Dec. 11, 2008

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -

UPDATE: Following a 15-day layoff, the undefeated Western Washington University men's basketball team is at Dixie State on Monday (7:30 p.m.), and later that week hosts the WWU Great Western Shootout at Las Vegas, Nevada, meeting Cal State Stanislaus on Thursday (3 p.m.) and Cal Poly Pomona on Friday (5 p.m.).

The 6-0 Vikings are led by senior guard Ira Graham, who is averaging 18.5 points per game. He is shooting 62.5 percent (40-of-64) from the field and 81.8 percent (27-of-33) at the free throw line.

Graham, who earned first-team all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors last season, is one of four Western players averaging double figures in scoring. The others are senior forward Calin Schell (11.2 ppg), junior guard Morris Anderson (10.8 ppg) and senior forward Steve Alford (10.7 ppg).

Schell is averaging team highs of 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, and Anderson has team-best averages of 7.7 assists and 3.2 steals.

Coach Brad Jackson's (24th year, 430-251) squad is scoring at a 92.2 per game clip, shooting 51.9 percent (216-of-416) from the floor and .714 (95-of-133) at the line.

Dixie State, 1-5, will be making its first home appearance. Coach Jon Judkin's (4th year) squad is led by 6-foot-4 senior guard Ryan Sanchez, who is averaging 11.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Cal State Stanislaus, 3-3 (Dec. 13 host American Sports), has lost its last three games following a 3-0 start. The Warriors have four standout transfers in 6-7 junior forward Matt Ibewiro (16.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg) from Riverside CC, 6-2 senior guard Benny Koochoie (13.5 ppg, .405 3-pt. pct. 17-of-42) from Point Loma Nazarene, 6-6 senior center Michael Dyson (10.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg) from East Central and 5-11 junior guard Chris Teevan (4.8 apg) from Modesto JC.

A top returnee for coach Keith Larsen (4th year) is 6-3 senior guard Chris Hayes (10.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg).

Cal Poly Pomona, 3-1 (Dec. 15 at The Master's, Dec. 18 vs. Central Washington), returns first-team all-region and all-CCAA 6-5 senior forward Larry Gordon (12.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg). Joining him is 6-3 senior guard Walter Thompson (13.5 ppg), a transfer from NCAA I Portland.

Two other top players for the Broncos, coached by Greg Kamansky (8th year), are 6-5 junior guard Austin Swift (9.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.0 apg), who sat out last season because of injury after transferring from NCAA I Montana, and returnee 6-9 sophomore forward Tobias Jahn (8.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg).

UPCOMING GAMES:

Dec. 15 (Mon.) at Dixie State (St. George, Utah - 7:30 p.m.)

WWU Great Western Shootout (Las Vegas, Nevada - Doolittle Community Center)
Dec. 18 (Thu.) vs. Cal State Stanislaus (3 p.m.)
Dec. 19 (Fri.) vs. Cal Poly Pomona (5 p.m.)

Jan. 3 (Sat.) MULTNOMAH BIBLE (CARVER GYM - 3 p.m.)

Home games (all caps) on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium
#broadcast on KBAI Radio (930 AM) and via the internet at wwuvikings.com
*Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest

THREE-DOT NOTES: Anderson's 13 assists versus Northwest were the most by a Viking since Dec. 2, 1989, when Manny Kimmie had 15 in a 116-56 triumph over Northwest ... Graham has been the team's leading scorer in five of the first six games ... Graham has a four-year career total of 1,061 points, 16th among WWU career leaders, and needs 23 to move into 15th place ... Western is 4-0 at home this season ... Brad Jackson has 430 career victories in 24 years as head coach. That is the most by any coach in any sport in school history. Current WWU director of athletics Lynda Goodrich posted 411 victories in 19 campaigns as the Vikings' women's basketball coach from 1971-90.

COACH JACKSON: Brad Jackson is in his 24th year and is the most successful men's coach in school history, both in total wins (430-251) and winning percentage (.631). He ranks No.18 among active NCAA II coaches in victories and 42nd in winning percentage. In 2001, Jackson directed Western to a 27-4 record and the semifinals of the NCAA II National Championship, being named NABC/NCAA II West Region, Northwest small college and Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year. Five times named district/region Coach of the Year, Jackson has directed Western to 16 post-season playoff appearances, including district/region/conference championships and national tournament appearances in 1988, 1994, 2001, 2005 and 2006. He has had nine 20-win campaigns (1986-90, 1993-94, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2004-05, 2005-06).

RADIO BROADCASTS: Selected Western games are being broadcast this season on KBAI Radio (930 AM) with Doug Lange handling the play-by-play and Mark Scholten providing the color commentary. They also can be heard on the internet at www.wwuvikings.com.

ON THE WEB: For up-to-date statistics, box scores of every game, records, stories, etc., see the Western Athletic web page at www.wwuvikings.com. Up-to-date league standings and statistics can be found on the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web page at www.gnacsports.com. Some Viking home games are being video streamed live at www.justin.tv/vikingtv.

PROBABLE WESTERN STARTERS & TOP RESERVES:

G Ira Graham, 6-2, ***Sr., Fontana, CA/Fontana
G Morris Anderson, 6-3, Jr.-JC, Federal Way, WA/Federal Way/Highline CC
C Dave Vanderjagt, 7-0, Jr.-TR, Townsville, Australia/Townsville State/Montana)
F Calin Schell, 6-7, ***Sr., Chelan, WA/Chelan
F Michael Duty, 6-6, Jr.-JC, Seattle, WA/O'Dea/Bellevue CC)

F Steve Alford, 6-5, *Sr., Bakersfield, CA/South/Bakersfield College
F David Brittinen, 6-7, ***Sr., Hoquiam, WA/Hoquiam
G Cameron Severson, 6-4, Fr., Petersburg, AK/Petersburg
*letters

GAME SUMMARIES:

Nov. 17 - WESTERN 109, Cascade 69 at Bellingham

Graham scored a game-high 20 points to lead six Vikings in double-figure scoring as Western opened its season with a 109-69 victory over Cascade on Haggen Court at Carver Gym. Anderson finished just short of a triple-double with 12 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and five steals. Brittinen added 16 points off the bench, hitting all seven of his shots from the field. Cascade, a NAIA school, fell to 4-1. Forward Jared Mace and guard Ben Pawlak each had 14 points for the Thunderbirds. Cascade held a 9-5 lead a little over three minutes into the game, but Western ran off the next 10 points to go in front 15-9 and led the rest of the way. The Vikings closed the first half with a 12-3 run and led 59-33 at halftime. Western's biggest lead was 49 points, 107-58, with 4:34 to play. The Vikings shot 54.9 percent (45-of-82) from the field, and had a 53-30 advantage in rebounds. Duty had 14 points, Alford added 13, and Schell contributed 12.

Nov. 21 - WESTERN 73, Cal State San Bernardino 67 at Seattle

Graham tallied 20 points and all three frontcourt starters also scored in double figures as Western claimed a 73-67 victory over Cal State San Bernardino in the opening game of the Seattle Pacific Tip-Off Classic at Royal Brougham Pavilion. CSUSB, the defending co-champion of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, fell to 1-1. Devin Montgomery came off the bench to score 20 points for the Roadrunners. The Vikings, who led 32-30 at halftime, had a 43-39 lead with 14 minutes left, then went on a 10-2 run, with Duty scoring the last eight points, to take a 53-41 advantage with 11:42 to play. The margin reached 14 at 61-47 with seven minutes left, but the Roadrunners scored the next nine points to close the gap to five, 61-56, on a tip-in by Montgomery with 4:42 to play. The gap was five on three more occasions, but didn't get below that until the final minute, and was never closer than four. Duty had 17 points for Western, which shot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the field despite making just 1-of-10 3-point attempts. Schell had 14 points and game highs of nine rebounds and five assists, and Vanderjagt contributed 12 points. The Roadrunners shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field and had 24 turnovers. Western had 25 turnovers, but did have a 36-32 advantage in rebounds.

Nov. 22 - WESTERN 71, MARY ND 64 at Seattle

Schell scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Western overcame a nine-point first-half deficit and defeated Mary ND, 71-64, in a final-day contest at the Seattle Pacific Tip-Off Classic at Royal Brougham Pavilion. Anderson and Graham each had 11 points for Western, which improved to 3-0. Anderson also added seven rebounds and six assists. Graham became the 21st player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark in career scoring. Mary, which fell to 0-3, was led by the 19 points of guard Geoff West. Mary held a 26-17 lead after a layup and free throw by Jason West with 7:47 left in the first half, but Western used a 7-2 run to close the margin to two, 28-26 on a basket by Graham. The Vikings were still down two at halftime, 37-35, and were behind by two, 48-46, with 13 minutes left, before running off nine straight points, four of them by Schell, to take a 55-48 lead with 8:46 to play. The lead was never less than five points after that as Western preserved the margin by making 11-of-12 free throws in the last six minutes. Western was 0-of-9 on 3-pointers, marking the first time since Jan. 11, 2003, the Vikings failed to make a 3-pointer, a span of 157 games. The last occurrence was also a victory on the same court, an 83-76 triumph over Seattle Pacific. Overall, Western shot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the field. Mary shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64), including just 35.3 percent (12-of-34) in the second half. Schell was 6-of-10 from the field and 9-of-14 at the free throw line.

Nov. 24 - WESTERN 125, Walla Walla 69 at Bellingham

Graham scored a game-high 22 points to lead seven Western players in double figures as the Vikings rolled to a 125-69 victory over Walla Walla on Haggen Court at Carver Gym. The Vikings had a 60-24 rebound advantage. They outscored Walla Walla, 78-20, in the paint, 48-6 in the first half. It was an exhibition contest for Walla Walla, which had lost its first eight counting games. The Wolves were led by the 15 points of Jonny Long. Western broke the game open with a 23-2 run during a five-minute stretch in the first half that gave the Vikings a 28-point advantage, 41-13, with 10:15 left in the period. Graham and Vanderjagt each scored eight points during that stretch. The Vikings closed out the half with an 11-3 run over the last 2:40 for a 67-27 advantage at halftime. Western never led by less than 46 in the second half, reaching the century mark with 7:53 to go on a jumper by Wiederkehr that made the score 101-48. The Vikings' biggest lead was 61 points on two occasions in the last three minutes. Wiederkehr scored 17 points and Vanderjagt added 14, hitting his first six field goals and finishing 6-of-7. Alford and Blanche each had 13 points for Western, Severson 11 and Mitchell 10. Every Western player had at least two rebounds, with Severson and Mitchell leading with seven each. The Vikings hit 55.7 percent (49-of-88) from the floor to 35.5 percent (22-of-62) for Walla Walla. The Wolves made 82.6 percent of their free throws, 19-of-23.

Nov. 28 - WESTERN 79, Cameron 71 at Bellingham

Graham scored a game-high 21 points as Western opened up a 19-point lead then survived a late rally to defeat Cameron OK, 79-71, at Carver Gym. Cameron, which was led by the 19 points of guard Dylan Gilliam, slipped to 2-1. Western held a 48-29 lead with 15:31 to play, but the Aggies used a 16-3 run to close the margin to six, 55-49, with 11 minutes left. Cameron eventually narrowed the gap to two, 68-66, on a layin by forward Kallan Glasgow with 3:54 left, but the Vikings then put the game away by scoring the next seven points to take a 75-66 advantage with 1:55 to play. Severson keyed the decisive charge, getting a rebound and feeding Alford for a layin to start the run, then hitting a 3-pointer on the following possession. He also had a defensive rebound and a steal in that stretch. Alford had 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds for Western. Anderson had 14 points and a game-high seven assists, and Severson had 10 points and three steals. Glasgow had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Cameron and guard Greg Morgan had 14 points and six assists. The Aggies had a 41-39 edge in rebounds, with center Jamaar Burke grabbing a game-high 12. Western had just seven turnovers, matching the lowest total in the last five seasons. The Vikings also blocked 10 shots, with Schell swatting three.

Nov. 29 - WESTERN 96, NORTHWEST 76 at Bellingham

Anderson had 17 points and 13 assists as Western defeated Northwest, 96-76, at Carver Gym. Graham also had 17 points for the Vikings. Center Greg George had a game-high 22 points for Northwest. The game was a non-counting exhibition game for the NAIA-affiliated Eagles, who have a 5-3 mark in counting contests. Anderson's 13 assists were the most for a Viking in a single game since Dec. 2, 1989, when Manny Kimmie had 15 in a 116-56 triumph over Northwest. Anderson also had five steals. Western took control early, using an 18-2 run to take a 30-14 lead with 8:42 left in the first half and holding a 41-29 advantage at halftime. Western never led by less than 12 points in the second half and was ahead by at least 20 for all of the last 13 minutes. Alford came off the bench to score 14 points for the Vikings, who shot 59.7 percent (37-of-62) from the field, including 66.7 percent (22-of-33) in the second half. Duty and Brittinen each had 10 points. Eddie Coulson, who played at Western in the 2006-07 season, had 13 points for Northwest, and forward Greg Peters grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.