SEATTLE, Wash. – Teams are familiar with seeing each other for the third time in the conference championships, but when the Western Oregon University men's basketball team faces Alaska on Thursday at 12 p.m. to open the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, it will be the second time in less than a week that the two teams will play each other.

WOU and Alaska completed the regular season on Saturday in Monmouth with the Wolves taking the 95-89 victory. Four reached double-figures to lead WOU to the win with Jaylyn Richardson going for 27 points. Dalven Brushier added 22 points, Emanuel Gant with 12 points and Cameron Cranston with 11 points. That was enough to help the Wolves overcome a 35-point effort from Shadeed Shabazz. Mawich Kachjanni added a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

In the earlier meeting in Fairbanks, the Nanooks erased a 16-point second half lead for the Wolves to claim the 72-66 victory. Brushier led the way with 17 points, followed by 15 from Cranston, 13 from Richardson and 12 from Darius Lubom. The same two players for Alaska had big games again with Shabazz tallying 27 points and Kachjaani with 19 points and nine rebounds.

WOU went 19-7 overall, dominating at home with a 10-2 record inside the NPE Building Gym. The Wolves went 6-5 in true road games and 3-0 in neutral site contests. Alaska went 11-17 overall, posting a 5-5 record at home, a 5-7 mark in true road contests and 1-5 in neutral site games. This will be the first neutral site game between the teams since the 2015-16 season when WOU defeated Alaska in Lacey, 78-71. That season the teams met in the GNAC Championship finals, with WOU as the top seed and Alaska as the No. 2 seed.

This year, the teams enter the championships with WOU as the No. 3 seed and Alaska the No. 6 seed. No. 4 Northwest Nazarene and No. 5 Alaska Anchorage will face each other after the WOU/Alaska game at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday. The WOU/Alaska winner will face No. 2 seed Western Washington at noon on Friday, while the Northwest Nazarene/Alaska Anchorage winner will get top seed and host Seattle Pacific at 2:15 p.m. on Friday. The Championship Game is set for 5 p.m. Saturday night. The champion winner will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA West Regional field.

WOU comes in averaging 86.6 points and allowing 76.4 points per game. The Wolves are shooting nearly 50 percent from the field making 826-1,679 (49.2), while the opposition hits on just over 46 percent at 724-1,562 (46.4). The long range game continues to be a strength for WOU making 294-722 (40.7) from three, while opponents have made 34 percent making 196-577. WOU has taken care of the ball dishing out 391 assists to just 316 turnovers, while holding opponents to 326 assists to 408 turnovers.

In the 26 games this year, WOU has featured the same starting lineup in all but one game as the only change came on senior day to allow all three seniors to start. The regular five has been Brushier, Richardson, Cranston, Lubom and John Morrill-Keeler. Four of the five are the top scorers on the team, with Morrill-Keeler currently sixth. Currently fifth is Gant averaging 10.8 points. Brushier leads the team averaging 18.0 points, Richardson at 13.2, Cranston at 12.8, Lubom at 12.1 and Morrill-Keeler at 7.8 points. Brushier leads the team in field goals (161), and three-pointers (70). Lubom has dished out 108 assists, Morrill-Keeler has grabbed 128 rebounds and Gant has a team-best 44 steals and Morrill-Keeler has sent back 20 blocks.

Seven games this season WOU has scored at least 90 points and since a close loss at Seattle Pacific on Feb. 6, WOU won six of seven to close the regular season.

WOU ranks in the top-three in the GNAC in multiple categories including second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.24), third in assists per game (15.1), second in blocked shots per game (3.4), first and 25^th nationally in fewest turnovers (316), second and 23^rd nationally in field goal percentage (49.2), currently lead the nation in free throw percentage (82.4), first and 34^th nationally in scoring margin (10.2), first and 21^st nationally in scoring offense (86.6), first and 33^rd nationally in steals per game (8.5), third in the GNAC in three point field goal defense (34), second and 17^th nationally in three point field goals per game (11.3), second and 12^th nationally in three point field goal percentage (40.7), second and 33^rd nationally in three point field goals made (294), second in the GNAC in total blocks (89), third in the GNAC in total steals (220), first and 21^st nationally in turnover margin (3.5), first and 44^th nationally in turnovers forced (15.69), third in the GNAC in turnovers per game (12.2) and second in the GNAC and 50^th nationally in win-loss percentage (73.1).

Individually, Brushier ranks in the top-five in the GNAC in several categories including fifth in field goal percentage (49.8), first and 47^th nationally in free throw percentage (86.2), second in minutes per game (34:06), third in points per game, fourth in three point field goals per game (2.69) and fourth and 36^th nationally in three points field goal percentage (43.2) and is fifth in total points (465). Lubom is first in the GNAC in assists per game (4.2), ranking just inside the top-100 nationally and is third in total assists (108). Gant is second in the GNAC in total steals (44).

Alaska averages 76.1 points per game and allow 83.3 points per contest. They make 746-1,689 (44.2) from the field and opponents are just short of 50 percent making 856-1,715 (49.9). The Nanooks have made 217-625 (34.7) from three and allow 249-673 (37) from three. Alaska has 328 assists to 349 turnovers, while opponents have 481 assists to 393 turnovers.

Four of the five starters have been mostly the same throughout the season with Shabazz, Kachjaani, joined by Spencer Sweet and Koby Huerta. Shabazz averages 26 points per game, while Sweet is next at 13.2 per game. Shabazz has made 248 field goals, while Sweet leads the team with 65 three-pointers. Kachjaani leads the team in rebounds with 156, while Shabazz leads in both assists (100) and steals (108).

WOU and Alaska will open the GNAC Championships on Thursday at 12 p.m. Live video and stats will be available for the game. Click here for video and here for stats