MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon men's basketball team won their third straight game on Thursday, taking advantage of 17 turnovers to beat the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets 88-76 at NPE Gym. Western Oregon (8-2, 2-2 GNAC) got back to even in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with the victory, keeping their home record perfect and moving to 4-0 at NPE Gym.
Montana State Billings (5-6, 0-3 GNAC) was able to hang with the Wolves in the first half, out-shooting WOU with a 42.9 percent field goal mark and limiting them to just 1-for-14 from 3-point range. But it was an inability to take care of the basketball that cost the Yellowjackets the possibility of a halftime lead. MSUB committed 11 first-half turnovers and 17 total for the game. For the second straight game Western posted a season-high in steals, this time swiping 11 away from the 'Jackets.
Darius Lubom came out of the gate with a flurry of scoring, dropping all 19 of his points in the first half. The junior guard went into the break perfect from the field, shooting 7-for-7 in his first 16 minutes of play.
"We were a little sluggish at first, that pace was a little slow," said Lubom of the start to Thursday's contest. "They tried to bully us for sure. Once we got established and started knocking down some shots, we could get going a little more on offense."
Taking a seven-point lead into the second half, the Wolves wasted no time expanding that advantage to put the game out of reach. After shooting just seven percent from 3-point range in the first half, WOU bounced back with a 6-for-12 second half from deep, helping them grow their lead to as many as 18.
Western's team 3-point shooting percentage of 26.9 was their lowest in nearly a month and their seven made 3-pointers was their second-lowest total of the season.
Junior
Emanuel Gant made his Western debut in the game, contributing 23 minutes off the bench to score 10 points and pull down nine rebounds.
"It was good to get back out with the guys," said Gant after his first official game in a WOU jersey. "It took me a little time to get my legs under me. That is a really physical team, it was tough to try and get boards out there."
The Yellowjackets did out-rebound Western on Thursday, 39-36, but could not capitalize on that advantage. They relied on Brendan Howard for 28 of their points and Zharon Richmond for another 12, with no other player scoring in double figures. Howard, the conference's leading scorer came into the game averaging nearly 22 points a game and closed the first half with 20 already in the books.
Western Oregon's lead, after staying in double figures for most of the second half, briefly shrunk to eight points with just over a minute left. MSUB committed another turnover with 49 seconds left to put an end to what had the beginnings of a late run and seal the win for the Wolves.
"Tonight I was proud of the way we defended for long stretches in the absence of us making shots in the first half," said Western Oregon head coach
Wes Pifer. "I feel like Darius had a really good floor game and Emanuel's energy and activity level was very high. We look forward to building on this one."
Dalven Brushier finished with a team-high 21 points, shooting 7-for-15 from the field. It was the third time in the last four games Brushier has scored at least 21.
Next up, the Wolves host the Saint Martin's Saints and Seattle Pacific Falcons next week in Monmouth. Tipoff against SMU on Thursday, Jan. 9, is set for 7 p.m. while the game Saturday, Jan. 11, against SPU will begin at 4:15 p.m. PST. Both games will be played at NPE Gym.
