Men's Basketball | 12/17/2013 10:14:00 AM

NWIC GAME NOTES (PDF)            SDSMT GAME NOTES (PDF)

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University men's basketball team wraps up its non-conference schedule this week with home games against Northwest Indian College and South Dakota Mines.

The Wolves (6-4, 1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) will be playing their final games of 2013, as the team heads into a 10-day break between games for the holidays.

In its last game, Western Oregon cruised to an 88-69 non-conference victory over Capilano University (B.C.) last Saturday. Jordan Wiley was one of five Wolves to finish in double-figures. He had a game-high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. WOU shot 53 percent from the field, and held the Blues to 33 percent in the first meeting between the programs ever. Western Oregon finished with seven blocks matching a season-high total. Capilano did pull down 26 offensive rebounds, a season-high for a Wolves' opponent this year.

The Wolves' are holding opponents to 42 percent shooting from the field currently, which is second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Western Oregon is also second in the conference in steals per game at 8.7. The Wolves are 4-0 this season when they have a better field goal percentage than their opponent this season, and 5-0 when they shoot 50 percent of better.

After scoring four points in his debut, Marwan Sarhan has reached double digit scoring in each of the past nine games. The junior is one of five Wolves are averaging at least 9.6 points per outing. Adam Hastings' .667 field goal percentage is second in the GNAC. The junior has made 44 of his 66 attempts from the field.

Western Oregon and Northwest Indian College meet for the first time ever Wednesday. NWIC is an athletic unaffiliated independent four-year institution in Bellingham, Wash., that opened in 1973. The school campus is located just 20 miles from the Canadian border on the Lummi Indian Reservation. The Eagles won the American Indian Higher Education Consortium National Championships in 2012 and 2013. Joshua Nelson scored 31 points in the past two games for the Eagles (9-9).

"Northwest Indian has played a number of games already this season," WOU Head Coach Brady Bergeson said. "They opened up with a two games at Alaska-Fairbanks, and picked up a victory there. They have a lot of firepower with four or five guys averaging double-figures. They definitely have guys that can put the ball in the hole if you let them, so we have to be ready to defend and do what we do."

Saturday, the WOU faces an opponent for the first time in program history for the fifth time this season, when it welcomes South Dakota Mines (4-6). The Hardrockers recently completed the transition from the NAIA to NCAA. They are an independent school in Div. II. Michael Dietz leads SDSMT averaging 13.8 points per outing. Caleb Shockman is adding 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

"We expect (South Dakota Mines) to be pretty big and physical," Bergeson said. "They are known for playing inside out and playing through some of their post players. They have some good shooters that will stretch you out. They're just a good fundamentally-sound, well-coached team. They will present come challenges inside for us, but we'll be ready."

Wednesday's tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Wolves welcome all local Lions Club, Elks Lodge, and Rotary members for free. On Saturday, all WOU faculty and staff are welcome to attend the women's 2 p.m. and men's 4:15 p.m. games for free. Both Wednesday and Saturday will have live video and stats on WOUWolves.com, along with live coverage on WOUTV on channel 17 locally in Monmouth and Independence.