BURNABY, B.C.—Tied 45-45 late in the first half, the No. 13-ranked Western Oregon men's basketball team erupted with a 35-12 spree to handle Simon Fraser, 96-71, in the GNAC opener on Thursday.

With the win, Western Oregon improved to 7-0 on the season while Simon Fraser fell to 4-3 overall. WOU will continue its trip north to face Western Washington University on Saturday, Dec. 2. Opening tip against the defending GNAC champions is set for 7 p.m. in Bellingham.

Trailing for the bulk of the first half, Western Oregon came to life thanks to a Tanner Omlid 3-point buzzer beater to enter the break leading 50-45.

After allowing SFU to shoot 58.1 percent (18-of-31) from the floor in the opening half, the Wolves limited the home side to 34.8 percent (8-of-23) after the locker room talk.

Offensively, WOU was lethal from behind the 3-point arc, draining 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) in the second half with Demetrius Trammell and Riley Hawken combining for 6-of-7 from deep.

Overall, five Wolves reached double figures in scoring with freshman guard Darius Lubom leading the group with 19 points. Trammell and JJ Chirnside added 16 points each with Hawken (13) and Omlid (12) rounding out the quintet.

Chirnside finished one point shy of a career high. The senior forward recorded 17 points at home against Seattle Pacific last season. Omlid added a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks while sharing the team high of four assists with Dustin Triano.

Kedar Salam led SFU with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor.