Men's Basketball | 2/15/2014 9:37:00 PM

Box Score

LACEY, Wash. – The Western Oregon University men's basketball team grabbed a key road victory at Saint Martin's University Saturday, 70-62.

With four games left in the regular season, the Wolves (14-10, 7-7 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) are in a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with Central Washington, a half-game behind Alaska-Anchorage for fourth place, and a game ahead of Montana State Billings for seventh place. The top six spots advance to the GNAC Championships held at Saint Martin's on March 5-8.

Western Oregon won its third straight game, and fourth of its last five, after scoring 25 more points than Saint Martin's at the free throw line Saturday. The Wolves finished 29-of-38 from the free throw line, while SMU was 4-of-7. The Saints shot all seven of their free throws in the first half. WOU made 42 percent of its shot from the field, compared to Saint Martin's 39 percent. SMU did make 10 of its 29 three-point attempts.

Andy Avgi led all scorers with 21 points for Western Oregon. The sophomore had his second straight double-double, and third of the season, adding a game-high 11 rebounds. He made nine of his 10 free throws. Rodney Webster and Devon Alexander combined for 25 points, with Webster scoring 13 off of the bench. Webster threw three assists and Alexander made three steals.

Saint Martin's committed 14 turnovers, which WOU turned into 15 points. The Wolves had 12 turnovers. Both teams grabbed 35 rebounds.

All four ties and lead changes occurred in the first seven minutes of the game. Western Oregon went on a 19-4 run to break a 10-10 tie midway through the opening half. A pair of Jordan Wiley free throws capped the run gave the Wolves their largest lead of the game, 29-14, with 5:41 remaining in the first half. WOU led 34-27 at halftime. The Saints came within one point in the second half, but would never tie or take the lead.

Evan Coulter had a team-high 14 points, four assists and four steals for SMU (8-14, 5-9 GNAC). Isaac Bianchini made four of his nine three-point attempts, scoring 12 points. Coulter and Ryan Rogers both grabbed eight rebounds.

The all-time series between Western Oregon and Saint Martin's is now even at 30-30. The Saints won the first meeting this season in Monmouth, 79-73.

The Wolves complete their regular season road schedule next week. Western Oregon visits Alaska Thursday. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. AT. The Nanooks won the first meeting this season, 60-56, in Monmouth. Alaska trailed by 14 points in the second half, before making a 21-3 run to close the game. Live video and stats will be on WOUWolves.com

Newspaper Box Score
Western Oregon vs Saint Martin's
02/15/14 7:00 pm at Marcus Pavilion - Lacey, WA
At Marcus Pavilion - Lacey, WA
WESTERN OREGON 70, SAINT MARTIN'S 62
WESTERN OREGON (14-10, 7-7 GNAC)
Avgi,Andy 6-9 9-10 21; Webster,Rodney 3-6 7-8 13; Alexander,Devon 3-8 5-6
12; Sabic,Mirza 2-5 3-6 9; Wiley,Jordan 2-5 4-4 8; Thomas,Lewis 1-3 1-4 3;
Sarhan,Marwan 1-5 0-0 2; Hastings,Adam 1-2 0-0 2; Schriber,Jordan 0-1 0-0 0;
Johnson,Drew 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-45 29-38 70.
SAINT MARTIN'S (8-14, 5-9 GNAC)
Coulter,Evan 5-13 3-4 14; Bianchini,Isaac 4-10 0-0 12; Rogers,Ryan 4-10 0-0
9; Carel,Riley 3-8 0-0 8; Shannon,Lucas 3-7 0-0 6; Copp,Tyler 2-7 0-0 6;
Dodson,Matt 2-3 1-2 5; Idowu,Tyler 1-1 0-1 2; Norman,Brad 0-2 0-0 0. Totals
24-61 4-7 62.
Western Oregon................   34   36  -   70
Saint Martin's................   27   35  -   62
3-point goals--Western Oregon 3-14 (Sabic,Mirza 2-5; Alexander,Devon 1-4;
Wiley,Jordan 0-2; Webster,Rodney 0-3), Saint Martin's 10-29 (Bianchini,Isaac
4-9; Copp,Tyler 2-6; Carel,Riley 2-6; Coulter,Evan 1-5; Rogers,Ryan 1-2;
Norman,Brad 0-1). Fouled out--Western Oregon-None, Saint
Martin's-Shannon,Lucas; Coulter,Evan. Rebounds--Western Oregon 35 (Avgi,Andy
11), Saint Martin's 35 (Coulter,Evan 8; Rogers,Ryan 8). Assists--Western
Oregon 7 (Webster,Rodney 3), Saint Martin's 10 (Coulter,Evan 4). Total
fouls--Western Oregon 13, Saint Martin's 25. Technical fouls--Western
Oregon-None, Saint Martin's-None. A-411