Jan. 19, 2006

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Guard Kyle Jackson (Sr., Bellingham/Sehome) scored a career-high 19 points, 16 of them in the first half, as NCAA Division II No.2-ranked Western Washington University defeated Northwest Nazarene University, 76-63, in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game Thursday on Haggen Court at Carver Gym.

The Vikings, who were ranked second nationally for the second straight week in this week's NABC Coaches Poll and No.1 in the West Region rating, improved to 14-1 overall with their 13th straight victory, and are tied for the GNAC lead with national No.3 Seattle Pacific at 6-0. The two teams meet at Western in a GNAC contest Saturday (7 p.m.).

Northwest Nazarene fell to 7-8 overall and 2-4 in the GNAC. Center Mesut Ademoglu led the Crusaders with a game-high 21 points.

Western entered the game second nationally in scoring at 98.8 points a game, and was held eight below their previous season-low of 84. Northwest Nazarene slowed the pace to a crawl early in the contest, often taking 15-to-20 seconds off the shot clock before looking to score, and used that tactic to take a 15-7 lead nine minutes into the game.

But Jackson led a Viking comeback, scoring 16 of Western's next 22 points in a five-minute span. He capped that by hitting a trio of 3-pointers in an 11-2 run that gave Western a 29-26 lead with 4:36 to go in the half, although Northwest Nazarene recovered to take a 33-32 lead at halftime.

Western finally took control of the contest early in the second half. After the teams exchanged baskets on the first four possessions of the half, the Vikings held the Crusaders to just one field goal in the next 13 minutes, taking a 62-48 lead with 5:47 to play. The margin was never less than nine points after that.

Guard Ryan Diggs (Sr., Victorville, CA/Silverado) had 17 points for Western, 14 of them in the second half. Forward Tyler Amaya (Sr., Mount Vernon) had 16 points, and forward Grant Dykstra (Sr., Everson/Lynden Christian) added 12 for the Vikings, who shot 52.0 percent (26-of-50) from the field, and made 85 percent (17-of-20) of their free throws.

Forward Travis Fridrich had 14 points and eight rebounds for Northwest Nazarene, and forward Wade Joseph had 13 points and a game-high 11 boards, helping the Crusaders to a 29-25 edge in rebounds.

Western's 13-game winning streak is the third-longest in school history and trails only the 14 straight wins that took the Vikings to the NCAA II national semifinals in 2000-01, and the 21 that opened the 1971-72 campaign, a year that ended in the NAIA national quarterfinals. It was also Western's 22nd consecutive regular-season home victory, including nine triumphs this season.

Dykstra ranks fifth in Western history in career scoring with 1,552 points and Diggs is sixth with 1,527 points.

Vikings push winning streak to 13 games

Jackson leads Western men after slow start to home game

DOUG PACEY, THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Trying to run with the second-highest scoring team in NCAA Division II hasn't worked for opponents, so Northwest Nazarene tried the opposite. Seems that slowing down doesn't work either.

The Western Washington University men's basketball team endured the Crusaders' no-sweating-allowed offense on Thursday night at Carver Gym, winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference game 76-63.

That extends the winning streak to 13 games for the second-ranked Vikings (14-1, 6-0 GNAC).

"No one has done that to us to that extent," Western guard Kyle Jackson said of the Crusaders' sluggish offense. "They were really trying to take the air out of the ball."

And it worked - for the first 10 minutes.

Northwest Nazarene, which entered the contest averaging 86.1 points per game, led 17-9 halfway through the first half. The Vikings had shot just 27.2 percent from the field.

"We've got a bunch of guys that want to go and run," Vikings coach Brad Jackson said. "The pace of the game they (NNU) used was different and it definitely affected us."

But not for long.

Western turned the eight-point deficit into a two-point lead over the next 4 minutes, 13 seconds. The Vikings made seven consecutive field goals, getting four from Kyle Jackson.

He drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, tying the game, before forward Grant Dykstra gave Western its first lead (26-24) when he hit a jumper with 5:30 left in the half.

"Kyle can really shoot," said Brad Jackson, his father. "He doesn't do it a lot, but he can make shots."

Jackson, who was averaging 6.8 ppg finished with a career-high 19. He was 7-for-10 from the field and 5-for-7 from behind the arc.

"We've got Grant and Ryan (Diggs), two All-Americans averaging more than 20 points a game," Kyle said. "Sometimes teams try and focus on stopping them and a few times tonight the guy guarding me left to double one of them and I was open."

Diggs scored 17 points, forward Tyler Amaya totaled 16 and Dykstra added 12.

Nazarene's Mesmut Ademoglu led all players with 21 points. Sehome graduate Travis Fridrich scored 14 for the Crusaders (7-8, 2-4).

The Vikings may have acquired a new coach. As the team does every home game, an honorary coach sat courtside with the team. This time it was Kyle's grandfather and Brad's father-in-law, Roland Halle.

When Kyle hit his groove in the first half, the silver-haired Halle's smile was a big as anyone's in the gym. Halle knows plenty about basketball - he played on the University of Washington team that reached the Final Four in 1953.

"He's undefeated as a coach," Kyle joked. "He might have to come back."

The Vikings will take any advantage they can find for Saturday's home game against third-ranked Seattle Pacific University (14-1, 6-0). The Falcons' only loss came at Div. I Nevada.

"I can't remember the last time Western was ranked this high and played a team ranked this high at the same time," Kyle said. "It's going to be fun."