Men's Basketball | 1/16/2010 4:07:09 PM

Box Score [Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Blair Wheadon scored 25 points and four other Wolves chipped in with double-figures, but it was not enough as the Western Oregon men's basketball team dropped a home contest to Northwest Nazarene 101-86, Saturday, Jan. 16.

The win brought the Crusaders' record to 2-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and to 10-5 on the season. The loss was the Wolves' fourth straight to start conference play, as they fell to 7-8 on the season and 0-4 in the GNAC.

Drew Eisinger scored a career-best 33 points to fuel NNU's offensive attack. He was 11-of-13 from the field, 5-of-6 from three-point range and 6-of-6 at the line, while also leading the team with five rebounds. Jamie Eisinger, Drew's brother, chipped in with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting, as the Crusader's starting backcourt combined to score 51 of the team's 101 points.

Turnovers and the opposition getting open looks were the Achilles heel for the Wolves on this day. NNU shot 61.8-percent in the game, including 69.6-percent in the second half, to extend its nine-point halftime lead. The Crusaders were also on the mark from both three-point range and at the free throw line in the second stanza. They went 5-of-5 from behind the arc and 21-of-24 at the charity stripe, including scoring their final 18 points at the line. Meanwhile, the Wolves turned the ball over 19 times in the game, which led to 25 points for the Crusaders.

"We can't win if we turn the ball over," said WOU head coach Craig Stanger.

The Crusaders never trailed in the game. They were able to rush out to an early 11-1 lead as the Wolves turned the ball over six times before their first field goal, at the 15:09 mark in the first half. WOU would fight back and cut the lead to three points at 25-22 on a trey by Wheadon at the 6:43 mark in the first half, but that would be as close as WOU would get. NNU would outscore WOU by six to close out the first half and take a 43-34 lead into the locker room.

Western Oregon came out in the second period and cut NNU's lead to six at 51-45, but the Crusaders would then put together an 8-0 run to push their lead to 14 points, and they would not look back.

Wheadon notched his second straight game with 25 or more points. He went 7-of-16 from the floor, 3-of-7 from long range and 8-of-9 at the free throw line. Josh Johnson came off the bench to contribute 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting. The Wolves also received 10 points apiece from Kolton Nelson, Matt Schmidt and Mike McLaughin. McLaughlin also added 10 rebounds to record his third double-double in the last four contests. Kyle Long led the team with a career-best six assists.

The Western Oregon men's basketball team will now take to the road for four straight GNAC contests. Next week the Wolves will be in Alaska to take on the Seawolves and the Nanooks.