Wolves to Host 15th Red Lion Hotel Basketball Classic

WOU’s games at the Red Lion Classic will be only its second and third home games of the 2006-07 season.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

MONMOUTH - Western Oregon will host the 15th Red Lion Hotel Basketball Classic this coming Friday and Saturday at the Physical Education Building in Monmouth.

The schedule for the pre-set format looks like this….

Friday (5:00 PM): Shepherd WV (6-1) vs. Central Washington (3-6)

Friday (7:00 PM): North Dakota (7-5) vs. Western Oregon (3-6)

Saturday (4:00 PM): North Dakota vs. Central Washington

Saturday (6:00 PM): Shepherd vs. Western Oregon

Directions:

Traveling from the Portland airport, take I-205 South to I-5 South.

Take Exit 260A (Salem Parkway).

Follow the Parkway into Salem. The Parkway will curve to the left and become Commercial Street. Stay on Commercial until you reach Marion Street.

Turn right, cross the Marion Street Bridge on to Highway 22, and follow the signs marked "Dallas/Ocean Beaches." Stay on Highway 22 until you reach Highway 99W.

Turn left and follow the signs to Monmouth and the WOU campus. McArthur Field is on Stadium Drive.

New PE is at the corner of Stadium Drive and Church Street.

Parking is behind McAruthur Stadium.

Listen In:

A select number of men’s and women’s basketball games will be broadcast live this season on radio station AM 1220 KCCS in Salem.

The next men’s game to be aired is on Jan. 11th, when the Wolves travel to Seattle Pacific.

The Field:

The Red Lion Hotel’s Classic field in 2006 features all NCAA Division II schools, and will be a treat for local fans.

The Shepherd Rams of Shepherdstown, West Virginia come to Monmouth with the best record (6-1), off to the program’s best start since 1992-93.

The Rams have four players averaging in double figures this season, they are shooting 52 percent from the field, and they are outrebounding their opponents by an astounding 15 boards a contest.

Their only loss thus far was an 81-79 setback on the road to Lock Haven.

The North Dakota Fighting Sioux are 7-5, and have won six of their last seven games.

UND has drilled 41 percent of their launches from three-point range.

First-year coach Brian Jones was previously an assistant for five seasons at the University of Iowa.

The Fighting Sioux also played in the Red Lion Classic in 2002, topping WOU in the title game, 99-82.

The Central Washington Wildcats were the pre-season pick to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, but are off to a slow 3-6 start.

6-6 sharpshooting senior Lance Den Boer averaged 20.6 points per game last year, third best in the GNAC.

He was also the 2004 Red Lion Classic MVP and was named to the all-tournament team last year.

Last Week:

Western Oregon experienced both sides of a blowout when they rocked Willamette on Tuesday (Dec. 19th) by a 94-57 count, and then were pasted by Brigham Young on Friday (Dec. 22nd), 102-40.

The results just added to a weird month, that also featured a four-overtime record-breaking loss to Cal State Monterey Bay (126-122), a wild 97-96 overtime win over Corban, a furious comeback win over Notre Dame de Namur (80-71) and a solid effort in a losing cause at Division I Oregon State (71-58).

Another Record Falls:

Western Oregon re-wrote a part of the team record book after the Dec. 15th thriller against Cal State Monterey Bay.

Another longtime record of the dubious kind fell at BYU, when the Cougars outscored the Wolves 102-40. T

he 62-point win was the largest margin of victory in BYU history, and it was the most lopsided defeat ever suffered by the Wolves.

The previous margin was 53 points, during a Portland State win over Western Oregon (92-39) during the 1959-60 season.

On the plus side, WOU’s 37-point win over Willamette was the Wolves largest margin of victory since a 38-point victory over Saint Martin’s (112-74) in March of 2004.

The Record Book:

A number of marks in the school record book had to be adjusted after WOU’s quadruple overtime thriller with the Otters.

The 126-122 loss requires the following entries into the WOU archives.

The 122 WOU points is the highest total scored in a losing cause.

The combined 248 points by the two teams is a school and GNAC record.

126 Cal State Monterey Bay points is the most ever by a WOU opponent.

Richard Jenkin’s 57 points is the most scored by an individual opponent.

The 60-minute game is the longest in school history.

Ryan Schmidt’s 50 minutes played is a school record.

Clips from Craig:

“My biggest disappointment is that we didn’t come to compete. When BYU started to get physical with us, we backed down and didn’t execute like we should have. I am a bit embarrassed that we did not compete better, but we can learn a lot from this game.”

By The Numbers:

WOU senior post Jacob Mitchell (6-7, 235) leads the Wolves with a 19.4 scoring average and adds 6.3 rebounds a game.

He posted a season-best 33 counters against Cal State Monterey Bay on Dec. 16th.

Ryan Schmidt (6-7, 210), a junior transfer from Hawaii, adds 16.8 ppg and a 6.3 boards a contest. He has also nailed 21 of 40 three-point attempts (.525) in nine games.

Sophomore Travis Kuhns (6-8, 200) averages 9.5 points an outing and 6.0 rebounds, while senior point guard Alex Swerzbin (6-0, 190) is averaging 10.3 points and 6.2 assists.

The Hawaii Pacific transfer has been in double figure assist totals three times this season, and has converted 19 of his 21 free throw attempts (.905)..

Home Sweet Home:

WOU’s games at the Red Lion Classic will be only its second and third home games of the 2006-07 season.

Probable Starters:

F- 24 Jacob Mitchell (6-7, 235, Sr., Olympia, Wash.)

F- 30 Travis Kuhns (6-8, 200, So., Salem, Ore.)

F- 3 Ryan Schmidt (6-7, 210, Jr., Keizer, Ore.)

G- 5 Alex Swerzbin (6-0, 190, Sr., Portland, Ore.)

G- 20 Dominque DeWeese (6-3, 175, Sr., Portland, Ore.)

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