Men's Basketball | 1/23/2012 3:29:00 PM

This Weekend:
The Western Oregon men's basketball team (14-4, 7-2 GNAC) heads back on the road to play against the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets on Thursday Jan. 26th and then at Seattle Pacific Falcons on Saturday Jan. 28th. The Wolves will tip off against MSUB at 6:00 p.m. (PST) and then against SPU at 4:00 p.m.

Wolves In The Rankings:
Blair Wheadon continues to rank in the top 10 of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference statistical standings. Wheadon ranks fifth in the GNAC in scoring with 15.7 points per game. He also ranks sixth in free throw percentage (.838), three-point field goal percentage (.449), and three-point field goals made (44) in the conference.

James Gehring remains at second in the GNAC for the third week in a row with a .591 field goal percentage. Jordan Freelander and Kyle Long are in a three way tie for seventh, along with Brady Bomber from Saint Martin's, with 29 steals each.

Western Oregon Beats Alaska Fairbanks:
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 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.

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.

A Look at the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets:
Tipoff: 6:00 p.m.
Overall Record: 10-7 overall, 5-4 GNAC (fifth place)
Last Five: 3-2

The Montana State Billings Yellowjackets will welcome in the Western Oregon Wolves after beating the 24th ranked Seattle Pacific Falcons, 86-77, to start their three-game homestand. 

They earned the win over SPU after five players scored in double-figures. The Yellowjackets made .464 (25-of-56) of their shots, including 13-24 (.542) in the second half. Montana State Billings also put in 25-of-29 shots from the charity stripe.

David Arnold had 16 points off the bench to lead the Yellowjackets hitting 4-for-6 from the field and sank all eight of his shots from the free throw line.

Antoine Proctor is averaging 18.9 ppg for the Yellowjackets to rank second in the GNAC in scoring. Emery Henning is shooting .544 from the field, while Jaxon Myaer has a .438 percentage form behind the arc for MSUB. Myaer ranks fifth overall in the conference with 4.1 assist per game.

Western Oregon already won the first match up of the season, 71-60 behind Wheadon and Long each scoring 18 points in Monmouth. This win also set the school-record for their best start in GNAC history. The last time the Wolves swept the Yellowjackets in a season series was 2007-08 season, when WOU won 85-72 at home and 83-66 in Billings.

Last season WOU and MSUB split their two game series. The Yellowjackets won 80-77 in Billings and the Wolves won 83-79 at home. The Yellowjackets lead the Wolves 6-5 in the all-time series.

A Look at the Seattle Pacific Falcons:
Tip off: 4:00 p.m.
Overall Record: 14-4 overall, 6-3 GNAC (fourth place)
Last Five: 4-1

The No. 24 nationally ranked Seattle Pacific Falcons will see action against the Western Oregon Wolves on Saturday (Jan. 28th) after matching up against in-state opponents, Saint Martin's.

SPU had their five game win streak snapped by MSUB on Saturday, Jan. 21st when they were upset, 86-77. Jobi Wall scored 14 points and Cory Hutsen had 13 points for the Falcons. Both players tallied all of their points during the second half.

Andy Poling ranks seventh in the GNAC with 15.5 ppg and fourth with 7.9 rebounds per game. David Downs has a .490 three-point percentage and .867 free throw percentage placing him third in the conference.

The Wolves and Falcons have matched up once already this season, with Western Oregon winning 64-58 behind Long's 14 points on Dec. 29th. The last Wolves sweep over the Falcons came during the 2003-04 season where WOU won 80-74 in Seattle and 98-90 at home. Seattle Pacific leads 34-13 all-time against Western Oregon.

Other Notes:
Long scored 17 points Saturday against Fairbanks pulling him within five points of 1,000 points for his student-athlete career…WOU ranks 34th in all of the NCAA D2 with .390 three-point field goal percentage…The Wolves rank third with a 64.7 scoring defense, .416 field goal percentage defense, 8.8 steals per game in the GNAC…The Yellowjackets rank first in the conference with 37.7 rebounds per game…MSUB also averages 83.1 ppg to place third in the GNAC…Montana State Billings ranks second with 16.5 assists per game and 8.9 steals per game, as well as third  in the GNAC with a .749 free throw percentage.