Men's Basketball | 12/5/2013 9:59:00 PM

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 5 Western Washington University men's basketball team escaped with a 67-66 victory over upset-minded Western Oregon University Thursday.

The Vikings' (5-0, 1-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) Richard Woodworth made a pair of free throws with one second remaining in regulation, and the Wolves watched as their shot at the buzzer fall off of the rim. WWU extended its school and conference record home winning streak to 32 games. WOU was the last team to win at Western Washington on Jan. 7, 2012.

The Wolves had plenty of opportunities in the game. Western Oregon went 14-of-29 from the free throw line, 2-of-13 from behind-the-arc, and made 36 percent of its shots from the field. WOU committed 11 turnovers, but forced 16. Western Oregon held the Vikings to 40 percent shooting from the field, and 4-for-18 from three-point range. The Wolves also outrebounded WWU, 41-38.

Western Washington finished with four double-digit scorers in the conference season-opener for both programs. Robert Harris led all scorers with 23 points. Woodworth added 12 points, while Austin Bragg and Colby Mitchell both had 11. Bragg grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to complete the double-double performance.

The game featured five ties and seven lead changes. Western Washington jumped out to a 7-1 lead to start the contest. The Wolves responded with an 11-0 run over a four-minute span. WOU led for the majority of the half, leading by as many as seven points twice. Western Oregon took a 26-23 lead into the halftime break.

The Vikings answered in the second half by taking an early eight point lead, 42-34. WWU seemed to have the game in control with a 59-49 with 5:30 remaining in regulation. The Wolves climbed back into the game with an 11-2 run. Andy Avgi, in his first game back since the opening game of the season, gave WOU a 66-65 lead with a lay-in with five seconds left in the game. Woodworth then connected four seconds later with the winning free throws.

Western Oregon grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, and turned those into a 19-7 advantage in second chance points. The Wolves had a decisive 35-14 lead in bench points. WOU also held a 42-30 edge in the paint. This was the 12th time in the past 17 meetings that final margin was decided by 10 points or less.

Avgi led Western Oregon (4-4, 0-1 GNAC) scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds off of the bench. Adam Hastings tallied 13 points. Marwan Sarhan and Rodney Webster both had 10 points. Drew Johnson made four steals and Devon Alexander threw three assists.

The Wolves travel to Simon Fraser Saturday. The Clan (6-2, 0-1) had its win streak snapped with a loss to Saint Martin's Thursday. Western Oregon has won all six Great Northwest Athletic Conference meetings between the teams. WOU has also won all four meetings under Bergeson against SFU. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on WOUWolves.com.

Western Oregon vs Western Washington
12/05/13 7:00 pm at Carver Gym - Bellingham, WA
At Carver Gym - Bellingham, WA
WESTERN WASHINGTON 67, WESTERN OREGON 66
WESTERN OREGON (4-4, 0-1 GNAC)
Avgi,Andy 8-13 3-6 20; Hastings,Adam 6-8 1-4 13; Webster,Rodney 5-15 0-0 10;
Sarhan,Marwan 3-8 4-11 10; Alexander,Devon 2-8 2-2 6; Sabic,Mirza 1-10 2-2
5; Wiley,Jordan 0-5 1-2 1; Thomas,Lewis 0-1 1-2 1; Schriber,Jordan 0-0 0-0
0; Johnson,Drew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-68 14-29 66.
WESTERN WASHINGTON (5-0, 1-0 GNAC)
Harris,Robert 9-14 2-4 23; Woodworth,Richard 3-6 6-6 12; Mitchell,Colby 3-8
4-7 11; Bragg,Austin 2-6 7-12 11; Schreiber,Joey 3-11 1-3 7; Oliver,Robert
0-0 2-2 2; Davis,Alfred 0-2 1-2 1; Mosby-Barber,Jordan 0-0 0-0 0;
Parker,Jeffrey 0-2 0-0 0; Turner,Anye 0-0 0-0 0; Thorpe,Dane 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 20-50 23-36 67.
Western Oregon................   26   40  -   66
Western Washington............   23   44  -   67
3-point goals--Western Oregon 2-13 (Avgi,Andy 1-1; Sabic,Mirza 1-5;
Webster,Rodney 0-3; Alexander,Devon 0-1; Wiley,Jordan 0-3), Western
Washington 4-18 (Harris,Robert 3-6; Mitchell,Colby 1-2; Bragg,Austin 0-1;
Schreiber,Joey 0-3; Davis,Alfred 0-2; Parker,Jeffrey 0-2; Thorpe,Dane 0-1;
Woodworth,Richard 0-1). Fouled out--Western Oregon-None, Western
Washington-None. Rebounds--Western Oregon 41 (Avgi,Andy 7), Western
Washington 38 (Bragg,Austin 15). Assists--Western Oregon 9 (Alexander,Devon
3), Western Washington 9 (Oliver,Robert 2; Woodworth,Richard 2;
Mitchell,Colby 2). Total fouls--Western Oregon 24, Western Washington 20.
Technical fouls--Western Oregon-None, Western Washington-None. A-708
WWU extends school and GNAC record to 32-straight home victories