By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

After back-to-back losses the Wolves got back on track with a decisive 75-53 victory against Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016.

Western dominated the game with a balanced attack. Five players scored in double figures with redshirt-sophomore Alex Roth (G) leading the way with 16 points.

Senior Julian Nichols (G), coming off a season-high 29 points against Central Washington University, tallied 13 points and had a game-high 8 assists. Senior Jordan Wiley (G) and redshirt-sophomore Tanner Omlid (G/F) each added 12 points, and redshirt-senior Andi Avgi (F) had 11 points.

NNU had a 3 point lead with 3:49 remaining in the first half, but the Wolves would buckle down on defense and hold NNU scoreless for the remainder of the half. Western would score the final 10 points of the first half to take a 34-27 lead into halftime.

The Wolves continued their stellar play in the beginning of the second half with stifling defense and ball control. After NNU cut the Wolves’ double digit lead to just 8 points with 13:32 remaining for the game, Western converted four unanswered buckets from beyond the arch; two from Roth, one from Nichols, and one from Omlid to increase the lead to 59-39.

The 12 point swing proved to be insurmountable for NNU and the Wolves cruised to a hard-fought victory. Western shot .476 from the floor, .462 from beyond the arch and held every statistical advantage over NNU.

With the victory, the Wolves improve their overall record to 10-2 and 4-1 in GNAC conference play.

Western Oregon currently sits in third place in the GNAC behind University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Fairbanks; however, the Wolves host both teams in two weeks.

Up next, the Wolves host Seattle Pacific University (9-3, 2-2 GNAC) on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016 at 7 p.m. in the New P.E. Building. Fans are asked to wear black to support the team. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office on game day.

The Western Howl

Home » Sports

Wolves fall to CWU in nail-biter

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

Coming off a tough loss to the University of Oregon just two days earlier, the men’s basketball team fell to Central Washington University (CWU) on New Year’s Eve in Ellensburg, Wash. The final score was 77-81.

Western Oregon was led by senior Julian Nichols (G) who had a game-high 29 points and also added 3 assists and 1 steal. Redshirt-senior Andy Avgi (F), the second leading scorer in the GNAC, added 16 points. Redshirt-sophomore Alex Roth (G), was the third player in double figures with 12 points.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 10-5 lead but the Wolves would go on a 6-0 run thanks to multiple hustle plays from Avgi. The first half continued in this back-and-forth trend and there was eight lead changes in the first half alone.

The Wolves would hold a 40-39 advantage going into half time.

Western looked to put the pressure on CWU early in the second half. With stingy defense and cohesive play, the Wolves went on a 14-6 run to take a 9 point advantage with 14:47 remaining for the game.
CWU responded with an 11-2 run which included three shots from beyond the arch. The Wildcats went 6-10 from deep in the second half.

Western wouldn’t back down and, with 2:08 left for the game, the Wolves took their final lead on a step-back 3-pointer from Nichols. The Wolves, however, couldn’t get stops in the final minutes of the game and CWU scored 8 points from the free-throw line in their final four possessions.

The Wolves shot .455 from the floor and .364 from beyond the arch.

The tough loss marks the Wolves’ first GNAC conference loss and brought their record to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in GNAC conference play.

The Western Howl

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College Football National Championship

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

Alabama and Clemson have proved throughout the year that they are the two best teams in college football. We will find out which of the two is the very best when they face off on Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 for the most coveted prize, the Holy Grail in college football: the College Football National Championship.

Clemson’s football program is at an all-time high. Not only are the Tigers riding a school-record winning streak of 17 games (spanning from last season), but the Tigers are also looking to become the only team in FBS history to go 15-0 in a season.

Standing in Clemson’s way for their second National Championship is SEC powerhouse Alabama. The Crimson Tide have dominated the college football landscape in the past decade and have four National Championships to show for it.

“[Alabama] certainly [has] been the standard in college football for a long, long time,” said Clemson’s head coach Dabo Swinney in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “But especially since Coach Saban has been there.”

Alabama struggled in the beginning of the season but have won 11 straight games by an average of 23 points per game. One of the major reasons for the Crimson Tide’s late season success can be attributed to the 2015 Heisman winner, Alabama running back Derrick Henry.

Over the course of the season Henry has tallied 2,061 yards rushing and a staggering 25 touchdowns.

Although Clemson’s defense has excelled all year, the Tigers are not as good in defending the run as they are in defending the pass. Alabama on the other hand, is No. 1 in the FBS at stopping the run.

Clemson is, however, much better then Alabama in converting third downs. Clemson ranks 13th in the FBS with a third down conversion success rate of 47.69 percent. Alabama is ranked 96th with a third down conversion success rate of 36.22 percent.

Who is the best team? We will find out Monday when the champ will be crowned.

The Western Howl

Home » Sports

Kobe Bryant announces his last season

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

Hate him or love him, no one can deny that Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

On Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015 Bryant announced that this season, his 20th in the NBA, would be his last.

Bryant, 37, addressed the media after the Los Angeles Lakers 107-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers, saying that he had made his decision to step away from the game a while ago.

“I’ve known for a while. A decision like this, you can’t make that decision based on outside circumstances,” Bryant said at the post-game press conference.

“It has to be an internal decision, and finally I’ve decided to accept that I can’t actually do this anymore and I’m OK with that,” said Bryant.

Kobe may be an amazing player, but three injury-plagued seasons have held him back.

In the last two seasons, Bryant has only appeared in 41 of 164 Lakers’ games, and he exited last season early due to a torn right rotator cuff.

Since making his return this year to the purple and gold, he has had trouble shooting the ball. Through 15 games this year Bryant is averaging only 16.8 points while shooting .311 from the field and .222 from beyond the arch.

Just a day before his announcement, Stephen A. Smith, a popular sports analyst for ESPN, said that Bryant should retire immediately. Smith called Bryant a liability on the court, and said his dreadful season could damage his legacy.

Bryant’s accomplishments in the eyes of most sports fans will overcome his lackluster final season, and with only 15 games played in the season Bryant has the opportunity to turn it around.

“With 17 NBA All-Star selections, an NBA MVP, five NBA championships with the Lakers, two Olympic gold medals and a relentless work ethic, Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players in the history of our game,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver in a statement. “Whether competing in the Finals or hoisting jump shots after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game.”

Fans and NBA players are still grappling with the news.

NBA superstar LeBron James was saddened that this is Bryant’s last season.

“I knew I had to be better because of Kobe Bryant. I knew he was in the gym and I knew he was working on his game. And I knew he was great,” said James in an interview with ESPN. “So every day that I didn’t want to work out or every day I felt like I couldn’t give more, I always thought of Kobe.”

No matter where you fall on the love-hate scale with Kobe, it will be sad to not see Bryant on the court.

The Western Howl

Home » Sports

Portland Timbers advance to the MLS Cup final

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The Portland Timbers tied FC Dallas 2-2 on Sunday Nov. 30, 2015, but advanced to the MLS Cup Finals with a 5-3 aggregate goal victory.

The Timbers entered Sunday’s match against FC Dallas with a 3-1 goal advantage from the game played a week before in Portland.

Neither team could find the back of the net in the first half, but the second half was much different.

Portland scored first in the 54th minute when midfielder Diego Valeri flicked a ball into the box to a wide-open Fanendo Adi who slotted it past Dallas’s young goalkeeper.

Just when it looked like Portland would easily defeat Dallas up 3 goals, Dallas gained momentum after Striker Blas Perez was subbed into the game. Dallas defender Ryan Hollingshead scored a goal in the 68th minute to close the gap to 4-2.

Six minutes later, in the 73rd minute Perez added another Dallas goal on a header off of a free-kick from just outside of the 18 yard box. All of the momentum now belonged to Dallas and it looked like they might be able to pull off the impossible.

Dallas nearly evened things up when Perez took a wide open shot in the 18 yard box, but Portland defender Nat Borchers came out of nowhere to deflect the ball, saving an easy Dallas goal.

Portland survived wave after wave of Dallas attacks, but Portland fought back with counter-attacks.

In stoppage time and on a counter-attack, Valeri flicked the ball forward to striker Lucas Melano who dribbled the ball around the Dallas defense and slotted the ball into the back of the net with a cheeky finish, sealing Dallas’ fate.

“This is a great moment for this club,” Timber’s head coach Caleb Porter said after the game. “This is our first trophy, but we want the biggest trophy and we have one more game still to achieve that.”

Portland is the hottest team in the MLS and are unbeaten in their last eight games. The team is firing on all cylinders and their defense is coming up big like they have all year.

“I think sometimes it just felt like the only people that believed in our cause were us,” Borchers said after the match. “I’m just really proud to how we’ve responded to all that pressure. It’s not easy. We easily could have given up and called it a day in the game at Salt Lake, but we won that game. We continued to win and here we are now.”

Portland will face their toughest test yet, when they play the Columbus Crew in Columbus, OH for the biggest prize in MLS. The Crew beat out the New York Red Bulls 2-1 to win the Eastern Conference Championship and advance.

The game kicks off at 1 p.m., Sunday Dec. 6, 2015 on ESPN.

The Western Howl

Home » Sports

While you were away

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

Cross country:

On Saturday, Nov. 21, sophomore David Ribich competed in the 2015 NCAA Division 11 Championships in Joplin, MO.
Ribich finished 67th out of 246 runners in the 10K Individual Championships with a time of 30:58.

Men’s basketball:

On Friday, Nov. 27, WOU dominated Notre Dame de Namur University 81-51 in their first game of the NDNU Thanksgiving Classic in Belmont, Calif.
Senior Andy Avgi (F) made his season debut for the Wolves and had a game-high 24 points in only 22 minutes of play, also adding 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Three other Wolves finished the game in double figures; senior Jordan Wiley (G) had 15 points, redshirt-sophomore Alex Roth (G) had 14 points and first year Kadeem Strickland (G) had 11 points.
On Saturday, Nov. 28, WOU defeated Holy Names University 84-75 in their second and final game of the NDNU Thanksgiving Classic.
Avgi again had an outstanding game finishing with 29 points, shooting 10 for 16 from the floor. Senior Julian Nichols (G) added 16 points and 6 assists.
The back-to-back victories improves the Wolves’ record to 6-0. The Wolfpack’s jumped six spots in the National Basketball Coaches Association Poll from No. 10 in the country in Division 11 to No. 4.

Cross country:

Men’s basketball:

Woman’s basketball:

On Friday, Nov. 27, Western fell to Regis University 53-74 in the Mines Thanksgiving Tournament in Golden, Colo.
Junior Launia Davis (G) had a season high 10 points and was the only Wolf to score in double figures. Sophomore Sydney Azorr (G) and junior Jordan Mottershaw (G) added 8 points each.
On Saturday, Nov. 28, WOU was defeated by Colorado School of Mines 47-62 in their second and final game of the Mines Thanksgiving Tournament.
Mottershaw led the Wolves with 9 points, and first year Natalie DeLong (C) posted season highs in points and rebounds, finishing with 8 points and 11 rebounds. The two losses in the tournament give the pack an overall record of 1-5.

Volleyball:

On Saturday, Nov. 21, the Wolves finished their season on a sour note with a three set loss to University of Alaska Anchorage in their season closer.

The set scores were 21-25, 16-25 and 11-25. The loss saw Western close out their year with an overall record of 8-21 and 5-15 in GNAC conference play which placed them tied for eighth in the GNAC.

Volleyball:

On Saturday, Nov. 21, the Wolves finished their season on a sour note with a three set loss to University of Alaska Anchorage in their season closer.
The set scores were 21-25, 16-25 and 11-25. The loss saw Western close out their year with an overall record of 8-21 and 5-15 in GNAC conference play which placed them tied for eighth in the GNAC.

The Western Howl

Home » Sports

Wolves dominate Concordia 92-59

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The Western Oregon men’s basketball team crushed Concordia University (CU) 92-59 in their GNAC conference opener on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 in Portland, Ore.

This game was the first-ever meeting between the two schools in GNAC conference play. Concordia joined Division II and the GNAC conference earlier this year.

WOU took the lead before the ball was tossed up at midcourt due to an administrative technical foul called against CU. Senior Jordan Wiley (G) made the free throw to give the Wolves a 1-0 advantage.

The first five minutes of the game belonged to the Wolves who outscored the Cavaliers 17-3.

CU came within 9 points of lead on two occasions in the first half, but could not chip away at the lead any further thanks to Western’s stifling defense. The first half ended with the Wolves up on the Cavaliers 45-29.

In the second half, the Wolfpack continued their consistent play on both sides of the ball. WOU outscored the Cavs 47-30 in the half and kept a double-digit lead throughout.

Redshirt-senior Andy Avgi (F), the 2014-15 GNAC Player of the Year, led all scorers with 27 points on 10 for 16 shooting from the floor. Avgi excelled from distance, shooting 4 for 5 from the beyond the arch and also adding 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Wiley was one of three Wolves in double figures and had a season-best 21 points on 7 for 10 shots fired.
Freshman Kadeem Strickland (G) filled up the stat sheet tallying 13 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Defense and ball security played a key role in the Wolves’ victory.

WOU committed only 8 turnovers leading to only 4 points off of turnovers and created 22 Cavalier turnovers leading to 27 points. The Wolves also had a season high 13 steals and held the Cavaliers to just .420 shooting from the floor.

The 92 points scored for the Wolves was their high mark for the season. As a team, Western shot .507 from the floor and .464 from the three-point line. The Wolves held every possible statistical advantage.

With the decisive victory the No. 4 ranked Wolves improved to 7-0 overall and 1-0 in GNAC conference play.

Next up, the Wolves host Montana State University-Billings (2-4) on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015 at 7 p.m. in the New P.E. Building.

You can purchase tickets online or in person on game day at the box office.

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

Accessibility Public Records Privacy Student Consumer Information

WOU prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by WOU.

The Western Howl

Men back on track with victory over NNU

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Wolves fall to CWU in nail-biter

The Western Howl

College Football National Championship

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Kobe Bryant announces his last season

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Portland Timbers advance to the MLS Cup final

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While you were away

The Western Howl

Wolves dominate Concordia 92-59

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