Men's Basketball | 1/30/2012 3:56:00 PM

MEN'S BASKETBALL - WESTERN WASHINGTON AT WESTERN OREGON
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 – 7:00 p.m. – Monmouth, Ore.

TICKETS: https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?w=64842a3d315b28c4909efccca718a02e&t=tix
LIVE VIDEO: www.pennatlantic.com
LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm

MEN'S BASKETBALL - SIMON FRASER AT WESTERN OREGON
Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 – 2:00 p.m. – Monmouth, Ore.

TICKETS: https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?w=64842a3d315b28c4909efccca718a02e&t=tix
LIVE VIDEO: www.pennatlantic.com
LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm

This Week:
The Western Oregon men's basketball team returns home for a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchups against Western Washington on Feb. 2nd at 7:00 pm and Simon Fraser on Feb. 4th at 2:00 p.m.

Kyle Long Hits 1,000 Points:
Senior guard Kyle Long became the 49th member in GNAC history to reach 1,000 points during his student-athlete career. He joins teammate Blair Wheadon as being the second duo in WOU history to reach this mark. Robert Day and Kevin Tyner achieved this mark during the 2002-04 seasons.

His 1,000th career point came against Montana State Billings on Thursday, Jan. 26th, as he hit back-to-back buckets. His first three points tied the game up at 14-14. He followed up by making a layup to help the Wolves take a two-point lead (16-14).

Wolves In The Rankings:
Wheadon currently sits fourth in the GNAC with 34 steals and sixth with 15.3 points per game. He also ranks seventh in the conference with a .827 free throw percentage.

James Gehring ranks fourth in the conference with a .568 field goal percentage and ninth with 43 offensive rebounds. Kolton Nelson has swiped away 17 shots to place him eighth in the conference. Two other teammates follow closely behind Wheadon's 34 steals, as Jordan Freelander sits in sixth with 33 and Long checks in at eighth with 32.

WOU Comes Home After A Rough Road Trip:
Western Oregon headed back on the road after an 80-67 win over Alaska Fairbanks, looking to get back on the winning track. However, they could not find their rhythm against either Montana State Billings or Seattle Pacific.

In the game against MSUB on Thursday, Jan. 26th saw Freelander scoring a season-high 14 points, while Long tallied up his 1,000th student-athlete career point.

Freelander scored a season-high 14 points in the game, with 12 of those coming in the opening period. Blair Wheadon led the Wolveswith 18 points and James Gehring contributed 12 points and team-leading nine rebounds. Jaxon Myaer paced four Yellowjackets in double figures with 14 points.

The Yellowjackets led 37-34 at the half thanks to a 7-1 run to close out the period. They would then score seven of the first eight points in the second half thanks in part to Cameron Cusworth's 3-pointer and tip-in, to increasing the Yellowjackets lead to nine (44-35). They would push the lead to as many the 22 points at the end.

During their game against Seattle Pacific, the Wolves fell from a 3-point shot by Scott Morse with 5.7 seconds left.

Even after Morse hit the go-ahead shot Western Oregon would have a couple of chances to tie the game. The first was right after Morse's shot when the Wolves inbounded the ball to Wheadon who rushed up the court but he was pushed to the sideline near midcourt and his foot made contact with the sideline resulting in the turnover.

After Western Oregon fouled on the inbound and Morse made both free throws for the three-point lead. WOU then inbounded the ball the length of the court to Kyle Long above the 3-point line with one second left. He grabbed the ball and spun around getting a shot off but it went right of the rim.

A Look At The Western Washington Vikings:
Tipoff: 7:00 p.m.
Overall Record: 18-3, 9-1 GNAC (First place)
Last Five: 5-0
Last Meeting This Season: WOU won 83-73 in Bellingham

The Vikings venture to Monmouth, Ore., riding a five game win streak. WWU defeated Simon Fraser at home, 86-75, on Saturday (Jan. 28th).

Forward Rory Blanche scored a game-high 19 points as nationally ranked No. 14 Western Washington pulled away in the final 10 minutes to defeat Simon Fraser.

The Vikings trailed 58-57 with 7:39 to play, but grabbed control of the contest with a 14-4 charge, capped by a Paul Jones dunk, that gave them a 71-62 advantage with 4:25 left. The margin was never less than seven after that, and remained in double digits through the final 3:32.

Blanche and John Allen both rank in the top 10 scoring statistical column of the GNAC with 16.5 and 14.8 ppg, respectively. Blanche also ranks second with a .590 field goal percentage and eighth with 7.2 rebounds per game in the conference. Allen ranks second in the GNAC with a .894 free throw percentage and third with 46 steals.

Earlier this season Western Oregon beat Western Washington 83-73 on Jan. 7th in Bellingham, Wash. Wheadon scored 29 points, hitting 7-of-8 shots from behind the arc. With the win over the Viking's the Wolves remained at a perfect 6-0 conference start.

WWU leads WOU 35-15 in the all-time standings.

A Look At The Simon Fraser Clan:
Tipoff: 2:00 p.m.
Overall Record: 6-12, 1-9 GNAC (9th place)
Last Five: 1-4
Last Meeting This Season: WOU won 74-73

Simon Fraser will head into the New P.E. building on Saturday looking to get revenge after a one-point loss to Western Oregon earlier this season. The Clan will make a stop in Lacey, Wash. to square off against Saint Martin's on Thursday (Feb. 2nd) before their matchup with the Wolves.

The Wolves pulled off a win against Simon Fraser earlier this season with help from Jordan Freelander's final shot attempt with only nine seconds remaining.

Freelander took the ball left-handed to the hoop from the top of the key and avoided the charge while the ball circled around the basket before falling in for the layup and the one-point WOU lead. The bucket was Freelander's only made shot of the game after entering the final possession 0-of-5.

Simon Fraser's Connor Lewis would have a good look at a 3-pointer with time expiring but it came up just short giving WOU a perfect 6-0 record this season in games decided by three points or less or in overtime.

The Clan's Justin Brown ranks fifth in the GNAC with 16.5 ppg and sits in ninth with 59 assist. Jordan Sergent ranks second in the conference with 46 offensive rebounds, while Ibrahim Appiah sits fifth with 114 rebounds.

With the Wolves winning earlier this season against the Clan they were able to tie up the all-time series at 10-10.