MONMOUTH, Ore. --- The Western Oregon men's basketball team plays its final home game of the 2025 calendar year as the Wolves host Linfield 7 p.m. Saturday at the Wolves Athletic Center

Western Oregon (3-5) vs. Linfield (1-6)
7 p.m. Saturday | Wolves Athletic Center (Monmouth, Ore.)
Tickets | Watch | Live Stats
All-Time: 48-66
Streak: Won 2
Last: 63-61 win at home (Dec. 17, 2024)

The teams this season ...

• The Wolves sit at 3-5 on the season with four of those five losses by 11 points or less. Jadin Penigar leads the team, is second in the GNAC and 14th in DII in scoring at 22.3 points per game. He also leads the team at 5.8 rebounds per game along with shooting 91.4 percent from the charity stripe (2nd in GNAC, 34th in DII). Noah Ogoli is averaging a team-best 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals to go along with 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds.
• The Wildcats, who play Friday night against Alma, are 1-6 and have dropped five in a row. Dayton Magana leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game to go along with 2.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals. Chase Bennett is also averaging double figures at 10.4 points while leading the team at 3.7 assists per game.

Last time out ...

• The Wolves opened GNAC play last week at home, falling to Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage. Penigar had his second 30-plus point effort against Fairbanks, scoring 30 points on an efficient 11-for-17 performance from the field. He was also 6-for-11 on the week from 3-point range.
• Linfield opened its Northwest Conference slate against Pacific on Saturday, falling 75-50 in Forest Grove. Logan Morrill came off the bench to lead the team with 13 points in 15 minutes of action (going 6-for-6 from the field) while Chase Bennett had 12 points, six rebounds and three assists and Nalu Vargas had 10 points and eight boards.

WOU SEASON NOTES

Defensive state of mind ...
The Wolves have seen a dramatic improvement defensively as they are allowing 68.6 points per game - third in the conference and 54th in the nation. Last season, the Wolves allowed 83.8 points per game - ranked last in the conference and 263rd in DII. WOU's scoring margin (points scored versus points allowed) has improved by 12 points this season.

Penigar off to hot start ...
WOU guard Jadin Penigar leads the GNAC and is 14th in the nation in scoring at 22.3 points per game. This includes breaking 30 twice this season - a 30-point effort against Alaska Fairbanks on Dec. 4 and a 34-point effort against Westmont in Monmouth on Nov. 22 where he went 14-for-26 from the field, including 6-for-11 from 3-point range.

The Orton era begins ...
Creswell, Oregon, native Ryan Orton returns to his home state as he begins his first year as the Western Oregon head coach. Orton comes to Monmouth from Alaska Anchorage where in 10 seasons as an assistant and associate head coach (two stints, 2009-12 and 2017-2025) he helped the Seawolves reach the NCAA Tournament three times (2011, 2012, 2024) as they went 175-122 during his time in Anchorage.

During the time between his two stints at UAA, Orton was the head coach at Western Wyoming Community College where in five seasons he took WWCC to five Region IX postseason tournaments, averaged 20 wins per season over his final three years and went 82-72 overall. Prior to his first stint at UAA, Orton was an assistant coach at Montana State (2006-08), Northwest Nazarene (2004-06) and Eastern Washington (2000-03) with a year as the Lane Community College head coach during the 2003-04 season. He was also a graduate assistant at EWU from 1998-2000.

Orton played basketball at Eastern Oregon (named the 1996 team MVP and All-Cascade Conference Honorable Mention) and at Northwest Christian University in Eugene (1991-93).

Penigar named Preseason All-GNAC
Western Oregon's Jadin Penigar was named to the All-GNAC Preseason Team as the UT Tyler transfer gets set for his second stint in the GNAC (he played at Seattle Pacific in 2023-24 (averaging 9.4 points per game). Last season at UT Tyler he averaged 5.9 points per contest.