Men's Basketball | 2/23/2009 6:35:49 PM

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The team...
The Western Oregon University men's basketball team will face Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival, Western Washington, the third ranked team in the NCAA west region, in a rematch Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7:00 p.m., in Bellingham, Wash. The Wolves won the previous game between the teams 85-83 when the Vikings were leading the GNAC at 7-2.

Western Washington preview...
Western Washington is 17-5 this season and are tied for second in the GNAC standings along with Central Washington with a 9-3 record. The Vikings have gone 10-2 at home and have only lost consecutive games once this season. However, WWU has lost two of its last three games after a six-game winning streak.

The Vikings have five players averaging double-figures in points led by Ira Graham with 18.6 points per game, good for fifth in the GNAC. He also averaging 3.27 assists and is shooting 53.6 percent from the floor while leading WWU with 32.7 minutes per game. Morris Anderson ranks sixth in NCAA Division II and first in the GNAC with 2.86 steals per game. He is also ranked 19th in the country and second in the conference with 5.91 assists. Colin Schell ranks in the top 10 in the GNAC in offensive rebounds (first, 3.91), rebounds (fifth, 7.7), blocks (fifth, 1.23) and field goal percentage (ninth, 57.8).

As a team Western Washington is ranked 33rd in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll as it continues to lead the GNAC in scoring (88.0), scoring margin (+16.2), three-point defense (32.6), rebounding margin (+9.0), blocks (5.55), assists (18.55) and steals (9.55). The Vikings rank nationally in scoring average (eighth), rebounding margin (eighth) and field goal percentage (14th, 49.6).

Western Oregon continues to trail in the all-time series 31-14. Last time these teams met (Feb. 14) Western Oregon upset Western Washington 85-83 when the Vikings were ranked 25th in the country and third in the west region. In the game, Steve Alford's three-pointer at the buzzer hit side rim as WOU hung on for an 85-83 win. Travis Kuhns led Western Oregon with 23 points and seven assists. He was 7-of-10 from the field, 4-of-6 from three-point range and 5-of-7 at the free throw line. With the game tied 70-70 after Ira Graham made both his free throws for WWU, Western Oregon went on a 12-5 run to go on top 82-75 with 3:23 remaining. All 12 points came from behind the arc as Kuhns hit two three-pointers during the run and Marcus Harris and Wheadon each added one. Western Washington then responded with three straight baskets to pull within one point at 82-81 on a Michael Duty dunk with 1:35 remaining. Western Washington then fouled Kuhns on a drive sending the WOU senior to the line for two. After he knocked both shots down Graham raced up the floor and converted a layup with 0:17 left in the game. Western Oregon inbounded the ball to Kuhns on the following possession and he knocked down one of two free throws. WWU then had a chance to win the game but Alford's three-point attempt from the corner hit side rim as time expired sealing the victory for Western Oregon.

Western Oregon head coach Craig Stanger commented on the Wolves' rematch with the Vikings. “We have the opportunity to do what only one other GNAC team can do this season; sweep Western Washington.” 

Notes on Wolves' players...
Kuhns is leading WOU in scoring (17.5) and assists (3.92). He has notched double figures in 22 of 24 games. He scored a career-high 33 points against Seattle Pacific and followed it up with 23 points in a win over Western Washington to earn co-GNAC Player of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 9-15. This was the second time this season Kuhns was named the conference's player of the week. He ranks fifth in the GNAC in assists and seventh in scoring...Stanley Ratcliff leads the GNAC with a 65.2 field goal percentage. He is averaging 9.5 points and 4.8 boards in 23 minutes a game. Ratcliff ranks seventh in the GNAC with 2.21 offensive rebounds per contest...Mike McLaughlin leads WOU with five double-doubles on the season. He recorded two straight double-doubles against two of the top teams in the regions, Seattle Pacific and Western Washington. He is the team's leading rebounder at 7.8 boards per game and he also shoots 51.7 percent from the floor. His 7.8 rebounds rank him fourth in the GNAC...Freshman point guard Blair Wheadon has scored in double-figures in 14 of 24 games this season including four of the past six games. He is second on the team with 11.7 ppg and 3.1 assists. Wheadon is ranked in the top 10 in the GNAC in minutes (seventh, 33.38), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.32), steals (ninth, 1.25) and three-point percentage (ninth, .390)...Sam Kelly is fourth in the GNAC with 34.3 minutes per game. Kelly has put up 10.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg during his senior campaign. In addition to his minutes, Kelly also ranks in the top 20 in the GNAC in assists (19th, 2.38), free throw percentage (20th, 71.1) and steals (20th, 1.04)...Matt Schmidt has come off the bench to score 10 or more points in six of the last seven games. He is averaging 11 ppg and 4.3 rebounds during that span. Schmidt hit the game-winning free throw against MSU Billings with 2.1 seconds left.

Kuhns in the GNAC record books...
Travis Kuhns is ranked among the top 25 GNAC career leaders in six categories. He is 14th in steals (139), 16th in blocks (79), 18th in scoring (1,374), 19th in three-pointers (147), tied for 22nd in assists (281) and is 25th in rebounds (505). He needs four steals to pass WOU standout Kevin Tyner for 11th in GNAC history. Kuhns also needs just four blocks to move to 14th on the all-time list and one trey to move into 18th place.

Last week...
The Western Oregon men's basketball team dropped a pair of games as it lost at home against Central Washington (87-69) and Northwest Nazarene (79-76).

On Thursday, Central Washington collected 28 offensive rebounds en route to earning an 87-69 victory over Western Oregon. The Wildcats used a 49 to 23 advantage on the boards to outscore the Wolves 41 to six on second chance points. CWU was also able to turn its 28 offensive rebounds into 28 additional shots as WOU allowed its highest shot total of the season with 80. Brandon Foote led all scorers with 21 points including 18 in the first half. Travis Kuhns lead WOU with 16 points as he went 5-of-11 from the field and 5-of-5 at the free throw line.

On Saturday, Northwest Nazarene used a 30-10 run in the second half to erase a 13-point deficit and earn a 79-76 victory over Western Oregon. WOU took its largest lead of the game at 58-45 on a Travis Kuhns lay up with 13:55 remaining, then NNU started its game-changing run. The Crusaders would score 14 of the next 16 to cut the Wolves lead to one at 60-59. WOU would continue to hold the lead until Joel Ryman hit a three-pointer to put NNU ahead at 66-64 with 2:28 remaining. Kuhns would get another lay up to tie the game at 66-66 but Adam Shildmyer would answer with a three-pointer to put NNU up for good at 69-66. NNU would then push its lead to seven-points at 75-68, completing its 30-10 run. WOU made couple shots down the stretch to make it interesting but it was unable to recapture the lead. NNU had a decisive advantage on the boards, outrebounding Western Oregon 36 to 24. NNU also had a strong second half from the three-point line as it made 6-of-10 shots while limiting WOU to 2-of-14 from behind the arc. Kuhns lead five Western Oregon players in double-figures with 18 points. He was 6-of-11 from the field, 2-of-5 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe to go along with his team-high four assists.