MONMOUTH, Ore. — The Western Oregon men's basketball team takes on the top of the conference on the road this week, facing Seattle Pacific Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. before a Feb. 16 meeting with Saint Martin's at 2 p.m. PST.

ABOUT SPU (13-6, 10-4 GNAC): The Falcons have rattled off four straight wins to recover from a 92-63 throttling at the hands of MSUB Jan. 26 that closed out a three-game skid. SPU narrowly survived Alaska Anchorage last week, winning 65-64 to keep the streak alive and jump into a tie for 3rd in the GNAC with Western Oregon.
 
SPU's +7.9 rebounding margin is more than double any other team in the conference. The team's margin is good for 12th in Division II. The Falcons have two players in the top eight of the conference in rebounding led by Coleman Wooten (8.1) and Nathan Streufert (6.2).
 
Also an efficient shooting team, Seattle Pacific has hit 49.8 percent of their shots from the field.

WOU vs. SPU: WOU is 18-23 against SPU since 2001. The Wolves have won 10 straight in the series dating back to Jan. 31, 2015. That run includes three overtime wins and seven wins of six or fewer. SPU's last win was an 83-76 victory Jan. 1, 2015 in Seattle.

ABOUT SMU (19-3, 12-2 GNAC): Saint Martin's has spent the entire season atop the GNAC standings, faltering just twice in conference play. Their most recent loss, a 61-59 defeat at the hands of Simon Fraser Feb. 2, ended a seven-game winning streak. The Saints have won nine of their last 10 games dating back to Jan. 10 which includes a 64-59 win in Monmouth.
 
Relying on a strong game from 3-point range, SMU is ranked 23rd in the country with an average of 10.7 made 3-pointers per night. That attack is led by the 174 attempts from deep of EJ Boyce. Boyce is currently shooting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc and making 2.95 3-pointers a game.
 
SMU's scoring defense (68.3) is second only to the Wolves (65.7) and they are the only two teams allowing fewer than 70 points per game in the conference. The matchup will additionally feature the top two scoring margins in the GNAC.
 
With four players averaging 10 or more points a game, the Saints present a balanced offensive attack led by the 12.9 points per game of Boyce.

WOU vs. SMU: WOU is 28-12 against SMU since 2001. SMU's win Jan. 17 in Monmouth snapped an 11-game losing streak in the series for the Saints. They have not won in Lacey since Jan. 5, 2013 when they topped the Wolves 71-59.

ABOUT WESTERN OREGON (17-6, 10-4 GNAC): The Wolves went 1-1 last week, falling 77-72 to Concordia on the road before a convincing 97-65 home win against MSUB four days later. It was only the second time CU has bested WOU in their series dating back to 2007.
 
Kaleb Warner led the team in scoring in both games, combining for 37 points over the week in 54 minutes of play.
 
After giving up 16 turnovers to the Cavs on Tuesday, the Wolves took decidedly better care of the ball on Saturday by turning it over just six times for a +12 turnover margin.

NATIONAL RANKS: The Wolves are currently 4th in TO margin (+6.4), 9th in scoring margin (+14.6), 16th in scoring defense (65.7 ppg) and 18th in assist/turnover ratio (1.47) in NCAA DII.

GNAC RANKS: In the conference, the Wolves rank 1st in scoring defense (65.7 ppg), scoring margin (+14.6), steals per game (8.5), assist/turnover ratio (1.47) and turnover margin (+6.4).

BRUSHIER SCORING: Junior Dalven Brushier has finished in double figures in scoring in eight of the last 10 games. This includes his season-high 22-point performance against Alaska Fairbanks at home.
 
OLD 97's: WOU's 97 points Feb. 9 against MSUB ties for their season-high in scoring against a conference opponent with their 97-80 win at Alaska Fairbanks Jan. 5. They have scored 90 or more points five times this season against a GNAC opponent and six times overall. The 32-point win also matches the largest victory over a GNAC opponent this season with their 89-57 win at Central Washington Jan. 24.
 
50-50 NIGHTS: WOU has finished better than 50 percent from both the field and 3-point range in four games this season. It is only the second time they have accomplished the feat four times in a season during their NCAA-era, along with four 50-50 nights during the 2002-03 campaign. It took the '02-'03 team until Feb. 27 to get their fourth 50-50 game recorded while this year's Wolves hit the mark Jan. 31 against Alaska.
 
HOLD AFTER HALF: Western Oregon is 15-2 this year when leading at halftime.
 
CONSECUTIVE LOSSES: WOU has not lost consecutive games since the 2016-17 season, most recently Feb. 9 &11, 2017 at WWU and SFU.
 
OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS: Western Oregon's 22 offensive rebounds Jan. 26 at Northwest Nazarene was their most in a game since Dec. 16, 2014 in a 110-61 win over Multnomah when they pulled in 25. The Wolves set a school NCAA-era record that night with 64 total rebounds, breaking the previous record by 10.

ASSISTS LOW AT NNU: The six team assists Jan. 26 at NNU were the fewest for WOU since their March 24, 2016, meeting with Augustana (S.D.) in the Final Four when they had just five assists.

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: 14 of the 17 wins this season for WOU have come by at least 11 points. This includes six 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 21 of their 23 games including 11 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 four of his last 9 games and six 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 second-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 an even or positive foul differential in all but one game this season; their 129-33 win over Portland Bible College.

TURNOVER MARGINS: The Wolves are 4th in NCAA DII with a +6.4 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 led the Wolves or tied for the team lead in rebounds in 10 of 11 games between Nov. 23 and Jan. 5. He is also currently tied for 1st in the GNAC with 2.1 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 seven 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 GNAC 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 came in at 8th in the latest D2SIDA West Region Men's Basketball Poll. It was their lowest placement in the poll since Nov. 26 when they sat in a tie for 10th. Four GNAC teams were represented in the poll with Saint Martin's jumping back up into 2nd while Northwest Nazarene stayed on their tail in 3rd. Seattle Pacific stays on the brink, ranking 10th.

  

D2SIDA West Region Poll (Feb. 11, 2019)
Rank / School	Record	Points
1. Point Loma (4)	20-3	58
2. Saint Martin's (2)	19-3	55
T3. Cal State East Bay	18-5	39
T3. Northwest Nazarene	16-4	39
5. UC San Diego	17-6	38
6. Cal Poly Pomona	14-5	35
7. Chaminade	17-4	22
8. Western Oregon	17-6	20
9. Concordia (Calif.)	17-8	16
10. Seattle Pacific	13-6	5
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
Jan. 28	7th	20
Feb. 4	6th	27
Feb. 11	8th	20