The Basics

• Final Score: No. 20/21 Western Washington 84, Western Oregon 76
• Records: Western Oregon 8-8, 5-3 GNAC; Western Washington 13-3, 7-1 GNAC
• Wolves three-game overall win streak snapped
• Location: Monmouth, Ore. – New P.E. Building

 
How It Happened
After a slow start, No. 20/21 Western Washington got a big-time double-double from junior forward Deandre Dickson to rally past host Western Oregon 84-76 on Saturday night at the New P.E. Building.
 
WOU opened the contest on fire, hitting their first six shots to take a 15-1 lead. Ali Faruq-Bey opened with four points, Akil Reese accounted for the next four and a 3-pointer from Tanner Omlid put the Wolves up by 10 points. JJ Chirnside cashed in on a steal with a fast-break dunk while Omlid followed with a lay-in at the 16:39 mark of the first half.
 
Western Washington turned to Dickson and guard Taylor Stafford, who combined for 23 first-half points, to trim the WOU lead down to as little as three. Reese beat the buzzer before halftime with a jumper to give Western Oregon a 41-35 advantage.
 
It took only two minutes for the Vikings three minutes to erase the deficit and take their first lead, 46-45, on a Blake Fernandez free throw with 17:03 on the clock.
 
The game turned in WWU's favor with an 8-1 run late in the second half. Dalton Hommes' jump shot make after a Chirnside miss on the other end preceded a three-point play from Dickson. Three makes from the foul line capped the spurt which only saw one point come from Faruq-Bey at the stripe with five missed field goals.
 
Western Oregon pulled within three, 74-71, but two layups and six foul shots kept the Vikings ahead.
 
Wolves' Top Performers

• Tanner Omlid finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, four assists in 34 minutes.
• Ali Faruq-Bey followed with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting with three steals and two assists.
• Demetrius Trammell hits four shots from behind the 3-point arc to post 12 points.
• JJ Chirnside and Connor Thompson each had eight points and five rebounds.

 
For the Vikings

• Deandre Dickson had a monster game off the bench with 25 points (10-of-13) and 13 rebounds.
• Taylor Stafford scored 23 points and had six rebounds.
• Dalton Hommes (13) and Blake Fernandez (10, 8-10 FT) rounded out the four WWU players in double figures.

 
Stats of the Game

• The Vikings were 23-of-30 from the foul line (76.7 percent) compared to the Wolves 10-of-15 (66.7 percent).
• After going 16-of-35 (45.7 percent) in the first half from the floor, the Wolves cooled down to 37.1 percent in the final 20 minutes. Overall on the night, WOU shot 41.4 percent (29-of-70).
• WOU dominated the offensive glass. Their 15-7 advantage was helped by eight offensive boards in the second half.
• WOU forced just 11 WWU turnovers.

 
Up Next
Western Oregon begins a four-game road trip when they head to Alaska for the week. The Wolves head to Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, Jan. 19 and then meet up with Alaska, in Fairbanks, on Saturday, Jan. 21. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Alaska time (8 p.m. Pacific).