Two days after the Western men's basketball team handed coach Brad Jackson his 500th win, the No. 23 ranked Vikings fell to Western Oregon University 83-73 in a matchup between the current top two teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Friday, Jan. 7, at Carver Gym.
Western Oregon's Blair Wheadon burned the Vikings for a game-high 29 points, connecting on 7 of 8 shots from 3-point territory.
WWU, rated No. 23 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, dropped to 13-3 overall and 4-1 in the GNAC. The loss also stood as Western's first home loss in eight contests this season. Forward Zach Henifin had team-highs of 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots for the Vikings.
WOU improved to 13-2 overall and retained sole possession of first place in the GNAC at 6-0, the Wolves' best conference start in GNAC history.
The Vikings held a 15-14 edge midway through the first half, but scored just two points in a span of nearly seven minutes, allowing WOU to grab a 30-17 lead with 4:27 left in the opening period. The Wolves held a 36-25 advantage at halftime, with Wheadon having 19 of his points in the first half.
WWU chipped away at the margin throughout the second half, trailing by more than10 only once in the final 15 minutes. The Vikings narrowed the gap to five, 71-66, on a three-pointer by Chris Mitchell with 1:43 to go, but never got closer.
Guard Richard Woodworth had 14 points on 5-of-6 field-goal shooting for WWU, and forward Rory Blanche added 12 points.
Forward James Gehring had 14 points and nine rebounds for WOU, and guard Kyle Long had 14 points and five assists. The Wolves were 12 of 21 on 3-pointers.
WWU is on the road next week, traveling to Alaska Fairbanks at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12 and Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14 for a pair of GNAC contests.
WESTERN OREGON 83, WESTERN WASHINGTON 73
WESTERN OREGON (13-2,6-0 GNAC)
Wheadon, Blair 29; Long, Kyle 14; Gehring, James 14; Nelson, Kolton 9; McGill, Brian 5; Veal, Jamaal 5; Freelander,Jordan 5; Troxel, Brandon 2. Totals 28-61 15-20 83.
WESTERN WASHINGTON (13-3,4-1 GNAC)
Henifin, Zach 23; Woodworth, Richard 14; Blanche, Rory 12; Allen, John 7; Jones, Paul 6; Mitchell, Chris 5; Wilkins, Rico 4; Thorpe, Dane 2; Young, Dan 0; Severson, Cameron 0. Totals 26-54 13-21 73.
Half: WOU 36, WWU 25
3-point goals--Western Oregon 12 (Wheadon, Blair 7), Western Washington 8 (Woodworth, Richard/Jones, Paul 2). Fouled out--Western Oregon-None, Western Washington-Henifin,Zach. Rebounds--Western Oregon 38 (Gehring, James 9),
Western Washington 26 (Henifin, Zach 7). Assists--Western Oregon 16 (Long,Kyle 5), Western Washington 12 (Henifin,Zach 4). Total fouls-Western Oregon 17, Western Washington 20. Technical fouls--Western Oregon-None,Western Washington-None. A-1337
