WWU’s Anderson named newcomer of the year | Tracking the grads
Published 2:37 pm Friday, March 13, 2009
Western Washington University guard Morris Anderson has been selected the 2008-09 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Newcomer of the Year. The Federal Way High School graduate led the Vikings to a 21-5 record and their first outright GNAC championship in the eight-year history of the conference. Western Washington, which shared the GNAC title in 2002 and 2005, is the No. 2 seed and is currently hosting a sub-regional tournament at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
Anderson, who was also named first-team, all-conference, ranked 20th in scoring (12.9), 14th in rebounding (5.6), first in steals (2.8), second in assists (6.3) and eighth in free-throw percentage (82.5). Anderson was also named GNAC Player of the Week for March 1-7. It is the second time this season that Anderson, a junior, has earned the weekly honor.
Anderson scored 36 points and also had 18 rebounds, 12 assists and five steals in wins over Seattle Pacific and arch-rival Central Washington.
On Thursday, Anderson scored a game-high 21 points, fed David Brittinen for the go-ahead layin with 13.7 seconds left, then blocked a shot at the buzzer as Western rallied form an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes to beat Seattle Pacific, 76-75.
Anderson then had a near triple-double (15 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists) as the Vikings overcame a five-point halftime deficit to beat Central 85-68 Saturday and wrap up the No.2 seed in the NCAA Division II West Regional.
Anderson, a transfer from Highline Community College, made 14 of his 26 shots and all six of his free throws in the two contests.
Other college basketball news
Aaron Broussard — The Seattle University men’s basketball team completed a historic season with a dominating performance in the title game of the North Dakota Spring Thaw Tournament, defeating the host Fighting Sioux, 76-59, Sunday night at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
With the victory, Seattle University reached 21 wins for the first time since the 1984-85 season, and the squad’s winning percentage of .724 is the highest for the program since 1964, when the team finished 22-6 for a .786 winning percentage. Seattle University also completed a perfect regular season at home, winning all nine games at the Connolly Center as well as the January 1 game at KeyArena.
Federal Way freshman Aaron Broussard was a big part of the Redhawks’ success this season. The 6-foot-4 forward earned his first career start against North Dakota and led Seattle with a career-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, which included both 3-point shots he attempted, along with six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
On the season, Broussard averaged 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds for the Redhawks, including a team-high 13 points against the University of Washington on March 3.
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Pooh Williams — The Federal Way grad is averaging 5.6 points a game for the Utah State Aggies and has started 27 games. The 6-3 guard played in 29 games last season, averaging 2.4 points and one assist a game. Utah State is 27-4 on the season and won the Western Athletic Conference regular season championship. The Aggies are playing at the WAC Tournament and could earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament with a victory today in the championship.
