MONMOUTH, Ore. — The Western Oregon Wolves are faced with their first conference road trip of the season after going 5-1 in December. WOU heads to Alaska for a Jan. 3 meeting with Alaska Anchorage at 8:30 p.m. PST and a Jan. 5 matchup set with Alaska at 4:15 p.m. PST.

ABOUT ALASKA ANCHORAGE (5-5, 0-2 GNAC): It was a quiet December for Alaska Anchorage, playing their last official game Dec. 8 on the road. Since then, they have had one exhibition game to try and kick the rust off. The Seawolves have struggled so far in GNAC play, losing a pair of road contests to MSUB and Alaska to open the conference schedule. They have now lost five of their last seven games to fall to .500 in overall record.
 
3-point shooting has taken a step back for UAA, going a combined 10-for-46 (21.7%) from three in their last two games. This comes on the heels of two games shooting over 58 percent from 3-point range against South Dakota Mines.
 
The Seawolves are 11th in the GNAC in scoring offense, averaging just 72.4 points per game. Their offense is led by the 16.8 points per game of Tyler Brimhall. He also paces the team in rebounds at 7.1 per game and total steals with 11.

WOU vs. UAA: WOU is 15-21 in NCAA play against Alaska Anchorage. Western Oregon has won four straight meetings and eight of the last 10. Western is 5-12 in Anchorage, but have won in two of their last three trips there. WOU's current four-game winning streak against UAA is their longest ever against the Seawolves.

ABOUT ALASKA (4-5, 1-1 GNAC): Just like the Seawolves, the Nanooks haven't taken to the court since Dec. 8. Winners of four of their last five, Alaska has played tight games that entire stretch with all five of the games being decided by five or fewer points and two of the games being decided by a single point.
 
The Nanooks sit 10th in the GNAC in scoring offense at 73.2 points per game. They have been held under 70 points four times, but are 2-2 when scoring fewer than 70.
 
Junior Michael Kluting anchors the team with 13.6 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game, just 0.1 rebounds off the GNAC-best mark of Seattle Pacific's Coleman Wooten. Kluting has 10 or more rebounds in three of his last four games. He tallied a season-high 16 rebounds in his third appearance of the season to support a 33-point offensive performance.
 
WOU vs. UAF: WOU is 20-15 against UAF, winning five straight and nine of the last 10. The Wolves are 10-7 on the road in the series and have won two in a row in Fairbanks. Like their run against UAA, WOU's current five-game win streak over UAF is Western's longest ever in their all-time series.

ABOUT WESTERN OREGON (9-2, 2-0 GNAC): Western Oregon had just one slip-up in the month of December, falling to then 7th-ranked UC San Diego, 73-63 at the Hoops in Hawaii DII Power Invite. Highlighted by the double overtime win over Western Washington, the Wolves finished 5-1 in the month to bounce to the top of the conference standings early. They are one of just three teams left unbeaten in GNAC play along with Saint Martin's and Montana State Billings.

NATIONAL RANKS: The Wolves are currently 4th in TO margin (+6.8), 7th in fewest turnovers (99) and 10th in scoring defense (62.7 ppg) in NCAA DII.

GNAC RANKS: In the conference, the Wolves rank 1st in scoring defense (62.7 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.399) and turnover margin (+6.8). They are additionally 2nd in scoring margin (+17.8), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.314), assist/turnover ratio (1.6) and offensive rebounds (12.3 per game).

RECORD-SETTING NIGHT: Western Oregon's 129-33 win over Portland Bible College Dec. 29 set several GNAC records including largest margin of victory, lowest field goal percentage defense (18.8) and fewest field goals allowed (9). The 96-point win topped the previous conference record by 11 points, set in 2008 by Central Washington. The 129 points was the most by WOU in their NCAA-era and just the third time they have topped 120 points in a game.
 
BAKER'S ALMOST DOZEN: O'landa Baker doled out 11 assists Dec. 29 for a season-high. It was the third-most assists by a WOU player in NCAA-era history and the most since 2015. He accounted for over one third of the team's 31 assists, coming just three shy of tying the school record for assists in a game. Baker also set himself season-highs in minutes, points, 3-point field goals made, rebounds and steals in that game.
 
EVANS THE PROTECTOR: Senior Brandell Evans is currently ranked 20th in the country and 2nd in the GNAC with a 3.00 assist/turnover ratio. He trails only Saint Martin's Luke Chavez in the GNAC who is the national leader. Evans has 14 assists and turned the ball over just once in his last four games.
 
DEFENSIVE HAWK: Junior Riley Hawken has led the Wolves or tied for the team lead in rebounds in eight of the last nine games. He is also currently second in the GNAC with 2.0 steals per game.

LEADING SCORERS: WOU has had nine different leading scorers in their 11 games. By class, the Wolves have been led by two freshman, one sophomore, three juniors and three seniors.

SHARING THE LOAD: Six separate Wolves are averaging seven or more points per game while nine players are averaging more than five points per game.

MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS: WOU went 25-28 at the line Dec. 1 against Western Washington. It was the most free throws made in a game by the Wolves since March 23, 2016 when they went 28-for-31 at the stripe in an 81-68 win over Saginaw Valley State in the 2016 Elite Eight.

BENCH PRODUCTION: The WOU bench has produced at least 15 points in each of their first 11 games including six games of at least 30 points. The WOU bench scored 65 points Dec. 29 vs. Portland Bible College. WOU's leading scorer has been a reserve four times this season.

TURNOVER MARGINS: The Wolves are 4th in NCAA DII with a +6.8 TO margin. Including two exhibition games this season, WOU has forced at least 15 turnovers in all but two games – both losses — they have played.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: The 35 points scored by Colorado Christian Nov. 17 in WOU's 64-35 win was the fewest allowed in a game by the Wolves since Walla Walla's 29-point performance on Dec. 10, 2011. It was then bested a little over a month later when Western Oregon allowed just 33 points to Portland Bible College in a 129-33 win.
 
SOUZA PERFECT FROM THE FIELD: Buster Souza tied his career-high with 14 points off the bench Nov. 17 in a 64-35 win over Colorado Christian. Souza led all scorers in 14 minutes of play. The senior forward was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field while also pulling in four rebounds and two assists. It was only the third time in the school's NCAA-era history that a player has been perfect from the field on seven or more shots.
 
CONFERENCE OPENERS: Western Oregon has won five straight GNAC openers dating back to the 2014-15 season. Their last loss in their first conference game of the season came in a tight 67-66 loss to No. 5 Western Washington on Dec. 5, 2013 in Bellingham. The Wolves got their revenge with an 88-85 win in the regular season finale.

SPANISH GNAC TIES: Former Western Oregon standout Tanner Omlid and former Simon Fraser guard Kedar Salam are now professional teammates, playing for CB Moron of LEB Plata in Spain.  

HAWKEN PRESASON ALL-GNAC: Junior Riley Hawken was the only Western Oregon player selected to the GNAC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team, named a unanimous selection for the 2018-19 season. Hawken is one of six juniors on the team of 15 with the remainder being seniors. Hawken is the lone returning starter off of Western Oregon's GNAC championship team. He averaged 8.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 79.5 percent from the free throw line and averaging 1.6 assists per contest during the Wolves' historic season.

2018-19 GNAC PRESEASON POLL: The Wolves were picked to place third in the league standings following Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific… WOU received two of the 11 first-place votes for 94 total points in the poll to SMU's 118 and SPU's 105… the Wolves were the only team outside of the Saint's to receive a first-place vote and held an 11-point buffer over fourth-place Western Washington.

2017-18 REVIEW: The Wolves went 31-2 overall last season and 19-1 in conference… They cruised to both a regular season and conference tournament title with their only regular season slip coming in the second game of conference play against Western Washington. After the loss to the Vikings, the Wolves rattled off a school-record 24 consecutive wins while setting a Great Northwest Athletic Conference record for wins. WOU returned to the West Regional Championship game for the second time in three years, falling to Cal Baptist, 80-76. Tanner Omlid pulled in several postseason accolades, being named the GNAC Player of the Year, D2CCA West Region Player of the Year, D2CCA and NABC All-American and NABC DII All-District Team.

D2 WEST REGION POLL: Western Oregon moved up one position for a No. 6 ranking i the D2SIDA West Region Poll on Dec. 17. The Wolves were one one four GNAC teams in the poll and the second-highest ranked squad behind No. 3-ranked Saint Martin's. With a 10-0 record, Chaminade (Hawaii) took over the top spot in the poll after recording a 70-64 victory over UC San Diego on Dec. 18.

  

D2SIDA West Region Poll (Dec. 20, 2018)
Rank / School	Record	Points
1. Chaminade (5)	10-0	50
2. UC San Diego	10-2	45
3. Saint Martin's	9-1	40
4. Cal Poly Pomona	5-1	34
5. Point Loma	9-2	31
6. Western Oregon	8-2	23
7. Northwest Nazarene	6-2	21
8. CSU East Bay	9-2	12
9. Concordia (Calif.)	9-5	5
10. Seattle Pacific	4-3	4
WOU in D2SIDA West Region Poll
Date	Rank	Points
Nov. 12	7th	21
Nov. 19	9th	14
Nov. 26	T-10th	8
Dec. 3	7th	27
Dec. 10	7th	25
Dec. 20	6th	23