MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon men's basketball team continues their fight for a spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, taking the battle into the final week of the regular season as they host the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves and Alaska Nanooks at NPE Gym.

Western Oregon (17-7, 11-7 GNAC) needs just one win in their final two games to head to the conference tournament for the seventh straight season. The Wolves currently sit tied for fourth in the conference standings along with the Seawolves who will visit on Thursday.

WOU had a chance to clinch their spot in the tourney last week with a 2-0 record, but split the pair of games by topping Central Washington 71-61 and falling in overtime to Northwest Nazarene, 89-87. It was the fourth trip to OT of the year for the Wolves and their fourth loss. Western has now concluded their road schedule for the regular season, going 6-5 in true road games while 3-0 in neutral site contests.

Saturday will serve as senior night for Western, honoring the trio of Riley Hamilton, Jaylyn Richardson and Dalven Brushier who will be playing their final games in Monmouth.

Hamilton is completing his only season at WOU, transferring in from Tuskegee University where he was a consistent offensive leader for the Golden Tigers. This season Riley has appeared in 18 games, totaling 218 minutes of play while averaging 4.4 points per game. He has reached double figures in scoring on three occasions, registering a season-high 17 points against the Concordia Cavaliers on 5-for-8 shooting.

Jaylyn Richardson is now in his second year with WOU after transferring from Wallace Community College where he spent his first two collegiate seasons. Last year as a part of a Western team that made an appearance in the West Regional Championship Richardson averaged 5.5 points in 31 games, making five starts along the way. In his senior season, Jaylyn has started every game for the Wolves, tallying a 12.5 points per game average with 4.3 rebounds a night. He scored at least 12 points in eight of his first 10 games of the season and has consistently contributed throughout the year.

Dalven Brushier is as well a second-year transfer for Western, making his way from Salt Lake City Community College to Monmouth. Brushier found his way into the starting rotation last season for the Wolves, getting the nod for 22 starts in 32 games played. While averaging 10.3 points per game for a talented team, it was this season that the guard put his scoring into high gear. Dalven is currently third in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.8 points per game over 24 appearances. His scoring average sits just 0.4 points shy of qualifying for the top 10 in the program's NCAA history. It is the highest individual scoring average the team has seen since the 2015-16 season when Andy Avgi averaged 19.4 points per game.

Alaska Anchorage (18-11, 11-7 GNAC) also finds themselves fighting for their postseason lives. The Seawolves need to go at least 1-1 over their final week to guarantee a spot in the conference tournament, playing each of their final games on the road where they have a 4-5 record this year. UAA surprised Western for an 88-86 overtime win in Anchorage on Dec. 7 to drop the Wolves to 0-2 to start conference play.

WOU is 15-23 in the series, but have won five of the last seven meetings. UAA has not won in Monmouth since Jan. 23, 2014. Western is 8-9 at home in the series.

Alaska (11-15, 10-8 GNAC) has a slightly more difficult road to the GNAC Championships, but still control their own fate. The Nanooks currently hold a one-game lead over Central Washington for the sixth and final spot in the tournament and can clinch the berth by going 2-0 this week. The Nanooks already have a win over the Wolves this season, coming back from a double-digit deficit to win 72-66 in Fairbanks.

WOU is 23-16 all-time against Alaska. The win earlier this season for UAF snapped a Western seven-game winning streak in the series. The Nanooks have not won in Monmouth since Jan. 25, 2014. Western is 11-8 at home in the series.

Western Oregon's game Thursday, Feb. 27, against Alaska Anchorage is set to tip at 7:30 p.m. while senior night on Saturday, Feb. 29, against Alaska will begin at 4: 15 p.m. PST at NPE Gym. Both games are the second contests of doubleheaders to be preceded by the Western Oregon women's basketball team. Live stats and video will be available here.