MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon men's basketball team begins a four-game road trip this week, opening with visits to the Concordia Cavaliers and Montana State Billings Yellowjackets.

Western Oregon (11-5, 5-5 GNAC) went 1-1 last week to fall into a tie for sixth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. The Wolves were bested at home by Northwest Nazarene, 87-82, before bouncing back with an 83-66 win over the Central Washington Wildcats. Jaylyn Richardson scored a team-high 43 points over the two games, shooting a combined 18-for-29 from the field. It was the first time Richardson has scored 20 or more points in back-to back games this season.

WOU averages a conference-best 86.1 points per game, nearly four points better than any other team in the GNAC. They have fallen just below the 50 percent field goal shooting mark and into second place in the category, just behind Seattle Pacific for the conference lead at 49.8 percent shooting.

This week will be the second time the Wolves have faced Concordia (2-16, 1-9 GNAC) and MSUB (8-10, 3-7 GNAC) this season. The first time facing the pair, Western came away with a 94-73 win over the Cavs and 88-76 victory over the Yellowjackets.

The Cavaliers have endured a tough 2019-20 season, winning just two of their first 18 games. CU has lost four straight and seven of their last eight. Their only conference win was an 86-74 win over the Saint Martin's Saints at home on Jan. 11.

Concordia averages a GNAC-low 69.9 points per game while allowing 81.7 points to opponents. They are shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from 3-point range. CU is led by the 15.1 points per game of junior Hunter Sweet. Sweet is also pulling in 5.6 rebounds per game and shooting 51.8 percent from the field.

WOU is 8-2 against CU all-time. The Wolves have won four of the last five meetings dating back to 2018. Western's last win in Portland was on Jan. 2, 2018. They are 2-2 on the road in the series.

Montana State Billings has lost ground in the conference standings over the last month, dropping three straight games and four of their last six dating back to Jan. 9. The Yellowjackets finish off a four-game home stand this week when they host CU and WOU.

MSUB gets 21.8 points per night from Brendan Howard and another 15.8 from Tyler Green representing two of the top seven point scorers in the conference. Howard is also second in the GNAC with 7.9 rebounds a night.

WOU is 20-10 against MSUB all-time. Western has won eight straight over the 'Jackets and 14 of the last 15 meetings. The Wolves have not lost in Billings since Dec. 5, 2016. They are 6-7 on the road in the series.

The Wolves' game Tuesday, Jan. 28, against Concordia is set for a 7 p.m. PST tip in Portland at LCEF Gym. They follow up four days later with a 7 p.m. MST tip on Saturday, Feb. 1, against MSUB inside Alterowitz Gym. Live stats and video for both games will be available here.