MONMOUTH, Ore. – Western Oregon men's basketball avoided its first four-game skid since the 2013-14 season with a balanced attack in a 98-77 victory over Central Washington Thursday night in the New P.E. Building.
 
Nine Wolves found their name in the scoring column, led by a game-high 22 points from Ali Faruq-Bey. Demetrius Trammell notched a career-high 21 points off the bench while Tanner Omlid posted his first home double-double of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Omlid also had four assists, four blocks and two steals in 31 minutes.
 
Bryan Berg added 15 points and seven assists as the fourth Western Oregon (5-6, 2-1 GNAC) player to post double figures.
 
Thirty of Western Oregon's points came in the paint while 12 offensive rebounds led to 20 second-chance points.
 
The Wolves shot 54.7 percent from the field and were 9-of-21 from beyond the arc.
 
Western Oregon's defense held the Wildcats (6-3, 1-2) to its lowest point total against Division II opponents this season. CWU entered the game averaging 92.8 points per game but were held to 40.6 clip and just 4-of 17 from the 3-point line.
 
The Wolves outrebounded CWU by 17 with Omlid, Connor Thompson (9) and Faruq-Bey (8) crashing at the top of the boards list. Berg and Evan Garrison combined for 13 of the Wolves' 23 assists on the night.
 
Central Washington enjoyed an early lead and held a 16-13 advantage after a pair of free throws at the 13:23 mark of the first half. Western Oregon locked down on defense and went on a 34-13 run over the next 10 minutes to build a 19-point lead after a two-handed dunk from Yanick Kulich. Faruq-Bey's 19 points in the first half facilitated a Western Oregon lead 54-39 at halftime.
 
The Wolves never saw its advantage drop lower than 14 points in the second half as connections came from dunk from Omlid and Berg, mid-range connections from Buster Souza, and deep makes from Trammell.
 
Dom Harris led CWU with 22 points and Jawan Stepney added 13 points.
 
Western Oregon plays its final game of 2016 when it hosts Northwest Nazarene on Saturday (Dec. 31) at 2 p.m. in the New P.E. Building.