MONMOUTH, Oregon --- The Western Oregon men's basketball team plays its final two games before a two-week break as the Wolves host Cal Poly Humboldt on Tuesday before traveling to take on BYU on Thursday.

WESTERN OREGON HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | 2022-23 STATISTICS
The Wolves last played Dec. 3, a 62-54 loss at Northwest Nazarene - and two days prior the Wolves defeated Central Washington 69-67 on the road thanks to a Qiant Myers bucket with 0.8 seconds remaining.

WOU has four players averaging double figures in scoring with Cameron Cranston averaging 13.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 blocks per game, Yosani Clay averaging 13.6 points and 4.7 rebounds, Cameron Benzel averaging 13.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals and John Morrill-Keeler 11.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and shooting 67.4 percent from the field. Myers leads the team in assists at 5.1 to go along with 6.6 points per game.

THE WOLVES' OPPONENTS THIS WEEK ... CAL POLY HUMBOLDT STATS | BYU STATS
Cal Poly Humboldt split a pair of games last week at home in conference action, falling at home to Chico State 116-112 Thursday in overtime with Marlon Ruffin leading the way for the Jacks with 37 points before bouncing back to deeat Stanislaus State 79-68 on Saturday with Jaden Edwards scoring a team-high 16 points.

CPH has three players averaging double figures with all three shooting above 40 percent from 3-point range in Ruffin (17.9 ppg, 41.4 3FG%), Edwards (16.2, 41.4 3FG%) and Malek Davis (12.3 ppg, 41.2 3FG%).  Edwards leads the team in rebounding (8.1), Davis leads in assists (4.0) and steals (1.4) while Cam Timmons is averaging a team-best 1.3 blocks per game to go along with 7.1 rebounds and 9.4 points.

BYU is coming off a win over No. 21 Creighton on Saturday, 83-80, in a game where the Cougars gave up an 11-point lead with 3:38 left to trail by one with 26 seconds remaining before Dallin hall scored on his own putback with 12.6 left to give BYU the lead for good. Rudi Williams came off the bench to score a team-high 26 points - the seventh-most scored off the bench for BYU in program history.

Williams - who has started nine of the Cougars' 11 games this season - leads the team in scoring (13.6) and assists (3.2) and is second on the team in steals (1.5). Gideon George is averaging 12 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals and Fousseyni Traore is averaging 11.7 points and 8.1 rebounds. As a team, the Cougars are outrebounding teams by 6.4 rebounds per game - including grabbing an average of 13.5 offensive rebounds per game.

WOU's RECENT HISTORY VERSUS CPH, BYU
The Wolves and Cal Poly Humboldt have faced each other once in the last six years - that was last season, a 75-67 win for CPH. Prior to that, WOU had won the previous three matchups. Since 2000, the Wolves are 7-10 against the Jacks.

This will be the first matchup against BYU for WOU since Jan. 6, 2009 - an 85-64 victory. Since 2003, the teams have played three times with the Cougars winning each matchup.
  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.