BELLINGHAM, Wash. – After battling back from 16 down to force overtime, the Western Oregon men's basketball team lost a fierce battle to the Western Washington Vikings, 86-79, at Carver Gym on Saturday night for their second straight overtime loss.
 
Playing their first game of the week after being postponed on Thursday night, Western Oregon (9-4, 3-4 GNAC) had to play most of the game from behind, trailing for the final 24 minutes of regulation before forcing the extra period.
 
Turnovers were an issue for both sides in the first half with the Wolves committing 10 and Western Washington (12-4, 7-1 GNAC) giving up nine before the break.  Despite the sloppy ball handling, the Vikings shot 59.1 percent from the field in the first half, taking an eight-point lead into the break.
 
WWU was led by the 21 points of D'Angelo Minnis who piled on five rebounds and three assists as well. All six Vikings that scored in the game would reach double figures. They ran a short bench, however, utilizing just three reserves for 44 minutes of work.
 
Western Oregon saw their deficit grow to as many as 16 in the second half, trailing by that margin with only eight minutes left to play. In a 62-46 hole at the 8:01 mark, the Wolves then began a gritty comeback, going on a 16-5 run in under four minutes to get within five and put the game back within reach.
 
WOU continued chipping away at the last few points over the final minutes of the game, but it still took some critical possession in the last 1:48 just to get to overtime. Trailing 74-68, Tyreek Price delivered a key block to set up a Darius Lubom 3-pointer to draw the Wolves within one possession for the first time in the second half. Lubom then snatched a steal on the ensuing possession to continue the late rally.
 
Trading 1-for-2 trips at the free throw line after an Emanuel Gant layup set up a Western Oregon possession with eight seconds left, trailing by three and needing a 3-pointer just to force overtime. The initial try at the hoop was knocked out of bounds by WWU, draining the clock of all but 0.6 seconds left. With an inbound underneath their own hoop, Lubom slid his pass from the baseline to the angle where Cameron Cranston was able to get off a quick contested try. Fading into the bench, Cranston would not disappoint. Despite going 0-for-5 from 3-point range before the try, the sophomore delivered the buzzer beater to force overtime.
 
It would be the third trip to OT of the year for the Wolves, all coming in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, and their second straight game that would go to extra time.
 
The Wolves managed just two points in the overtime period, being outscored 9-2 past regulation. WOU went 1-for-9 from the field and 0-for-4 from 3-point range, having to play the OT without Gant who fouled out in the final seconds of the game.
 
Western Oregon was led by the 17 points, three rebounds and three assists of Lubom who added on three steals. WOU had 11 steals as a team, forcing 18 total turnovers in the game while giving up 14 of their own.
 
Gant added 16 points off the bench along with six rebounds and three assists. In his four games back since returning from injury, Gant is averaging 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
 
John Morrill-Keeler matched his high in scoring for a conference game, contributing 14 points and six boards of his own. He played 35 minutes Saturday night, marking just the third time this season he has had to take on that big of a workload. Dalven Brushier added 16 points,  connecting on three three-pointers in 41 minutes on the floor.
 
Next up, Western Oregon will take on the Simon Fraser Clan on Monday, Jan. 20, in Burnaby in a makeup of their game postponed on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. PST inside West Gym.