By: Jamal Smith Sports Editor
The Wolves have chewed up and spit out their competition, dominating almost everyone in their path. With cohesive team play throughout the season and stellar work from the 2015-16 GNAC Player of the Year, Andy Avgi, the men’s basketball team claimed the GNAC title and is salivating at the potential of a deep post-season run.
“Our guys have done an incredible job accomplishing a lot of historical things this year,” said head coach Jim Shaw. “I’m really amazed at the level of consistency that this group has showed.”
Western finished the season with a record of 25-3 and 18-2 in GNAC conference play. With the regular season in the books, Coach Shaw reflected on the team’s accomplishments of the season.
“We are the first team in the GNAC to win 18 conference games,” Shaw said. “We are the second school in the northwest ranked No. 1 in the country for Division I and Division II basketball, and we went undefeated at home for the first time since the 94-95 season.”
All season long, the Wolves remained consistent, playing great team ball and tough defense. Western led the league in steals per game, had the best turnover margin, and had the best assists to turnover ratio.
Aside from playing stifling defense all season long, WOU has had one of the most consistent seasons statistically in the history of the program. The Wolves rank in the top half of almost every team statistic, but more importantly, the Wolves have found ways to squeak out victories in close games.
“Our guys play with confidence,” said Shaw. “That’s one of the reasons we have been so successful this season.”
Because Western finished the regular season at the top of the conference, they earn the No. 1 seed going into the GNAC tournament. Today, Western will face Seattle Pacific University at the Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington.
Contact the author at jsmith15@wou.edu or on Twitter @journalsportWOU
