Men's Basketball | 12/12/2013 12:11:00 PM

GAME NOTES (PDF)

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University men's basketball team welcomes Capilano University (B.C.) for a non-conference matchup Saturday.

The Wolves (5-4, 1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) face a Canadian opponent for the second straight contest, after an 87-83 win at Simon Fraser University in their last game. Saturday's game also marks the third time this season that WOU meets an opponent for the first time in program history. The Wolves are 19-11 against Canadian opponents all-time.

Capilano University is a member of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, and is in the PACWEST Conference. The Capilano campus is in North Vancouver, B.C. Men's basketball is one of eight varsity programs that the school fields.

Daniel Dubois is seventh in the CCAA with 7.63 rebounds per game. Capilano rides into the game at WOU after a two-game sweep last week with wins over Kwantlen and Columbia Bible. Tony Rowe and Andrew Morris combined for 56 points in those wins. Rowe is averaging 10.1 points per outing so far this season.

"They are a very fast team," WOU Head Coach Brady Bergeson said. "They are relatively small. But they do push the ball hard, and have a lot of guys that can attack the rim. They like to get up-and-down quite a bit. They play a lot of possessions, and definitely will go in and get after it."

After nearly snapping No. 5 Western Washington's 32-game conference-record home winning streak in a 67-66 loss last Thursday, Western Oregon bounced back with the win at Simon Fraser. Rodney Webster matched his career high of 22 points, while Marwan Sarhan had 20. Devon Alexander added 15 points and Andy Avgi recorded 13. Adam Hastings led all players with eight rebounds. WOU scored 10 of the game's final 16 points to pull away.

The Wolves made 8-of-10 from the free throw line during that final stretch. Western Oregon made 53 percent of its shots from the field, but it was the Clan that shot 56 percent.

"It was a two-possession game down the stretch, but our guys made the plays they needed to," Bergeson said. "Simon Fraser just made shots in the game, and they were not all uncontested. They did a good job making shots, executing, and making extra passes."

The Wolves' .437 field goal percentage defense is currently second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Western Oregon is also second in steals per game at 8.9. After scoring four points in his debut, Sarhan has reached double digit scoring in each of the past eight games. Avgi totaled 33 points in his first two games last weekend after returning from an injury. Three Wolves are averaging at least 9.8 points per outing. Hastings' .656 field goal percentage is third in the GNAC currently. The junior has made 40 of his 61 attempts from the field.

Western Oregon welcomes all local elementary school students to the game free, along with a parent or guardian for free. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the New P.E. Building on the WOU campus. The game will be broadcast online on WOUWolves.com.