BY RACHEL SHELLEY SPORTS EDITOR
Men’s basketball took on Division 1 Oregon State University (OSU) in an exhibition game on Nov. 7 where they upset the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore. 57-47.
The Wolves’ opened the first half strong, scoring the first seven points. OSU didn’t score until 16:09 in the first half. Forward Andy Avgi helped increase the lead by as much as 17 points (27-10) with a jumper at 5:36 in the first half and then hitting a three-pointer in the final seconds before the half.
The double-digit lead would remain as the Wolves went into halftime with the score 32-19.
Avgi finished the first half with 13 points and was 5-of-7 shooting from the field. He finished the night with a game-high 21 points and 6-of-13 from the field.
He also shot 8-for-9 from the free throw line. Guards Devon Alexander and Julian Nichols each had six points in the first half.
The Wolves started out the second half keeping their 17 point lead with a lay-in by Nichols before the Beavers went on a 19-8 run to come within six points, 51-45.
Guard Jordan Wiley jumpstarted the Wolves next 6-0 run with his third three-pointer of the night.
Western built another 12-point lead before finishing the game 57-47 to give them their first win over OSU in four games.
Wiley and Alexander finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Nichols had eight points and a team-high tying seven rebounds. Alexander and Nichols each had a team-high four assists each.
Western shot 29 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from behind the arch and 73.7 percent at the free throw line. OSU had 21 turnovers to the Wolves nine and only five steals to our 12.
“Our experiences last weekend were valuable both for the confidence to know that we can compete and play at a high level, but also to see the weak points in our execution at this early stage in the season,” said head coach Brady Bergeson.
“We have both success and failure to build off of, which is exactly what our group needed. Our kids are very focused on the task in front of them heading into this weekend.”
