Men's Basketball | 1/15/2009 4:13:47 PM

Box Score A furious second half rally came up just short for the Western Oregon men's basketball team when they fell on Thursday night to Montana State Billings, 91-83 at Alterwitz Gymnasium.
 
With the loss, the Wolves fell to 7-6 on the season and to 1-1 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  The Yellowjackets improved to 6-8 overall and to 1-2 in the GNAC.
 
WOU freshman point guard Blair Wheadon led the Wolves effort with a career-high 29 points and four assists. He scored 26 points in the second half on 8-of-13 shooting.  Travis Kuhns added 16 points and seven assists, while Mike McLaughlin contributed 16 points and a team-best nine rebounds.  Stanley Ratcliff was also in double figures with 13 counters.
 
After the contest was tied at 8-8 five minutes in, MSUB went on a 10-0 run to take the lead and they never gave it back.  They moved out to a 44-25 halftime lead, and pushed that margin to 23 points just two minutes into the second half.
 
But the Wolves rallied back, going on a 21-8 run over the next six minutes, and eventually pulled to within six points (72-66) on a McLaughlin lay-up with 4:47 remaining.
 
The hosts would allow them to get no closer.  Michael Hall hit a pair of three-pointers to seal the deal for the Yellowjackets.
 
"We played well when our backs were against the wall but you just can'y get in hole like that," said head coach Craig Stanger. "We had a chance at the end but it take so much energy to comeback and everything has to bounce the right way."
 
Western Oregon scored 58 second-half points and hit 11 of 29 three-pointers in a losing cause.  Wheadon hit six of those treys on 12 attempts.  Hall led the Yellowjackets with 27 points, while Travis Bunker added 15 points and eight assists.
 
WOU will continue road work with a 2 pm afternoon encounter on Saturday at Northwest Nazarene.