MONMOUTH, Oregon --- The Western Oregon men's basketball team puts its three-game win streak on the line as the Wolves take on undefeated Western New Mexico 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Phoenix.

WESTERN OREGON HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | 2022-23 STATISTICS
The Wolves went 2-0 at the Ron Logsdon Basketball Challenge in Rohnert Park, California, defeating Stanislaus State 83-72 Friday led by Cameron Benzel's 19 points and five rebounds and beating host Sonoma State 93-70 on Saturday - led by 20 points apiece from Cameron Cranston and John Morrill-Keeler.

Early in the season, Cranston leads the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game to go along with 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. John Morrill-Keeler is averaging 15.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting a nearly unreal 81.5 percent from the field (22-for-27), Yosani Clay is third on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game while adding 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest while Cameron Benzel is averaging 11.5 points, a team-high 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks. Elihu Cobb leads the team in blocks at 1.8 per game while averaging six points per contest while Qiant Myers is averaging a team-high 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals to go along with 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.

As a team, the Wolves are averaging 81.8 points per game while allowing 74.5. As a team, they are shooting 52.7 percent while holding teams to 41.6 percent from the field.

THE WOLVES' OPPONENT THIS WEEK ... WESTERN NEW MEXICO STATS
The Mustangs improved to 5-0 on the season Saturday with a win at home over Park University, 70-57. DJ Heath led the team with 17 points to go along with five assists. WNMU has a pair of Division-II victories with wins over Westminster (72-59) and Adams State (90-72) - both games at home.

Tony Avalos and Keith Littles lead the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game with Heath just behind at 11.2 per game. Avalos and Heath lead the team in assists per game (2.4), Isaiah Lewis has grabbed a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game while Olamide Pedersen is averaging 3.4 blocks per game. The Mustangs as a team are forcing 17 turnovers per game while committing just 12.2 per contest.
  PERFECT SHOOTING ON BACK-TO-BACK DAYS FOR WOU FORWARDS BENZEL AND MORRILL-KEELER
It's unusual to have one player score 19 or more points while not missing a shot from the field or free-throw line, but to have it happen on back-to-back days is an impressive feat the Western Oregon men's basketball team did Nov. 18-19 at the Ron Logsdon Basketball Challenge in Rohnert Park, California.

On Nov. 18, Cameron Benzel went 8-for-8 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line to finish with 19 points in a win over Stanislaus State. The next night in a win over Sonoma State, John Morrill-Keeler went 7-for-7 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line for 20 points. It wasn't quite a record, however, as Yuri Whyms during the 2001-02 season went 11-for-11 from the field in a contest against Saint Martin's.

CRANSTON PICKED AS PRESEASON GNAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR, WOLVES TABBED TO FINISH EIGHTH
Western Oregon's Cameron Cranston was named the GNAC Men's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year as the 6-foot-6 senior is coming off a season where he averaged 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 43.2 percent from 3-point range and 79.3 percent from the free throw line. Cranston earned All-GNAC Second Team honors in 2021-22. The rest of the All-GNAC Preseason Team can be found here.

As a team, WOU was voted eighth in the GNAC Preseason Men's Basketball Poll. The Wolves and their 48 points - which did include one first-place vote - were in a pack of three teams within five points of each other with No. 6 Alaska Anchorage (53 points) and No. 7 Central Washington (52). Saint Martin's was picked to win the conference with 81 points and three first-place votes - though five teams overall garnered first-place votes in No. 2 Northwest Nazarene (78 points, two first-place votes), Montana State Billings (69 points, three first-place votes) and Western Washington (66 points, one first-place vote). WOU is coming off of a 9-18 2021-22 campaign, going 6-10 in GNAC play to finish ninth - but the Wolves did make a run to the GNAC Championship semifinals.

MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
1. Saint Martin's (3), 81 pts.
2. Northwest Nazarene (2), 78 pts.
3. Montana St. Billings (3), 69 pts.
4. Western Washington (1), 66 pts.
5. Seattle Pacific, 60 pts.
6. Alaska Anchorage, 53 pts.
7. Central Washington, 52 pts.
8. Western Oregon (1), 48 pts.
9. Simon Fraser, 23 pts.
10. Alaska, 20 pts.