The Basics

• Final Score: No. 3/2 Western Oregon 74, Saint Martin's 62
• Records: Western Oregon 19-2, 12-1; Saint Martin's 9-12, 3-10
• Wolves extended overall winning streak to season-high 10 games.
• Location: Lacey, Wash. – Marcus Pavilion

 
How It Happened
The Western Oregon men's basketball team rallied from a slim halftime deficit to earn a 10^th consecutive victory in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 74-62 road win at Saint Martin's Thursday.
 
The Wolves outscored the host Saints 40-27 in the second half to improve to 19-2 on the season and 12-1 in league play. Western Oregon earned the sweep of the season series over SMU for the second straight year, extending the overall win streak against the Saints to five games.
 
WOU opened the contest with a 9-2 run highlighted by five points from senior forward Andy Avgi. The Saints held the Wolves without a field goal over the next three possessions and took their first lead after consecutive 3-point make from Trey Ingram.
 
A layup from Cole Preston gave the Saints a 16-11 lead midway through the opening half. Freshman guard Kadeem Strickland capped an 8-0 run with successive triples.  Saint Martin's closed the half with a 19-15 advantage and WOU trailed at the half, 36-35, for the third time this season.
 
After a final stalemate at 38-38 at the 18:11 mark of the second half, a traditional 3-point play from Julian Nichols and Avgi triple gave WOU a lead they would not surrender. A final 8-0 rally pushed the lead in to double figures with 5:19 on the clock.
 
 
Wolves' Top Performers

• Andy Avgi scored 18 points on 8-of14 shooting, pulled down nine rebounds, and had five blocks and three steals.
• Julian Nichols went a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line in his 17-point night. He added seven rebounds and two assists.
• Devon Alexander posted 13 points and three assists in 19 minutes battling foul trouble.
• Kadeem Strickland went 3-of-4 from downtown to score 10 points, his first double digit output since Dec. 1 against Concordia.

 
For the Saints

• Cole Preston led Saint Martin's with 17 points and four assists.
• Trey Ingram came off the bench for 14 points including three makes from behind the arc.

 
Stats of the Game

• After being held to 36.7 percent (11-of-30) in the first half, the Wolves heated up in the second half. They hit 15-of-24 attempts (62.5 percent) over the final 20 minutes to complete the night 25-of-54 overall (48.1 percent).
• Saint Martin's dominated the offensive glass. Their 17-8 advantage was helped by nine offensive boards in the first half.
• WOU forced 20 SMU turnovers, including 11 steals.
• The Wolves had a season-high seven blocks.

 
Up Next
Western Oregon continues its road trip at No. 19 Seattle Pacific (17-4, 10-3) Saturday. The Falcons won their eighth straight game Thursday at home over Concordia. Tipoff between the Wolves and Falcons is scheduled for 7 p.m. Pacific from Brougham Pavilion.