Game 27
Western Oregon (15-11, 12-6) at Concordia (12-14, 8-10)
Feb. 21 | 7 p.m. PT | LCEF Court | Portland, OR

Game 28
Western Oregon (15-11, 12-6) vs. Montana State Billings (14-12, 9-9)
Feb. 25 | 7 p.m. PT | The 109 (New P.E. Building) | Monmouth, OR

LIVE VIDEO/STATS: WOUWolves.com/Live

OPENING TIP
• Western Oregon University men's basketball is set to close-out the regular season with split road and home games this Tuesday and Saturday.  The Wolves enter the final week of conference play with a record of 15-11, including 12-6 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
• Western Oregon will face two games that will have GNAC Championship implications not only for themselves, but for their opponents. The Wolves travel to Concordia at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21 before squaring off with Montana State Billings at home on Senior Night Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.
• The Wolves enters the week one game behind Alaska Anchorage for second place in the GNAC in the race for the final first-round bye in the upcoming conference tournament. UAA is home this week against Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.
• Both games will have coverage on WOUWolves.com/Live with video and stats.
 
LAST TIME OUT: WELCOME HOME
• Western Oregon snapped a two-game losing streak with two big home victories last week
• WOU opened the weekend with a 68-61 win over Alaska in the New P.E. Building
• The Wolves had four players in double-figures in the win over UAF, led by Tanner Omlid who finished with his ninth career double-double of 13 points and 17 rebounds
• Malik Leaks came off the bench with a career-high 17 points including five 3-pointers
• In a 2-vs-3 battle on Saturday night, WOU shot a season best 56.4 percent from the field to pick up an 89-71 win over Alaska Anchorage
• The Wolves hit their first four shots from behind the arc to lead 14-4 and never looked back
• WOU shot 60.7 percent overall in the first half and hit on 14-of-24 shots from the game from behind the arc (58.3 percent)
• Ali Faruq-Bey had 22 points to lead four WOU players in double figures while Omlid had 19 points and six assists
 
HIGH (AND LOW) MARKS
• Western Oregon saw junior Tanner Omlid set the school and conference record with 11 steals during the first triple-double for the Wolves since Robert Day did so against Montana State Billings in 2003.
• WOU allowed just 51 points to Alaska on Jan. 21, matching the lowest output for an opponent in the Jim Shaw era (NDNU; Nov. 27, 2015) while setting a new low for the Wolves for a GNAC opponent (previously 52 at NNU; Jan. 2, 2016).
• 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
• The Wolves shot 56.4 percent against Alaska Anchorage (31-55), the highest mark by any WOU team since Jan. 30, 2016 against Central Washington (57.9 percent, 33-57)
 
WOLVES: BY THE NUMBERS
• Head coach: Jim Shaw (Western Oregon, '85), Second season
• Team's leading scorer: #11 Tanner Omlid, 15.0 ppg; #22 Ali Faruq-Bey, 14.9 ppg
• Team's leading rebounder: #11 Omlid, 7.5 rpg; #44 JJ Chirnside, 4.7 rpg
• Team's assists leader: #11 Omlid, 3.5 apg; #2 Evan Garrison, 2.2 apg
• Team's steals leader: #11 Omlid, 3.2 spg; #22 Faruq-Bey, 1.6 spg
• Team's blocks leader: #44 Chirnside 1.8 bpg,  #11 Omlid, 1.7 bpg
 
ABOUT CONCORDIA
Concordia enters the week with a record of 12-13 on the season, including 8-10 (tied 7^th) in the GNAC. Like WOU, the Cavaliers swept the Alaska schools last week at home, picking up an overtime 68-67 win over the Seawolves and coming back to edge the Nanooks 77-75. Drew martin leads Concordia in scoring averaging 17.5 ppg and has hit a team-high 169 field goals overall. Latrell Wilson (13.2), Christopher Edward (12.2) and Jarrett Gray (10.2) round out the other Concordia scorers averaging in double figures. The Cavaliers are scoring 78.2 points per game while allowing 77.1 ppg. Concordia has shot 45.7 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from 3-point land.
 
In the first meeting between WOU and CU, Tanner Omlid and Yanick Kulich each flirted with double-doubles in an 80-70 win on Nov. 29, 2016 in Monmouth.
 
• Head coach: Brad Barbarick (Columbia Christian, '87), 22^nd season
• Team's leading scorer: #4 Drew Martin, 17.5 ppg
• Team's leading rebounder: #22 Christopher Edward, 8.6 rpg
• Team's assists leader: #10 David Nuaimi, 3.0 apg
• Team's steals leader: #22 Edward, 1.4 spg
• Team's blocks leader: #22 Edwards, 1.5 bpg
 
ABOUT MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
Montana State Billings sits in a three-way tie for fourth place in the GNAC with a 9-9 league record and 14-12 overall mark. The Yellowjackets are averaging 81 points per game and has outscored opponents by a slim 0.7 ppg. A high-powered offense, MSUB shoots 43.8 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from behind the arc, where they are making 10 3-pointer a game on average. Sophomore Preston Beverly has become one of the GNAC's rising stars scoring 19 points per game while pulling down a team-high 8.4 rebounds. Marc Matthews (15.6) and Christian Evans (11.8) are averaging double figures while Jace Anderson (9.6) is just below the double-digit threshold.
 
• Head coach: Jamie Stevens (MSUB, '99), 6^th season
• Team's leading scorer: #1 Preston Beverly, 19.0 ppg
• Team's leading rebounder: #1 Beverly, 8.4 rpg
• Team's assists leader: #2 Kendall Denham, 2.9 apg
• Team's steals leader: #2 Denham and #13 Marc Matthews, 1.0 spg
• Team's blocks leader: #1 Beverly, 1.8 bpg