MONMOUTH, Ore.—Overcoming a slow start, the No. 9-ranked Western Oregon University men's basketball team extended its winning streak to nine with an 89-70 victory at home against Central Washington University on Thursday.

Western Oregon (16-1, 8-1 GNAC) found itself trailing 10-6 in the opening moments with Central Washington's (8-8, 3-6 GNAC) Malik Montoya draining a 3-pointer for the visiting side.

At the 9:09 mark in the first half, the Wildcats continued to maintain a slim advantage as a Khalil Shabazz broke a 17-17 tie.

A Dustin Triano 3-pointer on the next possession, however, gave the Wolves the lead for good as WOU went on a 24-4 run to produce an 18-point spread.

CWU slowly cut into the deficit in the second half and eventually pulled to within six points on a pair of occasions near the 13-minute mark.

Still up seven with 7:23 remaining, WOU erupted 15 points over the next two minutes of game clock to once again secure an 18-point gap. Demetrius Trammell and Brandell Evans combined for a trio of 3-pointers over the stretch while JJ Chirnside capped the spree with back-to-back dunks on fast breaks.

The GNAC leaders with a 52.3 shooting percentage for the season, WOU shot 54.4 percent from the floor on Thursday to eclipse the 50 percent mark for the 11th time this season.

Shooting 8-of-12 from the field and reaching 20 points for the second straight game, WOU's Tanner Omlid led all scorers with 21 points. Chirnside scored a career-best 18 points, topping his previous best of 17 that was set against Seattle Pacific last season.

Trammell added 14 points after hitting 4-of-5 from 3-point range while Evans scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Sage Woodruff led CWU with 15 points and was followed by teammates Shabazz and Montoya with 10 points each.

WOU will remain at home this weekend with a Saturday contest against Northwest Nazarene. Opening tip against the Nighthawks is set for 4 p.m. inside the NPE Gymnasium.