MONMOUTH, Ore. — The Western Oregon men's basketball team emerges this week from two games that have helped define the top of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. Locked in a tie for first place with three other teams entering play last Thursday, the Wolves had matchups with two of the three other squads atop the conference. They split the week to fall a game behind Saint Martin's for first, but remain hot on their tail as the Saints enter another competitive week.

Up next for WOU are road matchups Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. PST against Central Washington and Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. PST against Northwest Nazarene.

ABOUT CENTRAL WASHINGTON (9-7, 3-5 GNAC): The Wildcats return home for three straight matchups after a trip to Alaska last weekend, splitting their pair of games with a 79-63 loss to Alaska Anchorage before bouncing back to beat Alaska 68-59 Jan. 19 in Fairbanks.

CWU has been held to 70 points in three straight games. This follows a run of five straight games scoring 80 or more including twice breaking the 100-point barrier.

Central Washington boasts the conference's top scoring offense (86.7 ppg), but also the worst scoring defense (80.7 ppg). They have shot well from the field, hitting 48.5 percent of their total shots and 39.9 percent of 3-pointers, good for tops in the GNAC.

With five players averaging 10 or more points per game, Gamaun Boykin (13.6 ppg) leads a well-balanced offense. He is also the team's leader in rebounds (5.3) and assists (3.2) per game.

WOU vs. CWU: WOU is 16-20 against Central Washington since 2001. The Wolves have won five straight and eight of the last nine meetings dating back to 2014. During this five-game winning streak, they have won by 17 or more points in each game. The last win for the Wildcats came on Dec. 31, 2015, 81-77 in Ellensburg. WOU is 5-13 on the road in the series.

ABOUT NORTHWEST NAZARENE (11-3, 6-2 GNAC): The Nighthawks had a five-game winning streak snapped Jan. 19 in an 85-73 loss to Alaska Anchorage. Part of the four-way tie for first place in the GNAC coming into last week's games, NNU sits just one game back of Saint Martin's now in a three-way tie for second with Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific. NNU is currently ranked fourth in the D2SIDA West Region Poll. 

The Nighthawks are currently the top shooting team in the GNAC, hitting 50.9 percent of shots from the field and are one of just two teams with a field goal percentage above 50. That mark hasn't held up from deep, however, as they sit last in 3-point shooting at a 33.7 percent clip.

NNU boasts two of the top three scorers in the GNAC. Adonis Arms leads the way with a 22.0 points per game average and is followed by teammate Obi Megwa in the third spot with a 17.9 points per game mark. Arms and Megway hold the same spots in the conference's steals per game rankings at first and third, respectively.

WOU vs. NNU: Western Oregon is 19-17 since 2001 against NNU. The Wolves have won three straight and eight of the last nine in the series. NNU's last win in the series came on Dec. 31, 2016, in Monmouth. Their last win at home was an 85-77 victory on Jan. 9, 2014. They have not won by double figures since Feb. 22, 2011. WOU is 7-11 on the road in the series.

ABOUT WESTERN OREGON (13-4, 6-2 GNAC): Facing their toughest week yet this season, the Western Oregon Wolves emerged 1-1 after meetings with Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific. The 64-59 loss to the Saints was WOU's second conference loss of the season. Both have come by five or fewer points. They bounced back with a tight 73-71 win over Seattle Pacific Jan. 19 to pull into a three-way tie for second place in the GNAC with SPU and NNU.

Freshman Etan Collins recorded his first collegiate double-double against SMU, scoring 13 points and pulling down 13 rebounds in 34 minutes. Collins finished with 20 total rebounds over the weekend.

Darius Lubom scored a combined 26 points, 18 of which came against the Falcons on 6-of-15 shooting.

WOU shot 14-for-25 at the free throw line Thursday, but recovered well with a 16-for-19 night on Saturday to get back on track.

With Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific playing Tuesday night, the Wolves could find themselves right back atop the conference very quickly.

NATIONAL RANKS: The Wolves are currently 3rd in TO margin (+6.6), 8th in scoring margin (+14.6), 12th in scoring defense (64.5 ppg) and 17th in assist/turnover ratio (1.49) in NCAA DII.

GNAC RANKS: In the conference, the Wolves rank 1st in scoring defense (64.5 ppg), scoring margin (+14.6), field goal percentage defense (.412), 3-point percentage defense (.314), assist/turnover ratio (1.5) and turnover margin (+6.65).

UN-THREE-LIEVABLE: WOU's 91-65 win over Concordia Jan. 8 was the second time this season they found themselves stamping the program's record books for 3-pointers. Making 14 team 3-pointers in the game, it was the 9th-highest single-game total in the school's NCAA-era history as well as 4th-highest percentage from three (.636). Riley Hawken's 6-for-7 night from deep tied for the 4th-best single-game 3-point percentage as well.

CONVINCING WINS: 10 of the 13 wins this season for WOU have come by at least 11 points. This includes four wins of at least 22.

WHEEL OF STARTERS:  10 separate players have started a game this season for Western Oregon.

BENCH PRODUCTION: The WOU bench has produced at least 15 points in 16 of their first 17 games including eight 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 five times this season.

COLLINS COMING ON STRONG: After scoring just 15 combined points over his first five appearances of the season, freshman Etan Collins has finished in double figures in three of his last five games and five times overall this year. His 24 points Dec. 8 against Corban University is the third-highest single-game total by a WOU player this season and the highest total by an underclassman. Additionally, his 20 combined rebounds between games Jan. 17 and 19 ties him for the team's highest two-game total with Riley Hawken who had 20 rebounds over that span on two separate occasions.

FOUL DIFFERENTIAL: Western Oregon's sticky defense has led to more fouls than their opponents in all but one game this season; their 129-33 win over Portland Bible College.

TURNOVER MARGINS: The Wolves are 3rd in NCAA DII with a +6.6 TO margin. Including two exhibition games this season, WOU has forced at least 13 turnovers in all but three games – all losses — they have played.

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.
 
DEFENSIVE HAWK: Junior Riley Hawken has led the Wolves or tied for the team lead in rebounds in 10 of the last 15 games. He is also currently second in the GNAC with 2.0 steals per game.

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

SHARING THE LOAD: Five separate Wolves are averaging seven or more points per game while eight 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.

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 later that year 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 named to the NABC DII All-District Team.

D2 WEST REGION POLL: Western Oregon maintained a No. 7 ranking on 29 points received in the D2SIDA West Region Poll on Jan. 21. The Wolves were one of four GNAC teams in the poll and the third-highest ranked squad behind No. 2 Saint Martin's and No.4 Northwest Nazarene. With a 16-2 record, Point Loma held the top spot in the poll after running their current winning streak to 12 consecutive games. Point Loma's two losses this season have both come to ranked opponents. 

  

D2SIDA West Region Poll (Jan. 21, 2019)
Rank / School	Record	Points
1. Point Loma (5)	16-2	59
2. Saint Martin's (1)	14-2	53
3. UC San Diego	15-3	50
T4. Cal State East Bay	15-3	34
T4. Chaminade	14-3	34
T4. Northwest Nazarene	11-3	34
7. Western Oregon	13-4	29
8. Seattle Pacific	9-4	16
9. Concordia (Calif.)	13-7	11
10. Humboldt State	14-6	9
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
Jan. 7	7th	26
Jan. 14	7th	29
Jan. 21	7th	29