Men's Basketball | 11/13/2013 6:40:00 AM

MONMOUTH, Ore. – After opening its 2013-14 schedule with a team that finished in the region's top 10 last season, the Western Oregon University men's basketball team faces another team in that same category Friday. WOU begins the Cougar Classic against No. 7 Cal Poly Pomona, before playing Cal State-Dominguez Hills Saturday.

The Wolves (1-1) finished with a split in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference/Pac West Conference Challenge last weekend. Western Oregon opened the regular season with an 82-73 setback at Chaminade (Hawaii). The Silverswords were one of eight teams to advance to the 2012-13 NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships. A week later, WOU will meet another qualifier from that tournament field.

Cal Poly Pomona (1-1) was picked second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association preseason poll, narrowly missing out on first place by three points. CPP and Cal State-San Bernardino split the 12 first place votes. The Broncos went 28-3 last year to match the program record for wins. Having swept the CCAA regular season and tournament titles last year, the Broncos are getting plenty of national attention in the polls. CPP was featured at No. 7 in the Nov. 1 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll after the Division II Bulletin listed the Broncos sixth in early October.

The 2013-14 CPP roster features two active seniors in DeRonn Scott and Connor Gacek. All-American Terrence Drisdom is redshirting this season. Likely joining Scott in the starting backcourt are Barry Bell and Daniel Rodriguez, both of whom provided key contributions during last year's playoff run. Another student-athlete stepping into a larger role will be sophomore Jordan Faison, who ranked fourth in the CCAA last year for field goal percentage with a mark of 57.6.

Jordan Faison and Rodriguez have both scored 30 points through the Broncos first two games. Scott has grabbed 13 rebounds. Cal Poly Pomona is coming into the game after a 71-70 loss at The Master's College Tuesday. CPP and Western Oregon meet Friday for the first time.

On Saturday, Western Oregon faces Cal State-Dominguez Hills for the first time in program history. The Toros (2-1) return three starters from a team that went 16-12 last season. CSDH was picked fifth in the CCAA preseason poll. DeShaun Freeman returns after being named second team All-CCAA last year. The senior forward finished second on the team in scoring and fourth in rebounds and blocks.

The Toros opened the season by winning two of three games at the Disney Div. II West Coast Tipoff. Cal State-Dominguez Hills began the year with loss to fellow GNAC member, No. 2 Seattle Pacific. CSDH responded with a 60-53 win over Texas A&M International, and an 88-81 victory over Alaska-Anchorage. UAA was picked second in the preseason GNAC poll.

Both of Western Oregon's games will feature live video and stats on WOUWolves.com. Both games also tipoff at 5:30 p.m.