BELMONT, Calif.—Holding the Hawks to 35.5 percent hooting on the night, the No. 15-ranked Western Oregon University men's basketball team posted a 76-65 win over Holy Names University in the opening game of the NDSU Thanksgiving Classic on Friday night.
 
With the win, Western Oregon improved to 5-0 on the season while Holy Names dropped to 3-4. The Wolves will play the host team from Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday with a 7 p.m. opening tip.
 
The Wolves held the lead for all but a single minute in the contest, though Holy Names pulled within a single possession midway through each half despite trailing by double digits.

WOU gained a 17-7 advantage in the first on a Brandell Evans make only to see the Hawks fight back with a 11-4 run in a span of two minutes.
 
The Wolves used 3-pointers by Ali Faruq-Bey and Janvier Alaby to push the lead to nine and soon generated as much as a 13-point lead via more 3-pointers, this time by Evans and Demetrius Trammell.
 
Still down 10 (60-50) with 11:19 to play in the second, HNU made four straight attempts to cut the lead two two (62-60) with just over seven minutes on the clock. From there, the Wolves clamped down defensively, holding the Hawks to a single made field goal the rest of the way to spark the win.
 
Seven different Wolves scored at least seven points with Tanner Omlid (15) and Vince Boumann (12) leading the charge. Omlid added 10 rebounds for the 'double-double'. The WOlveswere dominate on the glass, finishing with a 53-to-32 edge in total rebounds.
 
Alonzo Taylor led HNU with a game-high 17 points.