By: Jamal Smith Sports Editor
The men’s basketball team came into the GNAC tournament riding a wave of momentum from such a successful season. After winning the GNAC regular season title, the Wolves looked to keep the magic alive when they traveled to Lacey, Wash. last weekend, in a do-or-die scenario, and when the dust settled, the Wolves came out on top yet again.
Western’s first matchup on March 4 in the GNAC tournament semifinals pitted the Wolves against Seattle Pacific University, a team Western played and beat twice in the regular season. Both of those games went into overtime, and the Wolves found a way to escape with a victory.
The game didn’t take an overtime period for the Wolves to come away with the 58-57 victory, but it did take a clutch jumper from senior Julian Nichols (G) with just seven seconds left in the game to give Western the edge.
Nichols finished the game with 14 points, and senior Devon Alexander (G) led the Wolves in scoring with 19 points. Senior Andy Avgi (F), the 2015-16 GNAC Player of the Year, tallied 10 points, seven rebounds, and one block.
Western started the game sluggish, and Seattle took advantage, taking a 15-6 lead in the first seven minutes of the game. The Wolves fired back with hot shooting from Alexander and Nichols and tough team defense and got their first lead of the game at 21-19 off of an Alexander layup. The rest of the first half went back and forth, and the Wolves found themselves up 32-31 going into the break.
In the second half, the Falcons had the early advantage, but again the Wolves fought back and showed their never say die mentality they have had all season long. With 0:25 remaining in the game and SPU up 57-56, Nichols dribbled down the court and hit a jumper in the paint which all but sealed the Wolves’ semi-final tournament victory.
The Wolves’ amazing nail-biting victory propelled them into the tournament finals against the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, March 5. Earlier in the month, Fairbanks brought Western back to reality when they defeated them in Alaska 87-78, but the Wolves would have the last laugh, defeating the Nanooks 78-71 to take the GNAC tournament.
Alexander followed up his stellar performance on March 4 by dropping 16 points and battling for 10 rebounds. Senior Jordan Wiley (G) also had 16 points, redshirt sophomore Alex Roth (G) had 14 points, and Avgi had 12.
Fairbanks came out firing on all cylinders to start the game and had the lead for nearly the entire first half, but the Wolves never let the Nanooks advantage get above seven points. The first half ended with Alaska up 34-31.
The second half went back and forth with fifteen lead changes, but Western pulled away in the final minutes after Alexander nailed back to back three-pointers and Wiley and Nichols iced the game with free throws. Alexander’s consistent play in both games earned the senior the GNAC tournament MVP honors.
Because Western won the GNAC conference, the team earned an automatic bid into the NCAA West Regionals. Up next, the No. 1 seed Wolves will host the No. 6 seed Humboldt State today at 7:30 p.m. in the New P.E. Building.
Contact that author at jwilson15@wou.edu or on Twitter @journalsportWOU
