BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team will close out its preseason with an exhibition game vs. the University of Washington on Thursday night in Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.
This marks the fifth exhibition game between the Vikings and the Huskies, and first since November 3, 2016, a narrow 109-103 victory by the Huskies.
Picked as the favorites in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, the Vikings return 11 players and five starters from last year's squad that finished 15-15 overall and 9-11 in GNAC play.
Senior co-captains Trevor Jasinsky and Logan Schilder were selected to the Preseason All-GNAC Team, with Jasinsky earning Preseason Player of the Year honors.
Under the direction of eighth-year head coach Tony Dominguez, the Vikings are set to open the 2019-20 regular season November 8-9 hosting the GNAC/CCAA Challenge in Carver Gym. WWU will welcome UC San Diego, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Simon Fraser to Bellingham to open the season. The complete 2019-20 season schedule can be viewed and downloaded atWWUVikings.com/MBB.
Fans can listen to the game between the Vikings and Huskies via an internet audio webcast with Shawn Walli and Will Gaethle calling the action courtside from Seattle. The audio webcast can be accessed through GNAC.tv or WWUVikings.com/MBB_Live. Live stats for the game will also be available through StatBroadcast.
Thursday's exhibition game vs. the University of Washington will be WWU's fifth exhibition game between the two schools, and first since November 3, 2016. WWU is 0-5 vs. UW in exhibition games, including a narrow 109-103 loss in the last meeting in 2016. Additional games were Oct. 24, 2012 (UW 88, WWU 78), Nov. 7, 2008 (UW 105, WWU 85) and Nov. 9, 2001 (UW 81, WWU 76). The Vikings are also 0-17 in regular-season meetings vs. the Huskies, with the last counting game coming early in the 1982-83 season.
ALL IN THE FAMILY – JALEN GREEN
Sophomore guard/forward Jalen Green is the younger brother of former Husky Dominic Green, who played in 128 games for UW from 2015-19. Dominic is currently playing for the Erie Bay Hawks in the G-League, an affiliate of the New Orleans Pelicans. Jalen averaged 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 27 games/16 starts as a freshman for the Vikings in 2018-19.
PRESEASON ALL-GNAC SELECTIONS
Senior co-captains Trevor Jasinsky and Logan Schilder have been selected to the 2019-20 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team. Jasinsky was voted by the conference's head coaches as the Preseason Player of the Year to headline the 15-player Preseason All-GNAC Team.
Coming off a junior season in which he was a First Team All-GNAC and All-West Region selection, Jasinsky enters his senior season as one of WWU's all-time leading scorers and 3-point shooters in program history. In 2018-19 Jasinsky was second in the GNAC averaging 19.1 points and fourth with 7.1 rebounds per game. He was the only player to rank in the top five in both categories last season and is the top returning player in the conference in both statistical categories.
Schilder, a 7-0 center out of Bellingham High School, returns to the hardwood after utilizing his redshirt season in 2018-19. As a junior in 2017-18, Schilder helped lead the Vikings to the GNAC Championships averaging 7.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game (39 total blocks). He was 4th in the GNAC with a .597 shooting percentage connecting on 86-of-144 shots. In 59 career games, Schilder is ranked among the top shot blockers in program and GNAC history. He enters the 2019-20 season with 98 career blocked shots to rank 9th in WWU history and tied for 18th in conference history.
Trevor Jasinsky has scored 1,075 points while appearing in all 90 games of his WWU career to rank 21st in program history in points scored. He is also tied for 10th with 143 career made 3-pointers and among the leaders with a .853 free throw percentage (266-for-312). The 6-8 senior forward has not missed a game in his WWU career.
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WWU ALL-TIME LEADING SCORERS
(sorted by total points scored)
|
|
Rk
|
Player
|
Points
|
G
|
Avg.
|
|
1.
|
Jeffrey Parker (2013-17)
|
1,867
|
121
|
15.4
|
|
2.
|
Grant Dykstra (2002-06)
|
1,844
|
113
|
16.3
|
|
3.
|
Ryan Diggs (2002-06)
|
1,783
|
109
|
16.4
|
|
4.
|
Jared Stevenson (1996-2000)
|
1,728
|
106
|
16.3
|
|
5.
|
Mike Palm (1999-2003)
|
1,649
|
111
|
14.9
|
|
6.
|
Manny Kimmie (1986-1990)
|
1,624
|
126
|
12.9
|
|
7.
|
Harold Doyal (1991-95)
|
1,571
|
117
|
13.4
|
|
8.
|
John Allen (2010-13)
|
1,480
|
96
|
15.4
|
|
9.
|
Ira Graham (2004-05, 2006-09)
|
1,465
|
91
|
16.1
|
|
|
Jeff Dick (1990-94)
|
1,465
|
114
|
12.9
|
|
11.
|
Mike Franza (1969-73)
|
1,436
|
90
|
16.0
|
|
12.
|
Tim Dickerson (1984-88)
|
1,347
|
123
|
11.0
|
|
13.
|
Jacob Stevenson (1998-2002)
|
1,320
|
1320
|
12.5
|
|
14.
|
Kevin Bryant (1976-1980)
|
1,310
|
109
|
12.0
|
|
15.
|
Rory Blanche (2008-12)
|
1,273
|
109
|
11.7
|
|
16.
|
Richard Woodworth (2009-14)
|
1,262
|
123
|
10.3
|
|
17.
|
Shelton Diggs (1998-2002)
|
1,251
|
109
|
11.5
|
|
18.
|
A.J. Geisa (1998-2002)
|
1,189
|
109
|
10.9
|
|
19.
|
Mike Clayton (1966-70)
|
1,093
|
89
|
12.3
|
|
20.
|
Stan Peterson (1947-51)
|
1,084
|
93
|
11.7
|
|
21.
|
Trevor Jasinsky (2016-current)
|
1,075
|
90
|
11.9
|
|
22.
|
Jason Burrell (2000-04)
|
1,032
|
102
|
10.1
|
|
23.
|
James Johnson (1986-88)
|
1,026
|
71
|
14.5
|
|
24.
|
Rob Visser (1973-76)
|
1,024
|
78
|
13.1
|
|
25.
|
Dwayne Kirkley (1992-94)
|
1,008
|
62
|
16.3
|
|
26.
|
Jim Adams (1960-63)
|
1,007
|
77
|
13.1
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2019-20 SEASON RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER
The official start of the 2019-20 WWU men's basketball season is quickly approaching with the GNAC/CCAA Conference Challenge November 8-9 in Carver Gym. The Vikings will host UC San Diego, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Simon Fraser University in the two-day, four-game tournament. The full schedule for the Vikings is posted on WWUVikings.com/MBB.
The Vikings are scheduled to play 28 regular-season games, with eight non-conference games and the 20-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule. WWU will complete in three tournaments during the season, beginning with the GNAC/CCAA Challenge hosting Simon Fraser, Cal State Dominguez Hills and UC San Diego in Carver Gym during the opening weekend of the season. Western will travel to play in the Aramark GNAC/PacWest Challenge in Irvine, California, playing tournament host Concordia-Irvine and Azusa Pacific Nov. 15-16. Carver Gym will also play host to the annual Chuck Randall Classic Nov. 29-30 with Colorado Christian, Langara College and SFU in the four-team tournament. The first GNAC contest is Dec. 3 when the Vikings cross the border to play at Simon Fraser in West Gym.
GNAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Last week the Vikings were announced as the preseason favorite to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, topping the voting with 112 points and six first-place votes. Here is a look at the 2019-20 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll:
|
Rk
|
Team (1st Place Votes)
|
2018-19 Record (GNAC)
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Western Washington (6)
|
15-15, 9-11 (T-6th)
|
112
|
|
2.
|
Seattle Pacific (5)
|
22-7, 16-4 (2nd)
|
107
|
|
3.
|
Simon Fraser
|
15-14, 9-11 (T-6th)
|
91
|
|
4.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
14-14, 9-11 (T-6th)
|
90
|
|
5.
|
Montana State Billings
|
15-14, 10-10 (5th)
|
79
|
|
6.
|
Central Washington
|
11-17, 5-15 (10th)
|
63
|
|
7.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
20-8, 14-6 (3rd)
|
59
|
|
8.
|
Western Oregon
|
22-11, 13-7 (4th)
|
56
|
|
9.
|
Concordia
|
11-17, 6-14 (9th)
|
25
|
|
10.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
5-22, 2-18 (11th)
|
23
|
|
11.
|
Saint Martin's
|
26-6, 17-3 (1st)
|
21
|
|
Votes awarded on an 11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
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The Vikings completed the 2018-19 season with a 15-15 overall record and tied for 6th in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 9-11 league record…missed qualifying for the GNAC Championships hosted by WWU in Carver Gym via tiebreaker, the first time the Vikings have not played in the GNAC Tournament…had a string of 10 consecutive seasons advancing to the postseason snapped (GNAC or NCAA)…had a string of eight consecutive 20-win seasons snapped, but have finished .500 or better in each of the last 12 seasons…started the year 7-2, with only losses to nationally-ranked UC San Diego and Western Oregon, but went 1-5 over a six-game stretch Dec. 16-Jan. 10…opened the season ranked No. 14 in the NABC Preseason Coaches Poll and remained in the national top 20 until the month of December…finished the season with six games in 14 days, including road contests in Montana, Alaska and Canada (went 3-3)…went 8-5 in Carver Gym, 4-7 on the road and 3-3 in neutral-site games (0-3 at Hoops in Hawai'i D2 Power Invitational).
The Vikings finished the 2018-19 season 15-15 overall, extending its streak with a .500 or better record to 12 consecutive seasons. WWU has finished at least .500 in every season dating back to 2007-08, combining to go 257-106 (.708).
Head coach Tony Dominguez is in his eighth season at the helm of the program, and 25th overall at WWU. Dominguez has led the Vikings to a 146-66 record (.692) and was the 2016-17 GNAC Coach of the Year. He is assisted by David Dunham (4th season), Bob Hofstetter (7th season), Atiavo Jude(7th season) and Director of Basketball Operations Jonathan Kim.
Fans can follow the men's basketball team online at WWUVikings.com/MBB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball).
One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 11 seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has 20-win seasons in two of the last three years, including a 25-6 record in 2016-17 where it won the GNAC regular season and conference championships title, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships as the No. 3 seed in the West Region. WWU is the 12th winningest Division II program with its 1,494 victories (six short of 1,500) and is a top 20 team over the last 10 seasons with a 221-88 (.715) record.
