Men's Basketball | 2/26/2014 9:14:00 PM

Box Score
POSTGAME QUOTES

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University men's basketball team sent a large crowd home very happy Wednesday, with an 82-71 victory over Simon Fraser University (B.C.). The Wolves clinched a berth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament with the victory that was televised regionally on ROOT Sports Northwest.

Western Oregon (16-11, 9-8 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) advances to the six-team tournament that will be played in Lacey, Wash., on March 5-8. The Wolves are currently fifth in the conference standings. It will be the third time in the tournament's four-year history that WOU will be in the field.

Andy Avgi led Western Oregon with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. Rodney Webster added 14 points off of the bench. Jordan Wiley grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and dished out a career-high five assists. Devon Alexander matched his season-high of five steals.

The Wolves shot 40 percent from the field, while SFU made 39 percent. Both teams made 16 free throws, as the Clan attempted 22 and WOU shot 20. Western Oregon had a slim 47-44 edge on the glass. The Wolves turned 15 offensive rebounds into 20 second chance points. They also totaled 46 points in the paint.

Western Oregon opened the game by scoring the first 13 points. A dunk by Lewis Thomas and a lay-in from Alexander closed a 6-for-10 shooting start over the first four minutes. The Clan answered with a 14-0 run over the next four minutes. SFU took a 26-20 lead after a three-pointer from Dillon Hamilton with 8:11 left in the first half. The Wolves regained the lead, 36-30, with 4:02 remaining in the half. The third, fourth, and fifth ties of the game came in the final two minutes of the half, until a pair of free throws from Marwan Sarhan gave WOU the 41-40 edge at halftime.

The Wolves led for the entirety of the second half. Simon Fraser closed within one early in the half, but never tied or took the lead. Western Oregon's largest lead of the half was 11, twice, including the final margin.

The Clan (10-15, 3-14 GNAC) fell to WOU for the 11th straight time. The last time Simon Fraser won in the series was a 70-61 decision in Burnaby, B.C., in 1999. Western Oregon has won 10 straight at home over the Clan. SFU's last win in Monmouth was the first meeting between the programs in 1968, 97-86. The Wolves have won all eight of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference meetings between the teams, and all six meetings under Bergeson against the Clan.

Sango Niang led all scorers with 30 points. The junior finished 10-of-23 from the field, and has totaled 93 points in the past three games. Taylor Dunn added 16 points. Ibrahim Appiah grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds, matching the most rebounds by a WOU opponent under Brady Bergeson.

The energetic and large crowd enjoyed the closely-played game, which was televised to over three-million households in the Northwest. It was the largest home crowd, 1,078, this season for WOU.

"It was great—beautiful atmosphere," Bergeson said. "I really appreciate all of the fans coming out tonight and support. It was a lot of fun. They were great, and they made a nice difference."

Western Oregon welcomes Western Washington (18-6, 12-4), the seventh-ranked team in the NCAA Div. II West Region, Saturday. The Wolves will honor three seniors, Rodney Webster, Mirza Sabic, and Drew Johnson, on Senior Day in the New P.E. Building. The then-ranked No. 5 in the country, Vikings won the first meeting, 67-66, with a pair of free throws in the closing seconds. WOU encourages fans to wear white to support the Wolves. The first 100 students at the game will receive a free shirt. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Live video and stats will be on WOUWolves.com. The game will also be broadcasted throughout the Willamette Valley on KWVT.

Simon Fraser vs Western Oregon
02/26/14 7 p.m. at Monmouth, OR (New P.E. Building)
At Monmouth, OR (New P.E. Building)
WESTERN OREGON 82, SIMON FRASER 71
SIMON FRASER (10-15, 3-14 GNAC)
Niang,Sango 10-23 7-9 30; Dunn,Taylor 6-10 4-5 16; Gebru,David 3-7 2-3 8;
Appiah,Ibrahim 3-8 1-3 7; Hamilton,Dillon 2-7 0-0 6; Cole,Justin 1-8 2-2 4;
Evans,Chris 0-1 0-0 0; Staudacher,Matt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-64 16-22 71.
WESTERN OREGON (16-11, 9-8 GNAC)
Avgi,Andy 8-16 5-6 21; Webster,Rodney 4-11 4-5 14; Wiley,Jordan 4-7 0-2 9;
Thomas,Lewis 4-9 1-1 9; Alexander,Devon 3-11 2-2 9; Sarhan,Marwan 2-9 4-4 8;
Johnson,Drew 2-3 0-0 6; Hastings,Adam 2-5 0-0 4; Schriber,Jordan 1-1 0-0 2;
DupreeTurner,Dezmond 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 30-75 16-20 82.
Simon Fraser..................   40   31  -   71
Western Oregon................   41   41  -   82
3-point goals--Simon Fraser 5-25 (Niang,Sango 3-9; Hamilton,Dillon 2-7;
Gebru,David 0-1; Appiah,Ibrahim 0-1; Cole,Justin 0-5; Evans,Chris 0-1;
Dunn,Taylor 0-1), Western Oregon 6-16 (Johnson,Drew 2-3; Webster,Rodney 2-5;
Alexander,Devon 1-4; Wiley,Jordan 1-2; Thomas,Lewis 0-1; Avgi,Andy 0-1).
Fouled out--Simon Fraser-Hamilton,Dillon; Gebru,David, Western Oregon-None.
Rebounds--Simon Fraser 44 (Appiah,Ibrahim 19), Western Oregon 47
(Wiley,Jordan 10). Assists--Simon Fraser 8 (Appiah,Ibrahim 2; Niang,Sango
2), Western Oregon 13 (Wiley,Jordan 5). Total fouls--Simon Fraser 18,
Western Oregon 18. Technical fouls--Simon Fraser-None, Western Oregon-None.
A-1078
Great Northwest Athletic Conference Game of the Week
Televised regionally on ROOT Sports