PORTLAND, Ore. – For the second time this season, the Western Oregon men's basketball program posted an offensive performance worthy of the top-10 best during their NCAA history, recording a 111-78 win over the Concordia Cavaliers at LCEF Court.
 
On a night where their bench had their most productive game of the season, Western Oregon (12-5, 6-5 GNAC) led for all but the first two minutes of action to sweep the Concordia Cavaliers (2-17, 1-10 GNAC) in their season series and move a game above .500 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.
 
CU held a brief lead early on in the night, scoring the first five points of the game to move two possessions up on their in-state rival, but a 32.4 percent first-half field goal shooting percentage and 16 turnovers before the break sunk the Cavs into an early hole. Despite 16 first-half turnovers, Concordia was able to recover in the second half, giving up just five more in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
The Wolves had five players finish in double figures on Tuesday night, including three players off the bench. Riley Hamilton and Cameron Cranston each finished with 17 points to tie for a game-high in scoring. Cranston added on seven rebounds and three assists to the performance.

"When our defense is on point, that is how we get out to big leads and that's what set the tone in the game today. It was a great confidence booster for starting out the second round in the league schedule," Cranston said.

"We turned our defense into offense and the ball popped around and my teammates found me when I was open. It was a great team win and definitely something for us to build on," Hamilton said.
 
The 111 points for the Wolves was their ninth-most in a game during the school's NCAA-era history and represented the second time they have eclipsed 100 points this season. It is the second time they have accomplished the feat in one season since the 2015-16 campaign.
 
As a team, the Wolves shot 48.5 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from 3-point range, getting multiple made 3-pointers from five separate players.
 
"Tonight was a total team effort and as a unit we were locked in defensively from the start," said Western Oregon head coach Wes Pifer. "Offensively, we always use the term 'hunt great' and we shared the basketball and turned down good shots to get great shots."
 
The Western Oregon bench scored 61 points in total, getting at least four points from every player that appeared in the game. Zach Baugher and Antonio Salinas helped Hamilton bolster the reserve scoring with 12 and 10 points, respectively. For Salinas, it was a season-high in scoring.

"I thought we came out hard and didn't really let off the gas. We moved the ball well and played great team basketball. I think we can really build off this heading into the second half of the league schedule," Baugher said.
 
Next up, the Wolves head to Montana State Billings to take on the Yellowjackets on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MST at Alterowitz Gym.