Willamette University

Men's Basketball | Friday, January 30, 2004

BEARCAT HOOP NEWS AND NOTES

WU STORMS INTO 1st

Following a hard-fought 74-61 win over arch-rival Linfield in McMinnville on Tuesday night, Willamette University’s Men’s Basketball team finds itself all alone atop the NWC standings.
At 11-5 (6-1), the Bearcats are now a half game ahead of the 25th ranked Loggers of Puget Sound, who Willamette has beaten in the teams only meeting of the season so far, 93-81…

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Friday night, the Bearcats play their only game of the weekend, an 8 pm date in Forest Grove, with the Boxers of Pacific Univeristy.

A dangerous opponent, the Boxers are currently 6-8, (3-3) on the year, but in their home gym can be a deadly opponent. Last season, a first place Willamette team controlling its own playoff destiny went into Forest Grove, and was sent home with an overtime loss (that ultimately cost the Bearcats home-court advantage in the post season).

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

Many teams across the NWC are asking that question nowadays, as WU’s senior Point Guard David Force has been playing exceptionally well over the past three weeks. Following a 29 pt. 11 asst. performance in a win at defending league champion Whitworth, Force has had a 27 pt outburst in a win over George Fox, 13 pts in the win over UPS, 14 more in a win against the Lutes of PLU, and finally 22 pts and 8 assts in Tuesdays win over Linfield. For the season, Force is averaging 14.1 pts, 3.7 assts and 4.7 rebs…


HOME SWEET HOME

Despite not playing at home until the second week in January, WU has returned to its successful form at Cone Fieldhouse, defeating Lewis and Clark, Puget Sound, and Pacific Lutheran to stretch their home court dominance over the past three seasons…WU is riding a 15-game home court winning streak, and overall, is 26-2 at Cone Fieldhouse over the past 3 seasons

THE 6TH MAN

Coupled with the recent success on the floor, in the stands at Cone has become quite a scene as well. Willamette currently boasts the largest average home crowd size in the NWC (1100+),something commonly associated with the Whitworth’s and Linfield’s, but now Willamette.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
For a complete look at the Bearcats from a statistical standpoint, visit the NWC’s site at www.nwcsports.com/MensBasketball/HTML/wu.htm

BEARCAT HOOP NEWS AND NOTES

Willamette University Men’s Basketball
Weekly Press Release (cont.)
(January 25th-31st, 2004)

FRIDAY NIGHT PROBABLES
(WU)
1. David Force Sr. 6’3
2. John Olinger So. 6’1
3. Harold Sublett, Jr. Jr. 6’2
4. Miles Sandgathe Sr. 6’4
5. Brennan Garrelts So. 6’6

(Pacific)
1. Erin Gram Sr. 5’8
2. Brandon Kawazoe Fr. 6’0
3. Rahim Tufts Sr. 6’3
4. BJ Anderson Sr. 6’5
5. Joe Van Domelen So. 6’6

PROBABLE STARTER NUMBERS
(WU)
ppg rpg apg
1. Force 14.1 4.7 3.7
2. Olinger 13.2 2.8 2.8
3. Sublett, Jr. 9.1 5.8 2.1
4. Sandgathe 11.8 5.2 1.4
5. Garrelts 8.0 4.0 ---


(Pacific)
ppg rpg apg
1. Gram 11.2 2.1 5.6
2. Kawazoe 10.5 2.4 1.2
3. Tufts 8.8 3.8 3.6
4. Anderson 8.2 6.9 ---
5. Van Domelen 16.6 5.5 ----

BEARCAT BENCH MOB
A vital aspect to the early season and recent conference play success the Bearcats have enjoyed can be traced to the play of a number of players off the bench.

Seniors Ryan Rahlfs, PJ Mcdevitt, and Todd Lewis, Sophomores Henry Greeley and Drew Miller and Freshman Josh Erickson have provided a spark off the bench all season long. In addition, Erickson (16), McDevitt (18), Greeley (19), and Rahlfs (24) have all put large amounts of clutch point total up in various games, providing the necessary depth a Championship Caliber team will need as the season wears on…

CATCH THE CATS
If your schedule doesn’t allow you to see the Bearcats in person, select games throughout the season will be broadcast on 1190 AM radio. Long-time WU Broadcaster Mike Allegre will handle both the women’s games (6 pm tip) and the men’s action…

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
- 1/30/04 WU @ Pacific
- 2/06/04 WU vs. Whitman (Cone)
- 2/07/04 WU vs. Whitworth (Cone)