No.3 WWU takes to road, start and streak best in 41 years

Working on an unbeaten start and a two-season winning streak that are both the school's best in 41 years, the Western Washington University men's basketball team is on the road for two Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests this week, traveling to Western Oregon University on Thursday, Jan. 17 (7 p.m.) and to Saint Martin's University on Saturday, Jan. 19 (7 p.m.).

The games can be heard live on KBAI Radio (AM 930 - Bellingham, www.930kbai.com) with Doug Lange providing the play-by-play and Mark Scholten handling the color commentary. A video stream and live stats are available at www.wwuvikings.com.

WWU, the defending national champion and moving up two spots to rank No.3 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, is 14-0 overall and in sole possession of first place in the GNAC at 5-0.

The Vikings have won 20 straight games over the last two years, starting with six in its title run last season. The winning streak is the longest in the 12-year history of the conference and the second best in school history, trailing only a 23-game run from Feb. 20, 1971 to Feb. 15, 1972.

WWU's 14-game start without a loss also is second in school history, the record being 21-0 in 1971-72.

Last week, the Vikings won two GNAC home games, extending their winning streak at Sam Carver Gymnasium to 17 games, 7-0 this season. That is just three wins short of the school standard of 20 established during the 1970-71 and 1971-72 campaigns.

On Thursday, WWU posted a dramatic 86-85 victory over arch-rival Central Washington, winning on a layup with 2.2 seconds remaining. Two days later, the Vikings battled to a 61-49 win against Northwest Nazarene.

The Central game was televised live on ROOT Sports before a sellout crowd of 2,320.

Two weeks ago, WWU earned GNAC Team of the Week honors, posting road triumphs over No.7-rated and conference preseason favorite Seattle Pacific, 66-56, and Montana State Billings, 95-80. MSUB was the last team to beat WWU, winning 82-78 on March 2, 2012, in the GNAC tournament semifinals at Lacey.

Earlier this season, the Vikings swept two games in Hawaii, 84-78 at BYU-Hawaii and 95-80 at Chaminade, which defeated Division I Texas, 86-73, in its next game. They also edged previously unbeaten and No.14 Drury MO, 72-69, and crushed Central Oklahoma, 103-74, at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in mid-December.

The Vikings rank among the top 25 nationally in eight team categories. They are No.4 in scoring margin (20.3), No.6 in scoring offense (88.3), No.14 in rebound margin (8.9), No.16 in field-goal percentage (50.1), No.18 in blocked shots (4.9), No.21 in both assist-to-turnover ratio (1.31) and 3-point percentage defense (29.3) and No.22 in 3-point percentage defense (29.3).

WWU leads the GNAC in scoring margin, field-goal percentage and blocked shots (4.9), and is second in scoring offense.

Senior guard John Allen leads four Vikings averaging double figures in points per game at 16.9, which ranks third in the GNAC. He also is second on the team in assists at 4.0.

Allen was picked as the preseason GNAC Player of the Year and was a Division II Bulletin Super 16 selection. He has scored 1,134 career points, which ranks 16th among WWU leaders, and needs 55 more to move into 15th.

Senior forward Paul Jones, who scored a team-high 18 points against Central, including the winning basket, is averaging 15.1 points, seventh in the league, and 6.1 rebounds. He leads the GNAC in 3-point accuracy at 63.6 percent (14-of-22) and is second and 23rd nationally overall from the field at 60.6 percent (80-of-132).

Rounding out the starting lineup are junior point guard Richard Woodworth, who is averaging 10.1 points and a team-leading 4.1 assists. He is hitting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from beyond the arc which is tied for second in the GNAC. Senior center Chris Mitchell is averaging 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds, and junior forward Austin Bragg, a transfer from Clark CC, is averaging 8.8 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds, sixth in the GNAC. He had 14 points, nine rebounds and five steals, all game highs, in the win over NNU.

Outstanding contributions off the bench have come from senior guard Rico Wilkins, who is averaging 10.0 points; junior guard Cameron Severson, who is averaging 8.4 points on 58.8 floor accuracy (47-of-80) and sophomore forward Anye Turner, a transfer from South Puget Sound CC, who is averaging 1.4 blocks, second in the GNAC, and making 64.3 percent (18-of-28) of his field goal attempts.

Severson has scored double-figure points in each of the last three games, totaling 42 points (14.0 avg.) on 56.3 percent (18-of-32) floor accuracy while grabbing 18 rebounds.

Western Oregon is 7-6 overall (5-2 at home) and 2-3 in conference play, losing three straight and four of its last five following a 6-2 start.

The Wolves, located in Monmouth, Ore., are led by 6-5 redshirt freshman Andy Avgi, who is averaging 17.6 points, second in the GNAC, on 61.3 percent field-goal shooting and 5.6 rebounds.

A solid transfer for second-year coach Brady Bergeson (25-16) is 6-1 junior guard Rodney Webster (10.5 ppg) from Fresno City College. Two freshmen making big contributions are 6-1 guard Devon Alexander (10.9 ppg, 28 steals lead league) and 6-6 forward Jordan Wiley (9.9 ppg)

WWU leads the series, 37-14, splitting a pair of home-and-home meetings over the last two seasons.

Saint Martin's is 5-8 overall (2-2 at home) and 1-4 in league play. The Saints, located in Lacey, have dropped six of their last eight games after winning three of their first five.

Coach Keith Cooper (10th year, 111-150) has two returning starters, 6-5 senior forward Roger O'Neill (14.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 969 career points) and 5-10 senior guard Brady Bomber (7.8 ppg, 4.5 apg), a graduate of Lynden High School. Another solid player back is 6-2 senior guard Eric Taylor (11.5 ppg).

Two top SMU transfers are 5-10 junior guard Evan Coulter (11.5 ppg) from Whatcom CC and 6-8 junior center Rei Jensen (10.3 ppg,7.4 rpg, 1.2 bpg) from Mount Hood CC.

WWU leads the series, 122-6, winning the last five meetings.