BELLINGHAM, Wash. – When Western Washington and Western Oregon square off on the hardwood, you know it is going to be a battle.

And Saturday night was no exception as the Vikings survived a late WOU comeback to defeat the Wolves 86-79 in overtime on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

WWU held a 16-point lead with 8:01 remaining in the second half (62-46), but the Wolves went on a 31-15 run and tied the game on a 3-pointer by Cameron Cranston with .6 seconds left on the clock.

The Vikings were able to regroup in the overtime period, using a 8-0 run to close out the contest for the seven-point victory to extend the winning streak to eight consecutive games. Trailing 79-78 early in the overtime period, RJ Secrest hit a pair of free throws, part of his 11-for-12 performance from the charity stripe, with 2:17 left in the overtime period, beginning the 8-0 run to end the contest. WWU's defense limited WOU to 1-for-9 shooting in overtime.

WWU is now 12-4 overall and remains in second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 7-1 league mark. The overtime victory sets up a big game Thursday vs. first-place Seattle Pacific (12-4, 8-0 GNAC), who will carry a 12-game winning streak into the game in Seattle.

"Our guys did a phenomenal job during a weird week where we couldn't get much practice time due to the weather, but I am very proud of how they were able to focus when it mattered and pulled out a big win for us," said WWU head coach Tony Dominguez. "Our defense has been huge during the winning streak and we got some big stops tonight when we needed it."

Playing without starting center Logan Schilder, WWU used only eight players in the game with six scoring in double-digits. Redshirt freshman D'Angelo Minnis led all players with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting, and was the catalyst in the overtime period scoring six of the Vikings nine points.

"D'Angelo is really dialed in right now and really stepped up tonight," added Dominguez on his freshman guard who is averaging 16.5 points over his last four games. "He has really been a catalyst for us on defense and offense and we sure are enjoying the way he is playing."

Sophomore guard/forward Jalen Green contributed another all-around performance with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots and senior forward Trevor Jasinsky had 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting. Also reaching double-figures in scoring was senior guard/forward Siaan Rojas (12 points, 4 rebounds), sophomore guard RJ Secrest (13 points, 11-for-12 FT) and senior forward Cameron Retherford (10 points, 8 Rebounds).

The Wolves (9-4, 3-4 GNAC) had four players reach double-digits in scoring, led by 17 points from junior guard Darius Lubom (7-for-13 FG) and 16 points each from Emanuel Gant (5-for-9 FG) and Dalven Brushier. Lubom and Minnis were high school teammates at Kentwood High School, helping lead the Conquerors to the 2017 WIAA 4A State Championship.

Overall the Vikings shot 52.9% in the game (27-for-51) and were 7-for-19 from 3-point range (36.8%) and 25-for-33 from the free throw line (75.8%). WWU held the rebounding advantage 39-33. WOU shot 41.7% (30-for-72) and were 7-for-27 (25.9%) from beyond the arc.

The Vikings battled back from an early 12-6 deficit, which was fueled by a 9-0 Western Oregon run, out-scoring the Wolves 32-18 over the final 13 minutes of the half. WWU held a 38-30 lead through the first 20 minutes, with the Vikings shooting 59.1% from the field (13-for-22). RJ Secrest led the way with 8 points, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line, and Cameron Retherford, Siaan Rojas and D'Angelo Minnis each had 7 points in the balanced scoring effort. Four Wolves scored 6 points with the team shooting 46.4% (13-for-28) in the first half.

WWU (12-4, 7-1 GNAC) returns to the road next week to complete the first half of the GNAC schedule, opening the a four-game road trip at first-place Seattle Pacific (12-4, 8-0) on Thursday at 7 pm in Brougham Pavilion. SPU will take a 12-game winning streak into Thursday's game in Seattle. WWU will continue on the road on Saturday at Saint Martin's in Lacey (5:15 pm) and the following week will travel to play Northwest Nazarene (1/30) and Central Washington (2/1).

The 8-game winning streak marks the longest winning streak since a 10-game streak in 2017-18. This marks the 22^nd winning streak of at least eight games in program history:

WWU now leads the all-time series vs. WOU 48-20, including a 8-5 record vs. the Wolves dating back to 2014-15. The Vikings have now won four consecutive games vs. WOU in Bellingham.

Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings through the games played on Saturday, with the Vikings remaining alone in second place at 7-1 in conference play:

Senior Trevor Jasinsky continues to climb the WWU all-time scoring list, moving into a tie for 13^thplace with 1,320 career points (13 Saturday vs. WOU). Jasinsky also moved into 6^th in WWU history with 175 career made 3-pointers.

Fans can follow the men's basketball team online at WWUVikings.com/MBB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball). You can also get game updates by following the @WWUAthletics Twitter.

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 11 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 20-win seasons in two of the last three years, including a 25-6 record in 2016-17 where it won the GNAC regular season and conference championships title. WWU is the 12th winningest Division II program with its 1,506 victories.