Roosendaal finds WWU a good fit

BELLINGHAM — Craig Roosendaal eventually found a comfortable home at the collegiate level at Western Washington. He's a snug fit.

That's because of Roosendaal's versatility and consistency on the basketball floor.

The 2001 graduate of King's stands 6 feet 7, 210 pounds and can play almost any position. But mainly it's the sweet stroke of Roosendaal from three-point land that makes him valuable to the 15th-ranked Western Washington men.

It's difficult for a long-range shooter on a team that averages 9 of 22 treys per game and ranks third nationally in scoring at 92.7, a school-record pace.

"I fit in well here," said Roosendaal, a senior finishing his second year and a collegiate career with the Vikings (he played two seasons at Edmonds Community College). "It's always fun to run like this team does. I've played a lot of both styles, fast and slow. One thing I've always been able to do is shoot."

Western (21-6) hosts the NCAA Division II West Regional for the second time in five seasons. The Vikings, the top-ranked team in the West Region, opens eight-team regional play against eighth-seeded BYU-Hawaii (16-8) tonight at 7:30.

With the addition of junior-college big men Tyler MacMullen and Tyler Amaya, Roosendaal's role changed. He started 25 of 27 games as a junior but as a senior moved more on the perimeter and is the first Viking off the bench.

"As a player, you'd always rather start," said Roosendaal, who has helped Western shoot 42.1 percent from three-point range, fourth-best nationally. "It was a little bit of a transition. I realize how good our team is and understand my job is to come off the bench and keep us going."

Roosendaal adapted with aplomb to the sixth-man role. He averages 12.0 points in 23.5 minutes and leads the Vikings with 76 three-pointers with .487 accuracy for fifth nationally. He's also on track to break his own single-season school mark of .475 set last season and could own WWU's career mark when he leaves.

"When I sub in, I can pretty come in for anyone," he said.

The only other nationally-ranked team in the West field is eighth-ranked Hawaii-Hilo (24-3), which plays Chico State (18-9) today at 2:30 p.m.

Seattle Pacific last made the NCAA Division II tournament in 2002, but appears for the ninth time in 12 seasons.