STORYLINES
•  The final week of January takes the Western Oregon men's basketball team on the road for four games critical toward grabbing one of six spot in the GNAC Championships. This week, the Wolves head to the 49th state to play Alaska Anchorage on Thursday (Jan. 19) and Alaska on Saturday (Jan. 21). Both games are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. Alaska (8 p.m. Pacific).
•  WOU swept the season series from Alaska Anchorage for the first time since 2004-05. The Wolves came back in both games, winning 76-66 at home on Jan. 21, 2016 and 64-58 in Anchorage on Feb. 20 (first win at UAA since 2009-10). Against the Nanooks, WOU surrendered just one of the two GNAC losses in Fairbanks last year, 87-78, as the top ranked team in the country. During the first meeting in Monmouth, WOU clipped Alaska by five (64-59). The rubber match came in the GNAC Championship where Western Oregon claimed its first league tournament title with a 78-71 win to secure hosting rights for the NCAA West Regional.
•  Western Oregon is averaging 74.6 points and 35.1 rebounds per game. The Wolves lead the GNAC and rank 18th in Division II with 8.8 steals per game. They are also second in the GNAC and with four blocked shots per game and rank ninth in Division II with a 5.1 turnover margin.
•  Both games will have coverage on WOUWolves.com/Live with video and stats.
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LAST TIME OUT
Western Oregon split a pair of home games to remain in the top half of the GNAC standings. The Wolves collected an 85-60 win over Simon Fraser on Thursday before taking an 84-76 loss to league-leading Western Washington on Saturday. Junior guard
Ali Faruq-Bey led the Wolves in the win over SFU with 20 points, connecting on 8 of 13 from the field. He went on to score 17 points on 7 of 16 shooting against WWU. Faruq-Bey is averaging 13.9 points per game and is sixth in the GNAC with 1.63 steals per game. Junior forward
Tanner Omlid had his sixth double-double of the season against Western Washington, finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Omlid enters the week seventh in the GNAC with 7.4 rebounds per game and is fourth in blocked shots with 1.81 per game. Omlid leads the GNAC and is third in Division II with 3.06 steals per game.
CHIRNSIDE BLOCK PARTY – HERO SPORTS NOMINEE
Junior forward
JJ Chirnside blocked nine shots against Simon Fraser, a GNAC season best and tied for the third most in Division II in a single game this season and one short of the GNAC single-game record of 10 blocks set by Central Washington's Roby Clyde in 2011. Chirnside is a nominee for the HERO Sports D2 Hero of the Week.Â
HIGH MARKS
- With a 98-77 win over Central Washington on Dec. 29, the Wolves set a single-game scoring mark under head coach
Jim Shaw. Previously, the 96-point overtime effort against Seattle Pacific (Jan. 7, 2016) was the team's highest scoring effort.Â
- The Wolves shot 54.7 percent against Central Washington (35-64), the highest mark by any WOU team since Jan. 30 also against the Wildcats (57.9 percent, 33-57).
REIGNING CHAMPS, PRESEASON DOUBTS
Last season's GNAC regular season and tournament champions, Western Oregon entered 2016-17 picked to finish sixth in the league. The Wolves lost four-fifths of their starting lineup and return just one player (Omlid) who averaged more than 10 minutes a game.Â
ABOUT ALASKA ANCHORAGE
The Seawolves split their games last week. Alaska Anchorage scored a 76-63 win over Alaska at home on Tuesday before falling victim to a last-second game-winning three-pointer in a 69-68 loss at Montana State Billings on Thursday. With the win, the Seawolves improved to 9-0 this season at the Alaska Airlines Center (excluding three games in the Great Alaska Shootout, which were discretionary exhibitions). The Seawolves were 12-5 at home in 2015-16. Senior guard Sekou "Suki" Wiggs was a double-digit scorer in both games. He scored 17 points with seven rebounds and six assists against Alaska. He then led the Seawolves with 25 points on 10 of 25 from the field against MSUB. Wiggs is second in the GNAC and 11th in Division II in scoring at 22.9 points per game. Senior guard Spencer Svejcar cashed in for 24 points against Alaska, connecting on 10 of 15 from the field with seven rebounds. Svejcar leads the GNAC and is 14th in Division II in free throw percentage (.917) and is third in the GNAC in three-point percentage (.461). Senior forward Corey Hammell had 16 rebounds in the two games, topped by a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds at MSUB. Hammell leads the GNAC and is 17th in Division II at 10.5 rebounds per game. He also leads the GNAC and is third in Division II with 4.94 offensive rebounds per game. Alaska Anchorage enters the week averaging 80.2 points per game and leads the GNAC with 41.6 rebounds per game. The Seawolves also lead the league in scoring defense (62.7 points allowed per game), scoring margin ( 17.5), field goal defense (.397), rebounding defense (28.1 allowed per game), assists (16.60 per game) and offensive rebounds (14.94 per game).
ABOUT ALASKA
Alaska closed a four-game road trip with a pair of losses. The Nanooks took a 76-63 loss to down-state rival Alaska Anchorage on Tuesday before dropping a 99-94 game at Montana State Billings on Saturday. Junior guard Lorenzo Graham provided a critical bench spark against Alaska Anchorage, scoring 14 points on 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 6 from three-point range in 24 minutes. The Nanooks finished shooting 50 percent (12-24) in the game. Against Montana State Billings, senior guard Brandon Davis went off for a career high 30 points, connecting on 11 of 15 from the field and 4 of 5 from three-point range. He also had six rebounds. Davis is the Nanooks' top scorer, averaging 14.1 points per game. He ranks fourth in the GNAC in steals (1.71 per game), ninth in free throw percentage (.833) and 10th in assists (3.29 per game). Senior forward Zach Pederson added 19 points in the loss at Montana State Billings. He enters the week fifth in the GNAC in offensive rebounds (2.35 per game) and 10th in field goal percentage (.506). Senior guard Nahjee Matlock enters the week first in the GNAC and 29th in assist/turnover ratio at 2.77. As a team, Alaska is averaging 76.2 points and 34.9 rebounds per game. The Nanooks lead the GNAC and are 16th in Division II in assist/turnover ratio (1.47). They are also second in the GNAC and 18th in Division II in turnover margin (4.3) and 14th in Division II in turnovers per game (10.7).
