By JACOB HANSEN Staff Writer
Western Oregon men’s basketball team showed their true colors in an impressive win against their conference rivals Saint Martin’s University last Thursday in the New PE Building. This Great Northwest Athletic Conference win extended the Wolves home win streak to nine games as they found themselves on top by 14 (82-68) at the conclusion of the game.
“Tonight’s win feels good,” said head coach Brady Bergson.
Thursday, Jan. 15, the Wolves doused the Saints with shots from beyond the arc hitting 12-23.
Late in the fourth, four Wolves players contributed to make five straight three-pointers in a row.
Guard Jordan Wiley made two of the five in a row and also shot 5-of-9 from beyond the arc for the night. Wiley led Western Oregon (14-3, 6-1 GNAC) offensively with 21 points and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
Fellow guard Julian Nichols continued his outstanding free-throw performance for the season by hitting a perfect 10-for-10 from the line; he also contributed 17 points and seven assists.
Guard Devon Alexander tallied up 12 points of his own to help the Wolves. Forwards Andy Avgi, Lewis Thomas and Marwan Sarhan held down the paint.
Avgi scored in double figures for the 15th time this season with 16 points. Thomas put in major minutes playing for 28 and contributing seven points of his own. Sarhan came up big on the boards to grab a game-high tying six rebounds.
“It felt good,” Wiley said. “The ball was going in tonight so that is always nice. We have a nice zone play that gets me open quite a bit and Saint Martin’s was shagging off a little bit resulting in a 2-on-1 on the back side that turns into a wide open shot for me or one more pass results in a wide-open shot for the next guy.
“My teammates did a good job finding me,” he added.
During the win, the Wolves combined to shoot 24-for-50 (48 percent) from the field.
That number improved in the second half, 12-for-22 (54.5 percent).
The Wolves made half of their shots from behind the three-point line 12-for-23. They impressively made 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) of their shots at the free throw line. The Wolves have won four straight games and 12 of their last 13 games, which contributed to their unbeaten home stretch of nine.
“Each week is a new week,” Bergeson said. “The streaks are for the fans and the people on the outside to enjoy and talk about. We don’t talk about it. For us, the streak ends at the end of the week.”
Western Oregon traveled across the border Thursday, Jan. 22 to play the highest scoring team in NCAA Division II, Simon Fraser of Burnaby, British Columbia before traveling to Bellingham, Wash. to take on Western Washington University Saturday, Jan. 24.
