Men's Basketball | 1/21/2012 3:40:00 PM

Box Score [Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon men's basketball team had five student-athletes score in double figures to beat Alaska Fairbanks 80-67, on Saturday, Jan. 21st at the New P.E. Building.

The win comes after back-to-back losses for the Wolves (14-4, 7-2 GNAC) and keeps them in a tie with  Alaska Anchorage for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Seattle Pacific dropped out of a tie for second with a loss at Montana State Billings on Saturday.

Blair Wheadon led the Wolves with 20 points and Kyle Long followed with 17 points. James Gehring scored 16, while Jordan Freelander and Kolton Nelson each added 11 points.

“When we take good shots and share the ball we are a good team out there,” said men's basketball head coach Brady Bergeson. “We can score from any position at any time, and we have guys that can do that. We did a good job at sharing the ball today and finding our guys.”

Western Oregon was also strong on the glass as it outrebounded UAF 42-30. Wheadon and James Gehring led the way with eight boards each. The Wolves had six players with at least four rebounds each.

The Western Oregon held a 38-32 lead at the half and would extend it to 17 on a quick 15-2 run which featured five points apiece by Long and Wheadon right after intermission. The Nanooks bounced back quickly going on a 17-2 run of their own to pull within one (55-54) at the 10 minute mark.

However, it wouldn't take long for the Wolves to get their lead back to double digits as they put together an 11-0 run to extend their lead to 12 with 7:02 left to play. Freelander, Long, and Brandon Troxell all contributed three-point shots during the run. Alaska Fairbanks would not get any closer than eight points for the remainder of the game.

“Our biggest factor on the floor is communication,” said Bergeson. “We did a poor job of that on Thursday night against Anchorage, but we did a better job tonight.”

Western Oregon will now head back out of the road next week. They head east to face Montana State Billings on Thursday, Jan. 26th at 6:00 p.m. They will take on the Seattle Pacific on Saturday, Jan. 28th at 4:00 p.m.

“This conference top to bottom is the most balanced, each team is extremely tough,” said Bergeson. “You have no night where you can play soft and get away with it, either at home or away. It's really a test of what your team is made of."