By: Jamal Smith Sports editor
The No. 4 Wolves jumped to the top of the GNAC with two consecutive home victories. One over the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) on Thursday, Jan. 21 and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) on Saturday, Jan. 23.
The first match-up, against the UAA Seawolves, ended 76-66 in Western’s favor.
Redshirt-senior Andy Avgi (F) led all scorers with 31 points on 13-21 shooting from the floor, he also had 3 assists, 4 blocked shots and 2 steals. Senior Jordan Wiley (G) was the only other Western player to reach double digits, scoring 17 points. Wiley was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw stripe.
UAA came into the game ranked first in the GNAC with a conference record of 7-0; however, they had not yet played the red-hot Wolves. From the opening tip, the Wolves pressured UAA with stifling defense and held the Seawolves to 0.286 percent shooting in the first half.
The GNAC’s leading scorer, UAA guard Sekou Wiggs, was held to only 4 first half points, all of which came from the free throw line. The Wolves intensity and defensive prowess gave them a 33-23 advantage at the break.
In the second half, Wiggs and the rest of the Seawolves showed why they were undefeated in the conference. With seven minutes remaining for the game, UAA fought their way back and then took the lead when Wiggs hit a lay-up to give UAA a 60-57 advantage. Wiggs exploded with 22 second half points.
Although momentum had swung in UAA’s direction, the Wolves refused to give up. Senior Devon Alexander (G) hit a 3-pointer to even the game and then Avgi’s shot from beyond the arch gave Western the lead once again.
With 1:53 remaining in the game and the Wolves up 70-66, Western’s defense came up big again by holding UAA scoreless in the final two minutes.
On Saturday, the Wolves again found a way to come out victorious, defeating the UAF Nanooks 64-59.
Avgi again earned the game’s top scoring honors with 24 points; Wiley had 17 points and Alexander tallied 13 points.
Western struggled shooting the ball early in the first half, but with the Nanooks up by 5 points at the 9:37 mark, the Wolves began to light it up from a distance. Avgi hit two, Nichols hit one, and Wiley drained four 3-pointers to give the Wolves a 38-27 advantage going into half time.
The Wolves’ momentum carried over into the second half and they increased their lead to 47-31 with 15 minutes remaining for the game. UAF, who currently sits in third place in the GNAC, refused to back down and came within three points of the lead with 1:22 remaining.
An Avgi 3-pointer and a couple drained free throws from Nichols iced the game and proved to be too much for the Nanooks to come back from.
The two home victories improve the Wolves’ overall record to 16-2 and 9-1 in GNAC play.
Avgi’s phenomenal two games culminated his third GNAC Player of the Week award this season. Avgi, who was named to the Bevo Francis watch list last week, is currently ranked second in the GNAC in scoring (21.8 ppg), fourth in field goal percentage (58.2 percent), fourth in 3-point percentage (45.8 percent), and ninth in blocked shots (1.0).
Next, Western will look for revenge on Saturday, Jan. 30 when they host Central Washington University (CWU). The 77-81 loss to CWU on Dec. 31, 2015 is the Wolves only conference blemish.
