Vikings to take on rival Central tonight at 9; game to be shown on ROOT Sports

Looking to take sole possession of the league record for consecutive wins, the Western Washington University men's basketball team plays host to arch-rival Central Washington University on Thursday (9:10 p.m.), Jan. 10, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.

The game will be televised live on ROOT Sports (Comcast Channel 30) with Rich Burk providing the play-by-play and Bill Krueger the color commentary. It also will be carried live on KPUG Radio (AM 1170 - Bellingham, www.kpug1170.com) with Doug Lange and Mark Scholten handling the broadcast.

The Vikings entertain Northwest Nazarene University on Saturday (7:30 p.m.), Jan. 12. That contest can be heard live on KBAI Radio (AM 930 - Bellingham, www.930kbai.com).

Central and Northwest Nazarene are both 8-4 overall and tied for fifth in the GNAC standings at 2-2.

WWU, the defending national champion and ranked No.5 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, is 12-0 overall and leads the GNAC at 3-0. The Vikings have won 18 straight games over the last two years, beginning with six in its title run last season.

The winning streak is tied for the longest in the 12-year history of the conference, Alaska Anchorage also won 18 straight games in 2007-08, and is the second best in school history, behind only a 23-game run from Feb. 20, 1971 to Feb. 15, 1972.

WWU also is working on a home victory string of 15 games (5-0 this season) with the school standard being 20 (1970-72). The Vikings' unbeaten start of 12-0 ranks second in school history, the record being 21-0 in 1971-72.

Last week, WWU took a pair of GNAC road games, defeating No.7-rated and conference preseason favorite Seattle Pacific, 66-56, and Montana State Billings, 95-80, to earn GNAC Team of the Week honors. MSUB was the last team to beat WWU, posting an 82-78 win 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 six team categories. They are No.4 in scoring margin (22.6), No.6 in scoring offense (90.8), No.10 in field-goal percentage (51.3), No.16 in 3-point percentage (41.0), No.18 in rebound margin (8.9) and No.24 in three-point field goals (8.8).

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, who scored 25 points against MSUB, is averaging team highs of 18.1 points per game, third in the GNAC, and 4.1 assists. He was picked as the preseason GNAC Player of the Year and was a Division II Bulletin Super 16 selection. Allen has scored 1,115 career points, which ranks 16th among WWU leaders.

Senior forward Paul Jones, who had a team-high 16 points in the Seattle Pacific win, is averaging 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. He leads the GNAC in 3-point accuracy at 65.0 percent (13-of-20) and is second overall from the field at 61.4 percent (70-of-114).

Rounding out the starting lineup are junior point guard Richard Woodworth, who is averaging 10.8 points and 4.1 assists, hitting 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from beyond the arc which ranks second in the GNAC. Senior center Chris Mitchell is averaging 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds, and junior forward Austin Bragg, a transfer from Clark CC, is averaging 8.3 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds.

Making solid contributions off the bench are senior guard Rico Wilkins, averaging 10.2 points; junior guard Cameron Severson, averaging 8.3 points on 62.1 floor accuracy (36-of-58), second in the league; and sophomore forward Anye Turner, a transfer from South Puget Sound CC, averaging 1.4 blocks, second in the GNAC.

Central Washington (8-4 overall, 2-2 conference) has split its last six games following a 5-1 start. The Wildcats are averaging a league-leading 91.0 points. They also top the GNAC in free throw percentage (74.9, 253-of-338) and steals (9.8).

Central is led by 6-6 junior guard Mark McLaughlin, a transfer from Tacoma CC, who tops the league in scoring with a 23.3 average and is second in steals at 2.3. Last year, McLaughlin was the NWAACC Western Region MVP, averaging 27.5 points (scored 41 in one game) and 8.1 rebounds.

Another talented transfer, also from Tacoma CC, is 5-10 junior guard Dom Williams (11.1 ppg).

The only starter back for from last year's 15-13 team for coach Greg Sparling (18th year, 303-188) is 6-1 senior guard Jordan Coby (10.9 ppg). Another top returnee is 6-4 senior forward Brandon Magee (8.6 rpg).

WWU trails 153-92 in its series with Central, but has won seven of the last nine meetings.

Northwest Nazarene (8-4 overall, 2-2 conference, Jan. 10 at Simon Fraser) had a five-game winning streak snapped in a 74-55 home loss to Alaska Fairbanks last Saturday. The Crusaders split their first six games.

Coach Dave Daniels (2nd year, 20-18; 8th overall, 100-113) got a talented transfer in 6-2 senior forward Kenny Jones (15.9 ppg, 3.8 apg) from UCLA. A returning starter from last year's 12-14 team is 6-3 senior guard Jonathan Hawkins (13.7 ppg, 3.8 apg).

WWU holds a 21-8 series advantage. The Vikings have won nine of the last 12 meetings with all three losses coming during the 2010-11 season.

SIX UNBEATENS LEFT: WWU is one of six remaining unbeaten Division II teams in the country. The others are Bellarmine, Indianapolis, Kentucky Wesleyan, Metro State and West Liberty.

VIKINGS ON TV: This is the fourth straight year that WWU's home game with Central has been televised. The Vikings have won all three previous meetings and taken 13 of the last 14 encounters with the Wildcats at Carver Gym dating back to January of 2000.

ALLEN 1,000 AND BEYOND: John Allen became the 23rd Viking to reach the 1,000 plateau in career scoring, and just the fifth who did not play four seasons at WWU to accomplish that feat, on Dec. 8 vs. Quest BC. Allen currently ranks 16th at 1,115.

STREAKS: The Vikings are working on an 18-game winning streak over the last two seasons. The string is the second longest in school history with the school record of 23 being from Feb. 20, 1971 to Feb. 15, 1972 ... That 18-game streak tied the GNAC record set by Alaska Anchorage during the 2007-08 season ... WWU also has won 15 straight home games (5-0 this season) with the school standard being 20 (1970-72) ... The Vikings' unbeaten start of 12-0 ranks second in school history, the school best being 21-0 in 1971-72.

THREE-DOT NOTES: John Allen was named Most Valuable Player at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic and he and Richard Woodworth were co-MVPs at the WWU Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Classic ... Also picked all-tournament at the SPHHC was Chris Mitchell ... Allen and Paul Jones have both earned GNAC POW recognition this season ... The Vikings received one first-place vote in the NABC Preseason Top 25 while being picked No.6 ... WWU was tabbed No.8 nationally in the Division II Bulletin preseason poll ... The Vikings will host Simon Fraser, the NCAA's first international member, in a nationally televised game on the CBS Sports Network (CBSSports.com) on March 2 (7 p.m.) ... WWU, which is the GNAC's defending regular season champion, was picked second behind Seattle Pacific in the league's preseason coaches' poll. WWU tied for the GNAC title in 2002 and 2005, won it outright in 2009 and took the regular-season crown in 2012.

PRE-SEASON HONORS: John Allen was picked as the preseason GNAC Player of the Year and was a Division II Bulletin Super 16 pick. Besides Allen, Paul Jones and Richard Woodworth were named to the GNAC preseason all-conference team.

COACH DOMINGUEZ: Tony Dominguez (12-0) is in his first season as head coach at WWU after being an associate head coach the previous two seasons and an assistant 17 years overall, all at WWU. During that stretch, the Vikings posted a 317-165 (.658) record, made six regional appearances and won five conference championships. WWU took the NCAA II national crown in 2012, winning a school record 31 games, and reached the national semifinals in 2001. As an assistant, Dominguez was responsible for recruiting, scouting, coordinating scheduling, and budgeting. He played a major role in the recruiting classes of past 12 seasons. Those teams had a winning percentage of .711 (246-100).

TOUGH EXHIBITIONS: The Vikings accounted well for themselves in a pair of road exhibition games against NCAA I opponents. They lost 88-78 at Washington on Oct. 24 and fell 105-87 at Duke, currently ranked No.1 in the AP Poll, on Oct. 27. WWU trailed by just two points, 74-72, against Washington with 4:30 to play, and versus Duke was within 11, 69-58, with 13:58 to go and 14, 99-85, with 2:13 remaining. The 18-point margin was the closest any defending DII national championship team had gotten to Duke since the Blue Devils began inviting those squads for exhibitions six years ago. In the combined second half of the games with Washington and Duke, the Vikings trailed by just four points. John Allen and Chris Mitchell each scored a team-high 17 points against Washington and Paul Jones added 15. Jones led the Vikings versus Duke with 20 points, 14 in the second half. Allen had 17, Woodworth 13 and Rico Wilkins added 12 off the bench.

NATIONAL CHAMPS! WWU won the 2012 national championship, defeating Montevallo, Ala., 72-65, on March 24 in a nationally televised game at Northern Heights, Kentucky. The Vikings finished 31-5, the win total being the most in school history. They won their final six games following a loss to Montana State Billings in the GNAC Tournament semifinal after winning the league's regular-season crown. It was the first NCAA basketball title at any level for a school from the state of Washington since Puget Sound won the NCAA II championship in 1976. Brad Jackson, who was the unanimous DII National Coach of the Year, resigned in late August to become an assistant at University of Washington, ending a 27-year, 518-win coaching tenure at WWU.

WEST REGION IS FORCE AT NCAA II ELITE EIGHT: A representative of the West Region has either won the national men's basketball title or been runner-up in each of the last four years. WWU won the title in 2012 after BYU Hawaii reached the final in 2011, and Cal Poly Pomona took the crown in 2010 after getting to the final in 2009.

RADIO BROADCASTS: Selected WWU 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: All Viking home games are being video streamed live and are available free at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wwu.portal#. For up-to-date statistics, box scores of every game, records, stories, etc., see the WWU 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.