MONMOUTH – Three Wolves scored at least 19 points Saturday led by a game-high 27 points by senior Andy Avgi, as No. 4/14 Western Oregon defeated Montana State Billings by a 91-69 score at the New P.E.  Building. 
 
It was the second win in Great Northwest Athletic Conference during the week for WOU, who improves to 8-0 on the year. Montana State Billings ends up splitting their league trip to Oregon, dropping to 3-5 on the season.

"Overall we did a good job," WOU head coach Jim Shaw said. "We got contributions from everyone."
 
WOU owned a 53-20 advantage with points in the paint while holding the lead from the second possession of the game forward. Avgi posted his sixth consecutive game over the 20-point barrier with a 12 of 16 performance from the floor, including a trio of 3-pointers. Senior guard Devon Alexander tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and sophomore forward Tanner Omlid chipped in 19 points off the bench making seven of eight shots for the game. Senior guard Julian Nichols had nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

"Tanner got going again and this was Devon's best all-around game of the year," Shaw said. 

Alexander had his hand in the final three baskets of a 22-5 opening run for the Wolves. He assisted on a Nichols triple before successive layups put the Wolves up 17 points seven minutes into the game.
 
The Yellowjackets hit on three consecutive shots behind the arc to slice an 18-point lead in half.  WOU would outscore MSUB 13-7 over the final 5:53 to take a 47-32 lead into halftime. Western Oregon was sizzling hot in the first half hitting 19 of 30 shots (63.3 percent) while holding their opponent to 34.4 percent (11 of 32).
 
Omlid punctuated a 9-1 run to open the second half with a two-handed slam off an Avgi assist that brought the New P.E. crowd to its feet. The lead reached as many as 27 points, 66-39, on a 3-point shot by Alexander and never dipped again below 19 points. The Wolves hit at a 50 percent clip in the second half (16 of 32) to finish the game at 56.5 percent for the game.

"We're getting closer to getting our team fully formed," Shaw added. "I'm excited to get better in the upcoming weeks."
 
Freshman forward Preston Beverly led the Yellowjackets with a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double.
 
WOU plays once next week, a non-conference matchup against Corban University on Friday, December 11 at 7 p.m. in Monmouth.