Riley Hamilton
Amanda Loman
66
Central Wash. CWU 10-8, 3-7 GNAC
83
Winner Western Ore. WOU 11-5, 5-5 GNAC
Central Wash. CWU
10-8, 3-7 GNAC
66
Final
83
Western Ore. WOU
11-5, 5-5 GNAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Central Wash. CWU 29 37 66
Western Ore. WOU 37 46 83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Brian Kortz

Transition baskets and solid defensive stops powers men’s basketball to win over Central Washington

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University men's basketball team got back to their normal method of operation Saturday against Central Washington. While the three-point shot wasn't quite falling like normal, the Wolves used a tough defense to force 18 turnovers and in turn hold a 28-8 points off turnovers advantage. Along with outscoring the Wildcats by 12 points in the paint, that all added up to an 83-66 win for Western Oregon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

"Tonight, I felt like our energy and activity level was very high and when we are locked in like that, good things happen in our pressure scheme," head coach Wes Pifer said. "Central Washington came out hot and we stayed the course on the defensive end and we didn't shoot like we usually do, but we made enough through the course to put it away."

While most teams would be ok with hitting nine three-pointers, WOU is accustomed to double-digits triples, but found ways to counter the long ball shooting. The Wolves finished 9-29 (31) from three for the game and went a solid 32-66 (49) from the field, along with a 10-12 (83) clip at the foul line. The difference was in the defensive stops as several of the turnovers led to quick transition baskets to give WOU the momentum boost they wouldn't relinquish. WOU also shared the ball with 15 assists on 32 made field goals and several players got into the act with 10 players scoring a basket.

Jaylyn Richardson had the full game working Saturday night, as not only did he score a game-high 20 points, but he did it in a variety of ways including 8-12 from the field, 3-4 from three and had several key fastbreak baskets. He also grabbed three rebounds and swiped two steals. Dalven Brushier was right behind with 17 points on 6-11 shooting, which included a three. He also had a team-high six assists. Riley Hamilton provided a big spark off the bench scoring a high for his Wolves career with 12 points, along with a pair of blocks, three steals and six rebounds. Emanuel Gant also came off the bench to provide 12 points and added six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Darius Lubom had a strong all-around game with six points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

"Just having energy, that was our big thing tonight from top to bottom and keeping it for all 40 minutes, which we did a pretty good job of that," Brushier said.

Starting off the game, Central Washington (10-8, 3-7 GNAC) was ready to go as they quickly sprinted out to a 12-2 lead over the first three-plus minutes. Out of a Western Oregon (11-5, 5-5 GNAC) timeout, the Wolves began to get the game going in their direction.

Hamilton started it with a three and then a pair of Brushier shots, with one being an and-one, trimmed the deficit back to four. A steal by Tyreek Price eventually led to a fastbreak layup from Gant that had the game tied at 17 near the midway point of the first half. After trailing by 10, WOU went on a 15-5 run to even the score in just over six minutes of play.

"I think the bench just contributed a lot and provided a lot of energy and were able to give us a spark when we needed it and we were able to capitalize off of that," Hamilton said.

The Wildcats continued to regain the led and held it throughout the course of the first half until a Richardson layup gave WOU their first lead at 24-23 with 4:58 to play in the opening half.

"Once all of us are in it together and are able to get it going as a group, we become a real hard team to beat," Richardson said.

After Central Washington scored on the ensuing possession to go back in front, a jumper by Hamilton helped ignite a 7-0 run that would put the Wolves in the lead for good. During the stretch Gant added a triple and Brushier a layup for the 31-25 lead.

"Our defense really paved the way tonight for us to get into transition to get a lot of our baskets and that's what we were best at in this one," Hamilton said.

Western Oregon would outscore Central Washington 6-4 the remainder of the half to take a 37-29 halftime lead.

The Wildcats didn't go away early in the second stanza, as they pushed back to within four a couple minutes in. The Wolves refocused and went on a quick 6-0 run in just a minute of play with Cameron Cranston hitting a pair of layups before Brushier capped the run with a pair from the foul line for the 48-38 lead.

Richardson then helped put an exclamation point on his own 5-0 run as after he stepped back to sink a trey, he then grabbed a steal and caught an alley-oop pass from Brushier for an emphatic dunk that had the crowd in a frenzy and WOU looking at a 53-40 lead with 15 minutes to play.

"This one felt good, as we were able to overcome adversity tonight to get this win and hopefully we can keep it going," Richardson said.

Central Washington made one final push near the midway point of the second half getting the lead back down to eight before WOU answered with a 9-0 run to put the game out of reach. Brushier helped start the run with a fastbreak three-pointer, then after Hamilton dialed long distance, Brushier put the finishing touches on the run he started with a three-point-play to push WOU to a 66-49 lead with nine minutes to play.

"It was nice to see our versatility tonight, with our outside shots not falling, we were still able to make things happen. Our defense made plays and we were able to find each other tonight," Brushier said.

WOU would stretch the lead out as high as 21 on a three-pointer by Richardson before settling for the 83-66 victory.

In addition to the solid points off turnovers and points in the paint, WOU held a 17-8 fastbreak advantage in points.

Marqus Gilson led Central Washington with 12 points, while Matt Poquette also reached double-figure with 10. The Wildcats went 24-55 (44) from the field, 7-20 (35) from three and 11-17 (65) at the foul line.

With the win, Western Oregon now moves into a tie for sixth in the GNAC standings along with Simon Fraser.

It will be a quick turnaround as the Wolves will face Concordia this Tuesday in Portland starting at 7 p.m. WOU rolled in the first meeting against Concordia in Monmouth back on Dec. 31, 94-73.
 
Print Friendly Version