Men's Basketball | 11/26/2010 9:40:18 PM

Box Score [Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Kolton Nelson scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead six Wolves in double-figure scoring, as Western Oregon defeated Pacifica 102-76 in the Capital City Classic, Friday, Nov. 26.

The win was the second of the season for the Wolves (2-3) and earned them a trip to the championship game of the Capital City Classic, Saturday (Nov. 27), against Willamette (7:00 p.m.). The loss extended the Gladiators' (2-4) losing streak to four straight games.

Nelson converted on a GNAC single-game record 14-of-15 shots to score his career-best 30 points. He also hauled in 12 rebounds for his first career double-double.

“He needs to convert and he did a good job of that,” said Western Oregon head coach Craig Stanger. “The guys did a good job working the ball around to find him and take advantage of the size differential we had inside.”

Tarance Glynn would also get his first career double-double in the contest with 10 points and a WOU season-high 15 rebounds. Blair Wheadon poured in 18 points, which included three treys, for his fourth double-figure scoring game of the season. Kyle Long would add 10 points, while DeAngelo Davis and Kris White each went 5-of-7 from the field to score 12 and 13, respectively. Jordan Freelander came off the bench to record a career-high eight assists.

“That is how we have to play to be successful,” explained Stanger about six WOU student-athletes reaching double-figures in scoring. “We have a lot of guys that can do some things. We prefer it this way so they can't key on any one player.”

Despite the deception of the final score, the game was very close in the first half with the lead changing hands 20 times. Neither team led by more than three points until Nelson hit a layup with 2:56 remaining to put the Wolves up four (39-35). After Vincente Valdez scored his 15th point of the half to cut WOU's lead back to two, White and Davis would hit back-to-back layups to give Western Oregon the 43-37 halftime lead.

After the break, Western Oregon would go on a 16-4 run to open up an 18-point lead with 15:14 left and it would never relinquish its double-figure advantage. Nelson scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half as he went 10-of-11 from the field. He also hauled in eight rebounds to help WOU outrebound Pacifica by 15 in the period (26-11). Western Oregon was also very generous as it dished out assists on 16 of 26 field goals, including seven by Freelander.

“We didn't make any adjustments; we just decided to defend,” noted Stanger about the team's second half performance. “We were letting them do what they wanted and attack with the dribble. We didn't come ready to play defensively and let them hang around because of it. We just needed to come out and play harder with more focus defensively.”

The 102 points Western Oregon put on the board was the first time it has reached triple-digits since Feb. 21, 2008 against Northwest Nazarene.

The Wolves will be back in action tomorrow (Nov. 27) in the championship game of the Capital City Classic against Willamette at 7:00 p.m.