FRESNO, Calif. – Tanner Omlid scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second career double-double and
Ali Faruq-Bey finished with 19 points in his debut to lead Western Oregon past Point Loma, 64-62, on day one of the PacWest/GNAC Challenge at the FPU Special Events Center on Friday.
Buster Souza had six points and five rebounds in his first career start for WOU (1-0), which won its season opener for the second consecutive year over the Sea Lions (0-1).
The Wolves led by as many as 13 points in the second half and withstood a furious rally from behind the 3-point arc in the game's final four minutes to secure the victory.
"Our number one goal was to play hard for 40 minutes," WOU head coach
Jim Shaw said. "I thought we played really hard tonight."
Omlid and Faruq-Bey combined to score the first 12 points for the Wolves until a 3-ball from
Malik Leaks gave Western Oregon an early 15-13 lead.
"Tanner was an all-around stud and Faruq-Bey hit some huge shots for us," Shaw said.
Trailing at halftime, 30-29, a steady combination of inside shots and long-distance connections helped WOU break a 37-37 stalemate with a 17-6 spurt. A 9-0 run began the momentum shifting on a Faruq-Bey triple, layups from Souza and Faruq-Bey, and a dunk from Omlid after Leaks initiated the fast break with a steal. The rally was punctuated by 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor from
Akil Reese and Faruq-Bey.
"We got some really good shots in the second half," Shaw added. "We will get better at knocking them down and establishing an identity."
Western Oregon's lead hovered near double digits until Faruq-Bey's third long distance shot of the game put the score at 59-46 at the 4:41 mark of the second half.
Point Loma's Jack Langborn scored 13 of the next 15 points, including three shots from behind the arc.
WOU led 63-62 with 24 seconds to play when Desmond Dupree-Turner was fouled. The senior guard, seeing his first playing action since the 2014-15 season, made the first charity shot and missed the second to give PLNU a chance to tie. Tanner Lancona missed a layup with three seconds left in an effort to send the game into overtime.
Josh Rodriguez, the 2015-16 PacWest Freshman of the Yeat, led PLNU with 15 points and was followed by Langborn's 13. Post player Vince Boumann finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Western Oregon looks to complete the weekend with another victory when they play tournament-host Fresno Pacific on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
Notes: A familiar face was across the court from WOU as Ryan Looney (former head coach at Seattle Pacific) made his coaching debut at Point Loma … The Wolves are now 4-0 all-time against Looney-led squads, winning all four games by a combined margin of just 11 points … The Western Oregon starting lineup was Reese,
Bryan Berg, Faruq-Bey, Omlid and Souza … WOU forced 21 turnovers leading to 25 points … The game featured 10 tied and 12 lead changes.
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