SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Whitworth men's basketball team is coming off of a pair of important Northwest Conference road victories. The Pirates return home this week to defend their home court against Willamette (Friday) and Linfield (Saturday), a pair of teams in the middle of their own hunt for a spot in the NWC tournament. Both games can be heard live in Spokane on KSBN 1230 am, and on the internet at KSBN.net. Also this week Whitworth will officially begin video-streaming its basketball games. The video stream will begin approximately two minutes before tip off. The link to access the stream is: mms://media.whitworth.edu/events. On Friday Whitworth got a big boost from Bo Gregg (Jr., F, Lewiston, Idaho), who came off of the bench to score all 18 of his points in the first half of an 83-67 win at George Fox. He was 6 of 6 from three point range. The following night Whitworth shot 64% from the field (75% in the second half) of an 83-74 win at Pacific in which six Pirates reached double figures in scoring. Ross Nakamura (Sr., G, Moraga, Calif.) led the way with 16 points and Clay Gebbers (So., G, Brewster, Wash.) added a career-high 15 points.
Statistically Speaking: In a classic case of the "whole being greater than the sum of the parts", Whitworth continues to lead the Northwest Conference in several team statistical categories, yet has only one individual leading the NWC in any statistic. The Pirates top the conference stats in scoring defense (65.2 points allowed), field goal percentage (50.3, 15th in NCAA), field goal percentage defense (39.4), three-point percentage (40.6, 14th in NCAA), free throw percentage (71.1), and rebound margin (+6.9, 15th in NCAA). All of those stats point to the pillars of head coach Jim Hayford's emphasis with the Pirates - efficient offense and strong defense. Ross Nakamura is the only Pirates leading the NWC in any individual category. Nakamura leads in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.07 assists for every turnover, which also ranks 6th in the NCAA. Nationally Ranked: For the last three weeks the Pirates have been just outside of the top-25 in the D3hoops.com poll listed with "others receiving votes". Whitworth finished second in the 2008 NWC Preseason Coaches Poll. Ross Runs the Ship: Ross Nakamura was a steadying influence as the Pirate point guard while leading the team to a 2007-08 Northwest Conference title. A transfer from Diablo Valley JC in Concord, California, Nakamura led all of NCAA Division III in assist-turnover ratio (4.1 assists per turnover) last season. He is averaging 10.8 points per game and has made 44.3% (31/70) of his three-point tries in 2008-09 (5th in the NWC), while leading the Northwest Conference in minutes played per game (35.7). He is currently first in the NWC and 6th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.07). Sharp Shooter: David Riley (So., G, Palo Alto, Calif.) has taken his game up a notch as a sophomore. He leads the team in scoring average (16.7 ppg) and is making 55% of his shots from the field, including 48.3% of his three-point tries (58/120). Riley is the only player in the NWC currently ranked in the top five individually in both three-point percentage (third) and three-pointers made per game (2nd at 3.22). He was named MVP of the JHU Blue Jay Invitational after scoring a tournament-record 34 points in the opening win over Brockport State and leading the tournament in scoring. In this season's win over Pacific Lutheran, Riley topped his career high with 37 points, 34 in the first half when he tied his own school record for three-pointers made (8) and led the Bucs to a 57-14 halftime lead. Big, Really Big: Whitworth's post combination has lived up to expectations. Calvin Jurich (6'-6", Sr., P, Spokane, Wash.) and Nate Montgomery (6'-8", Jr., P, Sammamish, Wash.) have combined to average 26.4 points and 14.0 rebounds per game. Jurich is second in the NWC in rebounding average (7.8) and is also a Pirate leader in both assists (2nd on the team) and steals (1st). Montgomery is second on the team in points per game (14.5). Each player has four double-doubles this season, the third highest total in the NWC. Live Stats: Live statistics of all games played in the Whitworth Fieldhouse will be available all season by opening the following link in your web browser:
The Opponents: Willamette and Linfield come into the weekend tied for the fourth and final spot in the NWC tournament chase. A win for either one at Whitworth could make a big difference in tie-breaker procedures. Willamette heads into the weekend with a 9-8 overall record, 5-5 in the NWC. The Bearcats fell at home to Linfield last Tuesday by a score of 84-78, creating the tie with the Wildcats. Willamette bounced back to beat PLU 67-53 on Friday. The Bearcat post combination of sophomore Cameron Mitchell and senior Kyler McClary is a handful. Mitchell leads the NWC in rebound average (10.8) and is fourth in scoring average (16.9). McClary added 15.5 points per game and is a leading three-point threat for Willamette (36%). David Riley scored 17 points to lead Whitworth to a 69-68 win at Willamette on January 9th. Linfield (7-12 overall, 5-5 NWC) has recovered from some painful non-conference losses to make itself a serious NWC tournament contender. The turnaround may have come the weekend the Wildcats swept Whitman and Whitworth at home on January 9th-10th. The 88-79 win over Whitworth gave the Bucs their first NWC loss of the season. Sophomore center K.C. Wiser leads the team in scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg), while senior Erik Olson adds 14.0 points per game and the team's most dangerous three-point threat (more than two made per game). The Coach: In seven season's leading the Pirates, Whitworth head coach Jim Hayford has averaged 20 wins a season for a team that can only schedule 25 games a year. Now 155-50 (.756) in his eighth season at Whitworth (192-75 overall in his tenth year as a head coach), Hayford is only the third coach in school history to reach the 100 win plateau. Hayford has won three NWC Coach of the Year awards at Whitworth (2003, 2007, 2008) and led the Pirates to three conference championships. Coach Hayford's Quotes: On Whitworth's Wins at George Fox and Pacific: "We played very well both nights. Bo gave us a huge spark with an amazing shooting performance to get by George Fox. We played our best offensive game of the year to beat a very good Pacific team the next night." On the Current State of the NWC: "The league is extremely competitive. We may begin to separate from the pack for second place if we defend our home court this weekend. UPS is one of the best teams in the country. It doesn't always feel like fun but it is great to be a part of such a great conference." On this weekend's games: "We play the two teams directly behind us in the conference race. That shows the significance of these games. We will be ready." Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Basketball > Sports Releases > |
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