. 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 131-42 (.757) in his seventh season at Whitworth (168-67 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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