No. 8/4 Wolves host UAA, UAF for GNAC lead

WOU faces league leading Seawolves and third-place Nanooks in New PE

NO. 8/4 WESTERN OREGON (14-2, 7-1) vs ALASKA ANCHROAGE (15-4, 8-0)
GAME 17 | JAN. 21 | 7 p.m. PT | NEW P.E. BUILDING | MONMOUTH, ORE.
SERIES: Alaska Anchorage leads 21-14
LAST MEETING: Feb. 26, 2015 – Lost, 80-78 in Anchorage

NO. 8/4 WESTERN OREGON (14-2, 7-1) vs ALASKA (12-4, 6-2)
GAME 18 | JAN. 23 | 7 p.m. PT | NEW P.E. BUILDING | MONMOUTH, ORE.
SERIES: Alaska leads 18-16
LAST MEETING: Feb. 28, 2015 – Won, 75-60 in Fairbanks

LIVE STATS/VIDEO: WOU Portal | NOTES: WOU – UAA – UAF

STORYLINES

Eighth-ranked Western Oregon plays host to conference-leading Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. on Thursday night in Monmouth for a chance to tie the Seawolves atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. The game against UAA will be televised on KWVT. On Saturday, the Wolves wrap up the first half of league play against Alaska, the third-place team in the GNAC, at 7 p.m.

Last time out: WOU used a pair of strong second-half performances to defeat Simon Fraser on Jan. 14, 90-67, and Western Washington on Jan. 16, 78-58. Not one starter played more than 27 minutes against the Clan, with Andy Avgi posting a team-high 20 points while Alex Roth tied his career-best with 18 points. Against WWU, the Wolves used a 13-2 run in the opening five minutes of the second half to win on the road. Avgi again led WOU in scoring with 19 points. Roth hit the 18-point mark for the second straight game and Julian Nichols has 15.
WOU has won five straight games after a two-game skid late in December.
Western Oregon made another three-spot jump in the coaches' poll: moving up to No. 8 in the NABC Top 25 while holding steady at No. 4 (WOU's highest ranking) in the D2SIDA media poll.

ABOUT WESTERN OREGON

Andy Avgi leads the team in scoring at 21.0 points per game while shooting .588 from the floor. In eight GNAC games, his scoring average is 22.3 points per game.
Western Oregon's balanced scoring attack, including Avgi, has six players average between 9.4 and 21.0 points per game. Devon Alexander leads the Wolves in rebounding with 5.3 boards a contest. Julian Nichols is fourth in the GNAC averaging 4.8 assists.
Double-digit scoring streaks: Andy Avgi has scored 10 or more points in seven straight games. Alex Roth's string currently sits at three games.
The Wolves taketh, but rarely giveth: WOU is the GNAC leader in turnover margin at +5.62 per game. WOU forces 15.6 turnovers per game, the second highest mark in the league. Individually, Julian Nichols tops the conference with a +3.3 assist/turnover ratio.

Devon Alexander has both WOU double-doubles this season: 12 points/10 rebounds on Nov. 21 against Warner Pacific and 19 points/11 rebounds against Montana State Billings on Dec. 5.
Head coach Jim Shaw is in his first season at WOU. His previous assistant coaching stops include Saint Mary's, Washington, Oklahoma, Portland, Montana State, Southern Utah, Oregon State, Chemeketa and Idaho State.
Western Oregon was picked to finish second in the GNAC regular season title by the league's coaches receiving four of 11 possible first-place votes.

ABOUT ALASKA ANCHORAGE

Head coach Rusty Osborne is in his 11^th year at UAA and has led the Seawolves to winning seasons in all 10 preceding years.
The Seawolves are on a nine-game winning streak (15-4 overall) and are undefeated in conference play at 8-0. UAA has not lost to a NCAA Division II opponent since Nov. 21, an 81-78 defeat at home to Cal State Dominguez Hills. Last week, Anchorage defeated MSUB by 20 at home and needed overtime to beat Alaska in Fairbanks, 100-91.
Alaska Anchorage is led by the conference-leading 24.0 points per game of junior transfer guard Suki Wiggs. Brian McGill returned to the Seawolves on Dec. 31 and has averaged 14.3 points. Spencer Svejcar was named GNAC Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 ppg and hitting a crucial game-tying 3-pointer in regulation at UAF.
UAA is shooting .473 from the field, .367 from 3-point range and .789 from the foul line (where they have taken 106 more attempts than any other GNAC team, 535).

ABOUT ALASKA

Head coach Mick Durham is in his fifth year in Fairbanks and has led the Nanooks to a pair of GNAC tournament seminal appearances during his tenure.
The Nanooks are 12-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Last week, Alaska defeated MSUB at home, 69-58, and fell in overtime to UAA, 100-91.
Trevante Parker is the Alaska's leading scorer (17.5 ppg) and best rebounder at 7.4 boards per game. Four others are scoring in double figures for the Nanooks: Bangaly Kaba (13.8), Almir Hadzisehovic (11.4), Brandon Davis (10.9) and Joe Slocum (10.4).
Alaska has the third best scoring offense in the GNAC at 86.6 points per game while shooting .464 from the field, .343 from behind the arc and .677 from the free-throw line.

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Players Mentioned

#0 Devon Alexander: G; 6' 1"; Senior; 3V

#32 Andy Avgi: F; 6' 6"; Redshirt Senior; 3V

#10 Julian Nichols: G; 6' 2"; Senior; 1V

#2 Alex Roth: G; 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore; TR

Players Mentioned

#0 Devon Alexander
: 6' 1"; Senior; 3V
: G

#32 Andy Avgi
: 6' 6"; Redshirt Senior; 3V
: F

#10 Julian Nichols
: 6' 2"; Senior; 1V
: G

#2 Alex Roth
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore; TR
: G