Men's Basketball | 11/15/2008 11:41:18 PM
Box Score MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon men's basketball team earned a season-opening win over Dixie State 79-71, Saturday, Nov. 15.
Sam Kelly had 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead four Wolves in double-figures. Freshman Blair Wheadon had 17 points and Mike McLaughlin added 14. Travis Kuhns had 10 rebounds to go along seven assists to lead Western Oregon in both categories. He also scored all 10 of his points in the second half as he posted a double-double in the victory.
"This was a very big win against an NCAA Division II and west region opponent," said head coach Craig Stanger. "We showed good resilience and we found a way to win."
This was a tightly fought contest by both teams with seven ties and 14 lead-changes in the game. Western Oregon did not have a free throw until the 14:38 mark in the second half but then went 16-of-17 for the rest of the game as it outscored Dixie State 39-28 the rest of the half. The Wolves controlled the paint as it won the battle of the boards 42-25, outscored Dixie State 19-6 on second chance points and had six blocks to Dixie's zero.
The Wolves trailed 32-26 at halftime as Dixie State closed out the first half on a 9-2 run. Western Oregon committed 13 turnovers in the first half compared to Dixie's five but went 4of-8 from three point range and used a 21-12 rebounding advantage to stay in the game. After Dixie State used a 10-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 50-41, Western Oregon responded with a 12-0 run to take the lead at 53-50. The two teams would then have four more lead changes and another tie, before WOU went on a 7-0 run at the 2:44 mark for a lead it would not relinquish on its way to the 78-71 victory.
"We had typical first half problems," continued Stanger, "but we battled back strong in the second half when we attacked better and were more aggressive."
WOU shot 54.8 percent from the field (17-31) in the second half compared to a 39.3 mark (11-28) in the first frame. The Wolves' defense was key at during its 7-0 run in the second half as it got blocks from Kelly and Kuhns and a steal from Kuhns as to go up eight points with just over a minute remaining in the game.
"We still have lots to work on but I thought we played with focus and intensity tonight," said Stanger. "All the games count now and we were able to persevere tonight and come away with the win."
The Western Oregon men's basketball team will be in action next Friday, (Nov. 21) at 7:30 p.m., when it faces Chico State in the opening round of the WOU/D2 Phoenix Inn Shootout in Monmouth, Ore.
