By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

Men’s basketball split a pair of home games last week: beating Simon Fraser then falling to Western Washington.

JJ Chirnside broke the Western Oregon school record for blocked shots in a single game, a record that dated back to 1988, by stuffing nine players in the win over Simon Fraser. Chirnside also picked up the most rebounds on the night with seven.

“They were a driving team trying to get to the rim,” Chirnside said. “It was just one of those games where everything was clicking and going the right way.”

Ali Faruq-Bey continued to tear it up offensively, scoring 20 points against Simon Fraser and 17 against Western Washington. Faruq-Bey is on a four game streak of scoring in the double digits. Only four times in the 16 games played so far has he been held to under 10 points.

The 85-60 win over Simon Fraser on Jan. 12 had the Wolves in high spirits. But two days later, Western Washington came to town sitting at the top of the conference.

The Wolves went into halftime with a six point lead. Through the whole first half, Western Oregon executed an effective game-plan, sinking threes and making layups. Tanner Omlid put up 11 points in the first half alone.

Western Washington regrouped and came out in the second to take the lead for the first time all night. The lead changed frequently in a close second half. When Demetrius Trammell hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to cut the Western Washington lead to six, a miraculous finish seemed in reach.

But then the Vikings drew a foul and after sinking two free throws finished out the game 76-84.

“We had control for most of the time,” JJ Chirnside said afterwards. “We just need to keep getting better and finish plays down the stretch.”

The Wolves go on the road to close out the month, but will be back in the New P.E. building to host Saint Martin’s on Feb. 2.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu