MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon men's basketball team looks to solidify their spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships this week as they visit the Central Washington Wildcats and Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks for their final road games of the 2019-20 regular season.

Western Oregon (16-6, 10-6 GNAC) currently sits in a three-team tie for second place in the GNAC standings along with Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene. With four games left to play, there are seven teams vying for five spots left in the conference championships. While the Wolves do have a multi-game buffer, they have not yet secured their spot in the postseason. Both opponents this week are still alive for one of those tournament spots.

WOU came up with two crucial wins last week to pad their resume, defeating both Western Washington and Simon Fraser at home to move to a three-game winning streak. Five players scored in double figures in both games, including the 16 points of John Morrill-Keeler against WWU as the center put up another big game against the Vikings. The Wolves have now won six of their last seven games, only suffering a one-point loss in Seattle to the Seattle Pacific Falcons during that span.

Of the six losses that Western Oregon has had this season, all have come by six or fewer points or have come in overtime. They hold the best home record in the GNAC, currently 8-2 at NPE Gym.

Central Washington (15-9, 8-8 GNAC) is currently in seventh in the conference standings, but only a half game out of sixth behind the Alaska Nanooks. The Wildcats had a five-game winning streak snapped by the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves last week in a 70-68 loss in Anchorage.

CWU averages 74.4 points per game while allowing just 70.6 to opponents – the second-lowest mark in the conference. They are shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from 3-point range.

WOU is 19-20 against Central all-time. Western has won eight straight in the series and 11 of the last 12. CWU's last win was on Dec. 31, 2015, in Ellensburg. WOU is 6-13 on the road in the series.

Northwest Nazarene (13-8, 10-6 GNAC) joins WOU in the three-team tie for second place in the current conference standings. The Nighthawks were able to get the better of the Wolves in Monmouth on Jan. 23, winning 87-72 to deal Western one of only two home losses this year.

NNU is 2-2 over their last four games, losing to both Alaska Anchorage and Central Washington on the road. They were able to bounce back last week with a big 94-52 win over the Alaska Nanooks to keep themselves in the tie for second place.

WOU is 20-19 against NNU all-time. The Nighthawks have won two of the last three meetings dating back to last season. Western's last win in Nampa was on Feb. 15, 2018. They are 7-12 on the road in the series.

Western's game Thursday, Feb. 20, at CWU is set for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff while their game Saturday, Feb. 22, at NNU will begin at 6:30 p.m. PST. Both games will have live stats and video available here.