WOU at West Region (5-2)
2017-18	Point Loma	Monmouth, Ore.	W	73-66
	Saint Martin's	Monmouth, Ore.	W	77-55
	Cal Baptist	Monmouth, Ore.	L	76-80
2015-16	Humboldt State	Monmouth, Ore.	W	82-65
	Azusa Pacific	Monmouth, Ore.	W	81-69
	UC San Diego	Monmouth, Ore.	W	60-55
2014-15	Azusa Pacific	Azusa, Calif.	L	67-75

SAN DIEGO — For the second straight year and the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Western Oregon men's basketball team is advancing to the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships. Picking up the No. 8 seed in the tournament, the Wolves will head to San Diego to face host and No. 1 seed Point Loma Nazarene University in the first round of the eight-team regional tournament on Friday, March 15. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PDT at Golden Gymnasium.
 
The Wolves are one of three GNAC teams represented in the regional along with No. 2 Seattle Pacific and No. 3 Saint Martin's.
 
It is the second straight year that the Wolves have met the Sea Lions in the first round of the regionals. Last season, the roles were reversed when WOU hosted and held the top seed to the No. 8 of Point Loma. Western Oregon came out on top, 73-66 in the opening round.
 
All games from the NCAA Div. II West Regional Championships will feature live stats and video stream, with links at plnusealions.com.
 
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at the door or online at plnusealions.com/tickets.
 
All seating will be general admission, with doors opening one hour before the first game each day.
 
Tickets can be purchased for a single day and are good for all games that day. Prices are $10 for adults, $5 for Seniors/Military, $4 for students and children ages 2 and younger are free.
 

---

2019 NCAA Div. II West Region Men's Basketball Championships
Golden Gymnasium – San Diego, Calif.
Hosted by Point Loma Nazarene University
 
Friday, Mar. 15 - Quarterfinals
Noon: #6 Concordia (23-10) vs #3 Saint Martin's (24-5)
2:30 pm: #7 Chaminade (23-7) vs #2 Seattle Pacific (21-6)
5:00 pm: #5 Cal Poly Pomona (21-6) vs #4 UC San Diego (25-7)
7:30 pm: #8 Western Oregon (22-10) vs #1 Point Loma (26-4)
 
Saturday, Mar. 16 - Semifinals
5:00 pm: CUI/SMU winner vs SPU/CUH winner
7:30 pm: PLNU/WOU winner vs UCSD/CPP winner
 
Monday, Mar. 18 - Championship
7:30 pm: Semifinal winners (winner advances to NCAA DII Elite Eight, Mar. 27-30 in Evansville, Ind.)
 

---

ABOUT PLNU (26-4, 20-2 GNAC): Point Loma enters the NCAA Tournament winners of six consecutive games. Winning both the regular season and tournament titles in the PacWest, PLNU led the conference  in 10 major statistical categories... They are additionally 2nd in the country in 3-point percentage (42.3), 3rd in field goal percentage (51.9), 5th in rebounding margin (+9.8), and 7th in scoring margin (+14.5)... Led by the 21.5 points per game of PacWest Player of the Year Daulton Hommes, PLNU had five total players named as All-Conference selections including Preston Beverly, Josh Rodriguez, Ziggy Sattherthwaite and Sterling Somers... The Sea Lions went 1-1 during the regular season against GNAC opponents, topping MSUB 100-75 on Nov. 9 before falling to Saint Martin's the very next night, 81-76.

WOU vs. PLNU: WOU is 4-1 against Point Loma since 2014. The Wolves have won four straight meetings, most recently winning 73-66 in the first round of the 2018 West Regionals in Monmouth. PLNU's only win in the series came in San Diego Nov. 14, 2014, when they topped the Wolves 64-54. WOU is 0-1 at Golden Gymnasium in the series.

ABOUT WESTERN OREGON (22-10, 13-7 GNAC): Western Oregon made their fourth consecutive run to the GNAC Tournament championship game last week, beating MSUB and No. 1-seeded Saint Martin's before being topped by Seattle Pacific 78-66 in the title game. The 53 points scored by SMU was their lowest-scoring game of the year... Kaleb Warner scored a season-high 25 points against the Saints, shooting 8-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 from 3-point range... The Wolves' defense around the hoop reached new heights, collecting six blocks against both SMU and SPU. It was the highest two-game total for team blocks this year.

NATIONAL RANKS: The Wolves are currently 13th in turnover margin (+4.66), 17th in scoring defense (65.9) and 24th in scoring margin (+11.3) in NCAA Division II.

GNAC RANKS: In the conference, the Wolves rank 1st in scoring defense (65.9 ppg), scoring margin (+11.3), steals per game (7.8), assist/turnover ratio (1.4) and turnover margin (+4.66).

REGIONAL APPEARANCES: This is the fourth appearance in the last five years for WOU in the West Regional Championships. Western Oregon won a regional title in 2016 and also advanced to the championship game in 2018. They are 5-2 in regional play.
 
CONFERENCE TOURNEY APPEARANCES: The Wolves have appeared in six consecutive GNAC tournaments dating back to the 2013-14 season. They have additionally made four straight championship games, winning two.
 
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTION: Junior Riley Hawken was named to the GNAC All-Conference Second Team. Coming into the regionals, Hawken is averaging 12.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
 
SOUZA'S LAST SEVEN: Senior Buster Souza is finishing his collegiate career on a high note. Over his last seven games dating back to Feb. 21, Souza is averaging 8.6 points, 1.9 blocks, and 4.3 rebounds per game.
 
BREAK 80: A Western Oregon opponent has not scored 80 or more points since Jan. 5 when they beat UAF 97-80. Additionally, an opponent has broken 70 just three times over their last 10 games. The most points allowed by the Wolves this season was 88 to Western Washington Dec. 1 in three overtimes.
 
BRUSHIER SCORING: Junior Dalven Brushier has finished in double figures in scoring in 13 of the last 19 games. This includes his season-high 22-point performance against Alaska Fairbanks at home. This does include, however, his only two scoreless games of the season.
 
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 17-2 this year when leading at halftime.
 
CONSECUTIVE LOSSES: WOU had not lost consecutive games since the 2016-17 season, most recently Feb. 9 &11, 2017 at WWU and SFU, until their losses Feb. 14 and 16 at SPU and SMU.
 
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: 18 of the 22 wins this season for WOU have come by at least 11 points. This includes six wins of at least 22.

WHEEL OF STARTERS:  11 separate players have started a game this season for Western Oregon.

BENCH PRODUCTION: The WOU bench has produced at least 14 points in 30 of their 32 games including 12 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 six 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 six games between Jan. 5 and Jan. 24 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 three games this season.

TURNOVER MARGINS: The Wolves are 13th in NCAA DII with a +4.66 TO margin. Including two exhibition games this season, WOU has forced at least 13 turnovers 25 times, going 3-6 in those contests when they don't reach that threshold.

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 1st in the GNAC with 1.9 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: Four separate Wolves are averaging 10 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 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 returned to the NCAA West Region Men's Basketball Poll for last week, holding the final spot in the rankings. Four GNAC teams were represented in the poll with Saint Martin's holding onto 1st while Northwest Nazarene lost a spot falling into a tie for 4th. Seattle Pacific stays on the brink, ranking 9th.

  

NCAA West Regional Field
Rank / School	Record
1. Point Loma	26-4
2. Seattle Pacific	21-6
3. Saint Martin's	24-5
4. UC San Diego	25-7
5. Cal Poly Pomona	21-6
6. Concordia (Calif.)	23-10
7. Chaminade	23-7
8. Western Oregon	22-10
WOU in 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
Feb. 18	RV	4
Feb. 24	10th	5
March 3	9th	--
March 10	8th	--