HILO, Hawaii—Using a 24-6 run early in the first half, Western Oregon captured its fourth straight win with an 80-69 road victory while playing at the University of Hawaii Hilo on Friday.
Aided by a pair of 3-pointers by
Kaleb Warner, Western Oregon (7-1) used the early barrage to break open a contest once tied at 4-4
WOU's lead swelled to as many as 18 points in the first half following an
O'landa Baker layup at the 11:09 mark.
Hawaii Hilo (3-4) used 3-point shooting of their own to bounce back in the later stages of the half and used an 11-point run to reduce the deficit to nine (47-38) heading to the locker room.
UHH was 6-of-11 from distance in the first half but converted just 2-of-5 at the longer range in the second.
The Vulcans scored the first two baskets after the break with a Kupaa Harrison jumper making the spread the closest since the opening moments at 47-43.
Defensively, WOU forced 18 turnovers to help prevent another extended run by the home side. The Wolves, meanwhile, took care of the ball on offense with only nine turnovers on the day and just two in the second half.
Western Oregon entered the game ranked No. 4 in NCAA DII with a +7.3 turnover margin.
One of four players in double figures,
Brandell Evans led WOU with 16 points and became the first Wolf to lead the team in scoring on multiple occasions this year. WOU had a new leading scorer in each of the team's first seven contests. Evan's total was one point shy of his season high of 17 scored against Westminster on Nov. 23.
Riley Hawken scored 15 while
Cameron Cranston added 12 points of the bench with a 5-of-8 line from the floor. Six different Wolves secured at least four rebounds with
Etan Collins and
Darius Lubom sharing the team high with six boards each.
Buoyed by a 7-of-10 line at the free throw line, Devin Johnson led the Vulcans with 19 points.
Western Oregon will remain in the Aloha State for three contests at the Hoops in Hawaii DII Power Invite. The Wolves open the tournament against Emmanuel College (Ga.) on Sunday, Dec. 16.
