Whitworth Chosen by NWC Coaches to Repeat as Champions

(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis).

SEATTLE – The Whitworth University Pirates have been selected by the head coaches of the Northwest Conference to finish atop the standings for the fourth consecutive season. Whitworth received seven of nine first-place votes for a total of 70 out of a possible 72 points in the poll.

The Bucs return three starters and other key components from 2012-13 when Whitworth went 26-4 overall, won the Northwest Conference with a 14-2 record, won the NWC postseason tournament for the seventh straight season and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division III tournament for the fifth time in school history.

Whitworth returns First Team All-NWC guard Dustin McConnell, Second Team All-NWC guard Colton McCargar and All-NWC Honorable Mention Taylor Farnsworth.

"I feel that our program has developed an identity that our guys buy into and they know it can be successful," said head coach Matt Logie, who is 52-8 heading into his third season leading the Bucs. "The fun part every year is watching the newer guys find their own roles in developing that identity. We're excited to watch that happen this season as well."

Whitworth will lean on a strong group of returning veterans and an influx of new talent.  Nine letter-winners, including three starters, will be joined by the seven freshmen that comprise a highly-decorated incoming class.

"Our returning veterans bring an experience level that is unparalleled in our region," Logie said. "Beyond their championship and post-season playing experience, they bring high character and the experience of being around the previous terrific leaders within our team the past couple seasons. That trickle down effect from one class to another is the sign of a true program and I'm very excited to see our newcomers become indoctrinated into our culture."

Runners-up a season ago, the Missionaries are chosen to finish in a similar position in 2013-14. Whitman College came in second in the poll, receiving the other two first-place votes and collecting a total of 58 points.

Whitman has an ace in the hole in returning Northwest Conference Player of the Year Ben Eisenhardt, who returns to the highest scoring team in the NWC. The 6-10 senior forward averaged 16.4 points a game last season while shooting better than 54% from the field.

Whitman also returns senior guard Josh Duckworth and junior forward Matt Mounier, the team's second and third leading scorers, respectively. Duckworth, a second team All-NWC selection, averaged 14.5 PPG and led his team with 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game last season. Mounier averaged 14.1 PPG and brought down 3.6 rebounds a game.

Despite losing three All-NWC selections, Lewis & Clark comes in third in the poll with 48 points.

The Pioneers will be without the services of first team All-NWC guard James Hollins, second team forward Ross Erickson and honorable mention selection guard Dexter Pearce. The three were the team's top three scorers, averaging greater than 39 points per game combined.

The Pios are young but their ceiling is high. Eight new incoming players, including two transfers, join a squad that is looking to earn their third consecutive NWC Tournament appearance under third-year head coach Dinari Foreman.

Coming off a 10-6 NWC record in 2012-13 and a berth in the NWC Tournament are the George Fox University Bruins, who come in at No. 4 and earned 44 points in the poll.

The Bruins return three starters from last season – wingman Sean Atkins, point guard A.J. Grant and power forward Seth Brent. Atkins averaged 16.7 PPG along with 5.3 RPG and earned All-NWC First Team honors. Brent was the team's leading rebounder bringing in 6.5 RPG.

George Fox will look to challenge for a title in 2013-14 under the guidance of first-year head coach Maco Hamilton. Hamilton joins the Bruins after a successful high school coaching career, in which he was named Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches' Association 3A Coach of the Year.

The Pacific (Ore.) Boxers have been selected to finish in 2013-14 exactly where they finished in 2012-13, fifth in the conference. Pacific (Ore.) received 30 points in the poll and finished last season with a 9-7-conference record. 

The Boxers will be without the services of their top two scorers from last season, Colin Wester and Charles Mosley, who averaged 16.0 PPG and 13.4 PPG, respectively. Wester was a first team All-NWC selection and also led the team in minutes, assists and steals. The will also be without leading rebounder forward Dustin Bowser.

Fourth-year head coach Tim Cleary will look to fill the vacancies left by Wester, Mosley and Bowser with senior forward Daniel Zitani, junior forward Mitch Wettig and senior guard Budweiser Hawkins, all of who saw significant playing time last season.

Chosen sixth are the Loggers of Puget Sound, earning 27 points. Puget Sound finished last season with only four conference wins, tied for seventh in the NWC.

The Loggers graduate both their top scorers, guard Rex Holmes and forward Riggs Yarbro, from last season. Holmes earned Honorable Mention All-NWC honors and averaged 12.8 PPG, 2.0 SPG and 2.7 APG.

Puget Sound does return junior forward Nick Holden, who brings 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds a game along with having 16 steals, 14 blocks and a 44.2 field goal percentage.  

No. 7 in the preseason coaches' poll are the Pacific Lutheran Lutes, collecting 23 points from the coaches. The Lutes finished 2012-13 6-10 in conference and 8-17 overall.

Pacific Lutheran graduates All-NWC Second Team wingman Cameron Schilling, who led the Lutes with 15.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 3.0 APG and 34.9 minutes per game. The Lutes do return three starters (junior guard Daniel Landram, sophomore power forward Bryce Miller, and junior guard Terrell Williams) from last season in which they will lean on heavily for production and leadership.

Linfield is forecasted to finish eighth in the Northwest Conference with 19 points. Last season, the Wildcats finished ninth and went 3-13 in conference play.

Linfield will be under the direction of new head coach Shanan Rosenberg, who spent the past 11 seasons at Foothill College in the San Francisco Bay area.

Rosenberg brings in four true freshmen and four junior college transfers. The team's top returning scorer is Nick Cantonwine, who averaged 6.3 points off the bench last season.

Selected ninth in the NWC are the Willamette Bearcats, receiving 14 points.

Willamette loses four starters from a team that went 4-12 in the Northwest Conference last season, including the conference's leading scorer Terrell Malley. Malley put up 17.3 points a game and was named to the All-NWC Honorable Mention Team.

Head coach Kip Ioane will rely on the experience of junior Kyle McNally and senior Avery Manu to exceed expectations.

The 2013-14 men's basketball season tips off Nov. 10.   

--Compiled by Northwest Conference Sports Information Director Christopher Brown with submissions from Northwest Conference institution sports information directors. Votes are submitted by head coaches of the Northwest Conference.