BYUH looks to end postseason blues

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

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NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship West Regionals (Seedings in parentheses, all times HST) Brigham Young-Hawai'i games broadcast live on 650AM At San Bernardino, Calif. March 12 Game 1: (3) Humboldt State vs. (6) Cal Poly Pomona, 10 a.m. Game 2: (7) Alaska-Anchorage vs. (2) Brigham Young-Hawai'i, 12:30 p.m. Game 3: (5) Alaska Fairbanks vs. (4) Cal State Bakersfield, 4 p.m. Game 4: (1) Cal State San Bernardino vs. (8) Cal State Chico, 6:30 p.m. March 13 Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 3 p.m. Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 5:30 p.m. March 15 Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5 p.m.

The Seasiders qualified for this week's 2004 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship West Regionals by winning their third consecutive Pacific West Conference title this season.

Tomorrow, the 25th-ranked Seasiders (22-5) hope to reverse a string of first-round losses when they play unranked Alaska-Anchorage (20-9) at 12:30 p.m. (HST) in San Bernardino, Calif.

The Seasiders are 0-3 in first-round West Regional games since attaining NCAA Division II status in 1998-99. Last season, eighth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield knocked off host and top-seeded BYUH in the first round, 50-41.

"Last year was definitely just a letdown," BYUH coach Ken Wagner said. "There's no way we should have ever lost. You feel bad about it (but) I know the players don't worry about it. We feel on a given night we can beat anyone."

This season, BYUH won 20 games for the first time in NCAA Division II school history, and led the nation in field goal shooting accuracy at 53 percent (779 of 1,471).

"We usually shoot the ball well, and when we defend well, we usually have a good chance of winning," Wagner said.

The Seasiders are anchored by junior forward Jake Chrisman who led the PacWest in scoring (22.7 ppg) and ranked second in field goal percentage (57.9). Chrisman is playing his first season with the Seasiders after transferring from BYU-Provo.

"We expected that of him, but most people didn't know much about him," Wagner said. "He's been conference player of the week five times, which is awfully good. He's a hard worker, and he's fun to have on the team."

BYUH also has one of the top shooting guards in the nation in Shawn Opunui. The sophomore transfer from BYU-Provo ranks second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 54 percent (72 of 133), and averages 16.1 points per game.

Other players in the BYUH starting lineup are: junior guard Michael Stowell (14.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg), sophomore forward Austin Smylie (11.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and senior guard Beau Nobmann (3.5 ppg, 4.4 apg).

Alaska-Anchorage, of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, is led by senior center Peter Bullock (18.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg) and junior guard Kemmy Burgess (16.1 ppg). The Seawolves are making their 11th trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament and the first since 1997.

The West Regional semifinals will be played Saturday and the finals will be played Monday.

Chrisman, Wagner top postseason awards: Brigham Young-Hawai'i's Jake Chrisman and Ken Wagner earned Pacific West Conference Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards, respectively, in voting by league coaches yesterday.

Chrisman, a junior forward who was a Daktronics All-West Region first-team selection, led the conference in scoring (22.7 ppg) and ranked in the conference's top ten in rebounding (10th, 5.4 rpg), field goal percentage (2nd, .579) and blocked shots (t-9th, .70).

Wagner earned his third consecutive Coach of the Year award for guiding the Seasiders to the Pacific West Conference championship and the No. 2 seed at this week's NCAA West Region Tournament. Wagner led BYUH to a 22-5 regular-season mark and is 272-134 in 14 seasons at BYU-Hawai'i.

BYU-Hawai'i had three players qualify for the PacWest Academic All-Conference team, which requires at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA. Sophomore C.J. Fellars was the top Seasider with a 3.62. He was joined by senior Beau Nobmann and junior Spencer Lynn.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.