MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon men's basketball team opened their 2019-20 regular season on Saturday, surviving the sharp-shooting Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans for a 74-69 win at NPE Gym.
 
The weekend's four-team tournament finale featured 10 ties and 12 lead changes as the Wolves and Vulcans battled back and forth the entire night. Western Oregon (1-0) held a brief lead early on, taking a 3-2 advantage on a Jaylyn Richardson layup. After that, the Wolves did not lead again until there were less than six minutes left in the first half.
 
Hawai'i Hilo's (1-1) shooting kept them in the game throughout the night, holding their field goal percentage above 60 percent for most of the evening. Jordan Graves led the Vulcan's offense with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting. As a team, Hilo finished 53.1 percent from the field, shooting 63.2 percent in the first half.
 
"Hilo definitely made it a dog fight," said Western Oregon head coach Wes Pifer. "It was not the prettiest game and it's not what you envision your first game as a head coach being like, but I have to credit our locker room. We showed toughness in guarding the basketball, stepping up and making some shots."
 
Foul trouble plagued the Wolves throughout the night. Sophomore Cam Cranston was hit with four fouls before the break, including a technical, to hold him to just 13 minutes in the start before fouling out. Darium Lubom also found trouble, picking up two quick fouls early in the second half to limit his playing time.
 
In a 31-31 tie heading into the second half, the Wolves showed marked improvements across the board in shooting after the break. WOU shot 63.6 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep in the second half after going just 12-of-34 in the first.
 
Dalven Brushier played all but one minute Saturday night, scoring 21 points, pulling down five rebounds and doling out four assists in the game. He was one of three players for Western to log 36 or more minutes in the game, along with Richardson and John Morrill-Keeler.
 
The Vulcans took their largest lead of the night at seven with 12:54 left to play in the game, leading 50-43 after a four-point play from Damani Whitlock. The Wolves responded with a six-point run to jump back in front by one and initiate a dramatic finish to the game.
 
After a 58-58 tie, Western Oregon pulled out another six-point rally, getting a pair of 3-pointers from freshman Zach Baugher to jump out to a two-possession lead. That lead never dwindled to less than three again in the game, despite multiple late 3's hit by the Vulcans. Baugher finished with eight points, seven rebounds and an assist.
 
Tyreek Price provided 11 points off the bench, going 3-for-8 from deep, recording 29 minutes as a reserve.
 
"I thought a lot of guys played well in the absence of Darius and Cam with foul trouble," added Pifer. "The strength of our team is guys stepping up like that. Tonight Zach and Tyreek had solid nights. Dalven had to play 39 minutes and I thought he was phenomenal. He was able to play the one and the two while guarding their best player."

Next up, the Wolves head on their first road trip, playing Notre Dame de Namur Friday, Nov. 22, and Regis Saturday, Nov. 23, in Portland at the Concordia Oxford Suites Portland Classic. Both games are set for 5 p.m. PST tipoffs.