ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Holding a five-point lead at the half, the Western Oregon University men's basketball team tallied 48 points in a big second half utilizing a hot shooting night from long range to outscore Sonoma State by 16 over the final 20 minutes on their way to claiming the 77-56 win Saturday night inside The Wolves' Den.
"It felt good to hit our stride on the defensive end of the floor and the numbers showed it. We got great production from every guy who traveled. It's exciting to see them grow together as a unit and we look forward to our next chance to compete," head coach Wes Pifer said.
Cameron Cranston had another strong game leading all-scorers with 26 points, going 9-13 from the field, 5-8 from three, along with five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Yosani Clay reached double-figures in scoring with 11 points, along with four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals. John Morrill-Keller added nine points and seven rebounds, while both Tyreek Price and Antonio Salinas chipped in eight points apiece.
WOU (1-3) connected on 27-63 (42.9) from the field, 16-34 (47.1) from three and 7-10 (70) from the foul line. On defense, the Wolves kept Sonoma State (0-4) to just 36.2 percent shooting (21-58) from the field, 6-26 (23.1) from three and 8-10 (80) from the foul line.
WOU had strong advantages in points off turnovers (18-7) and fastbreak points (16-7).
A Cranston jumper and three-pointer by RJ Veliz helped get the night going for WOU two minutes in and had the lead out to three. The teams traded leads throughout the first several minutes of the half before Sonoma State opened up a five-point lead at 16-11.
Still trailing by one, 22-21, WOU used a 6-0 run to regain the lead for good. Morrill-Keller hit a layup and then added two from the line after Cranston hit two from the charity stripe as well that pushed WOU out to a 27-22 lead.
The teams traded baskets over the remainder of the half as WOU took a 29-24 lead into the locker rooms.
Just over five minutes into the second half, Salinas drilled a three-pointer to move the WOU lead into double-digits at 43-31. Still leading by 11, WOU began to put the game away going on an 8-0 run with Cranston and Daisone Hughes each hitting three-pointers before Elihu Cobb closed the run with a layup at the 10:38 mark that had WOU in front by 19, 54-35.
A Cranston three-pointer and then layup by Zach Moore had the lead out to the largest of the night at 32 points before WOU ended up claiming the 21-point road victory.
Kenny Olsem led Sonoma State with 13 points, while Jaylen Wells added 11 points.
WOU continues their road trip in California as they will play in Arcata this Tuesday night at Humboldt State starting at 7 p.m. The Wolves when they turn around and travel to Salt Lake City to face Fort Lewis on Friday at 4 p.m. (Pacific) and Westminster on Saturday at 6 p.m. (Pacific).
