MONMOUTH, Ore. – In a battle of the two teams that have combined to win each of the last four conference titles, the early-season battle between No. 15 Western Washington and defending GNAC champion Western Oregon did not disappoint.
The Vikings overcame a 9-point halftime deficit and rallied to force overtime, but were on the short end of a 96-88 double-overtime defeat against the Wolves Saturday night in the New PE Building.
WWU had its five-game winning streak snapped to record just its second defeat of the season, falling to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in GNAC play. Western Oregon improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in league play.
The Vikings trailed by as many as 10 points early in the second half, but used a 20-5 run to turn a 37-27 deficit into a 47-42 lead. WWU was 7-for-11 from the floor during the run, with sophomore forward Luke Lovelady scoring 6 points, redshirt junior guard Micah Winn scoring 5 points and junior forward Trevor Jasinsky adding 4 points.
Western Oregon answered with a 17-5 run to grab a 59-52 lead with 6:02 remaining in regulation. The Vikings whittled away at the seven-point deficit, with Jasinsky hitting a key 3-pointer at the 4:12 mark to cut WOU's lead to 61-60. The Wolves appeared to pull away, but Winn scored 8 consecutive points for the Vikings, including a go-ahead layup with 14 seconds remaining to give the Vikings a 70-68 lead.
With seven-seconds left in regulation, Darius Lubon drew a found and made both free throws to tie the game at 70-70 to send the game into overtime.
Western Oregon opened the first overtime period on a 8-2 run, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers, to build a six point lead at 78-72. But the Vikings wouldn't go way, with senior guard Tyler Payne hitting a quick jump shot at the 1:32 mark and Jasinsky hitting a big 3-pointer with 48-seconds remaining to make it a one-point game, 78-77. With the Wolves leading 80-77, Jasinsky was fouled on a 3-pointer attempt with seven-seconds on the clock, and hit all three of his free throws to tie the game 80-80. Etan Collins had a good last look at a potential game winner for Western Oregon, but his 3-poitner was off the mark to force the second five-minute overtime period.
The Vikings held an 86-84 lead with 2:25 remaining in the second overtime, but Western Oregon closed out the game on a 12-2 run to secure the 96-88 double-overtime victory over the Vikings.
Jasinsky (Camas, WA) led all players with a game-high 27 points, shooting 7-for-18 from the field (4-for-12 3FG) and was 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
Lovelady (Tacoma, WA/Life Christian/Point Loma) recorded the Vikings first double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Winn (Los Angeles, CA/Cerritos College) added 23 points on 9-for-19 shooting, with all his points coming after a scoreless first half.
Jaylyn Richardson led Western Oregon with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting and Darius Lubom added 17 points on 5-for-13 shooting. WOU was 25-for-28 from the free throw line and overall shot 42.1% (32-for-76).
The Vikings (7-1, 1-1 GNAC) will play their next four games against non-conference opponents, beginning with next Saturday's game vs. Columbia Bible College at 5 pm in Carver Gym. The Vikings will then travel to Hawai'i for the Hoops in Hawai'i DII Power Invitational where they will play three games in a round-robin tournament format, beginning with a game vs. Chaminade on Sunday, December 16.
WWU will serve as the host for the 2019 GNAC Championships, with the top six teams in both the men's and women's conference standings at the end of the season qualifying for the tournament that will be held March 7-9 on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
If you can't make it to Carver Gym to watch the home games in person, you can tune in to VikingsTV to catch all the action…all GNAC matches, home and road, will stream live and feature live stats at GNAC.tv, with home games also streamed live on YouTube…in addition to being available online, all conference matches are available via the GNAC channel on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV…live links can be accessed through WWUVikings.com/Live.
Fans can follow the men's basketball team online at WWUVikings.com/MBB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball).
One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 10 seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons, including a 25-6 record in 2016-17 where it won the GNAC regular season and conference championships title, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships as the No. 3 seed in the West Region. The program recently completed its 116th season posting a 21-8 record in 2017-18, and have combined for 1,485 victories and a .591 winning percentage in program history.
-- @WWUHoops --
