Men's Basketball | 1/23/2010 10:34:04 PM

Box Score [Box score]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Western Oregon men's basketball team completed its first-ever sweep of the Alaska schools defeating Anchorage 76-65, Saturday, Jan. 23.

The win by the Wolves (9-8, 2-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) snapped the Seawolves' 12-game home winning streak, and gave them their first victory at Wells Fargo Sports Complex since 2007.

"This was great for our team," said WOU head coach Craig Stanger. "To get both (in Alaska) is really special. It doesn't happen often in the GNAC."

This was only the seventh time in GNAC-history a team has swept the road trip to Alaska.

Western Oregon never trailed in the game as it shot a season-best 58-percent from the field (25-of-43) and converted 21-of-29 free throws. WOU also won the battle on the boards outrebounding the conference leaders 31-28. UAA entered the contest with a +9.5 rebounding advantage over its opponents this the season.

The seniors for Western Oregon stepped up to help WOU capture those illusive back-to-back victories in Alaska. Rico Myles led the way with 16 points and eight boards. He was 6-of-9 from the floor and registered 10 of his 16 points in the second period. Matt Schmidt scored 14 points, as he went 2-of-3 from the field and 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Mike McLaughlin also added nine points and eight rebounds. Freshman Kolton Nelson came off the bench to record his fifth straight double-figure scoring game with 10 points, while also dishing out a team-best four assists.

Western Oregon used a 62-percent shooting effort in the first half to build a 12-point lead and take a 37-28 lead into halftime. In the second stanza Western Oregon saw its lead whittled down to three points (43-40) with 13 minutes remaining, but WOU rallied with a 17-6 run over the next seven minutes to push its lead back to double-digits. The Wolves would close out the game by making 13-of-16 free throws in the final 2:24.

"We got great contributions from everyone," Stanger continued. "This was a great team effort."

WOU was able to bust out for 76 points against UAA, which came into the game leading the GNAC in scoring defense at 61.1 ppg. The 76 points were the most points Alaska Anchorage has surrendered since giving up 87 to Washington State (NCAA DI) in its third game of the season.

"We are continuing to grow as a team and are beginning to show what we are capable of," noted Stanger.

The Wolves will be back on the road next Thursday (Jan. 28) when they travel to Bellingham, Wash., to face the No. 15 Vikings (17-3, 4-2 GNAC).