Men's Basketball | 1/7/2012 9:03:00 PM

[Box Score]

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Blair Wheadon hit 7-of-8 shots from behind the arc and scored 29 points to lead Western Oregon to an 83-73 win over No. 23 Western Washington on Saturday (Jan. 7) at Carver Gym.

The win keeps the Wolves (13-2) perfect in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at 6-0. It is WOU's best start in GNAC history and its first win in Bellingham since 1995. The loss was the Vikings' first in conference play as they fell to 4-1 in the GNAC (13-3 overall).

Wheadon scored 19 of his season-high 29 points in the opening half, including the Wolves' last eight of the period. WOU also got 14 points from James Gehring and Kyle Long. Gehring added nine rebounds to help Western Oregon dominate the Vikings on the glass 38 to 26, including 25 to eight on second chance points.

The game was back and forth early on before a 16-2 run by the Wolves midway through the first half would give a 30-17 lead, one which they would never relinquish. WOU led 36-25 at the half and pushed their lead to as many as 15 in the second half. The Vikings would fight their way back to five points with 1:43 remaining but the Wolves connected on 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.  

Zach Henifin led the Vikings with 23 points and seven rebounds.

The Wolves will now head back to Monmouth to get ready for Saint Martin's on Jan. 14th where they hope to continue their GNAC winnning streak and perfect home record. Tipoff will be at 7:00 p.m.