Men's Basketball | 1/27/2011 9:21:19 PM

Box Score [Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Blair Wheadon, Tarance Glynn and Kyle Long combined to score 57 points to lead Western Oregon to an 83-79 win over Montana State Billings on Thursday, Jan. 27.

Wheadon paced the trio with a game-high 22 points. He hit 7-of-13 shots from the field, including 4-of-7 from long range, and also hauled in six rebounds. Glynn scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half. He was 6-of-10 from the field and 7-of-9 at the charity stripe, while adding a team-best seven boards. Long scored 18 points and dished out a team-high four assists. The Wolves (11-9, 6-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also received 10 points from DeAngelo Davis off the bench.

"Good teams in this conference are going to have three or four scorers on the floor at all times," said Western Oregon head coach Craig Stanger. "We are fortunate to have those guys, and have them all step up at the same time. That is what you have to have to be competitive in this conference."

Western Oregon fell behind by as many as 17 points in the first half as the Yellowjackets (4-13, 2-8 GNAC) built a 33-16 lead. The Wolves would answer back and cut MSUB's lead to two points with a 22-8 run, which included WOU scoring 10 straight points, to trail 41-38 at halftime.

The second half was very similar to the first as WOU would put together a late run. It would take nine unanswered points by the Wolves beginning at the five minute mark to take their first lead since it was 8-6. WOU would seize the opportunity and extend its run to 15-4 to take a seven-point lead (81-74) on the way victory.

"Defensively we made some adjustments and the guys worked harder to keep them off the offensive glass," noted Stanger. "Offensively we settled down in the second half and got better shots against their zone."

One of the keys in the Wolves' comeback was how they valued the ball. WOU committed only two turnovers in the second half, and just nine in the game to win the turnover battle 12-9. The Wolves also converted on 52.5 percent of their shots (31-of-59) from the field and had 20 points on those 12 Yellowjacket turnovers.

DeAndre Chambers scored 20 points and had three assists to lead MSU Billings, which shot 57.9 percent from the floor.

Western Oregon will conclude its homestand on Saturday, Jan 29, against Seattle Pacific at 7:30 p.m. This will also be Military Appreciation Night at WOU. Current and former military personnel wearing their uniform will be admitted into the game for free, while all those wearing a yellow ribbon will receive $2 admission.