MONMOUTH, Ore. – In the penultimate game of the 2021-22 regular season, the Western Washington University Men's basketball team fell on the road 89-65 against Western Oregon University in New PE Gymnasium.
Playing its third game in three states over the last five days, the Vikings couldn't match the dramatics that resulted in a pair of buzzer-beater victories at Montana State Billings on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday. WWU drops to 14-12 overall and 7-9 in GNAC play.
After a back-and-forth start to the contest that saw the Vikings and Wolves tied at 9-9 with 15:30 left to play, Western Oregon used a 20-8 run spanning 6:10 of game time to open up a double-digit lead at 29-17. The Vikings refused to roll over however, as they put together a 10-3 run of their own, with Freshman Kai Johnson scoring six of the ten points to provide the Vikings with a spark off the bench. The Vikings defense held the Wolves without a field goal over the final 7:28 of the first half to make it a four-point game at the break, 38-34.
After finding themselves down double-digits following an 11-2 run by WOU to start the half, the Vikings continued to fight back going on a 10-4 run to make it a six-point game at 55-49 with 14:05 left to play. In the end though it wasn't enough, as the Wolves used a 23-7 run over the final six minutes to complete the 24-point victory.
The Vikings were led by a game-high 23 points and five rebounds from junior guard/forward Jalen Green on 10-for-16 shooting, 14 points and five rebounds from freshman guard Kai Johnson and 11 points from junior guard Daniel Hornbuckle.
Junior guard Cameron Cranston's 20 points led the offensive charge for the Wolves who had five players score in double digits. Junior forward John Morrill-Keeler finished with a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double. The Wolves shot 55.2% for the game (32-for-58) and were 11-for-22 from three-point range to improve to 6-16 overall (won 3 of last 4) and 5-9 in GNAC play.
WWU was held to 36.5% shooting from the field (23-for-63) and 23.8% from beyond the arc (5-for-21). The Vikings held a slight 36-35 advantage in rebounding.
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and WOU from Monday's game:
|
STATISTIC
|
WWU
|
WOU
|
|
Points
|
65
|
89
|
|
Field Goal Pct.
|
.365 (23-63)
|
.552 (32-58)
|
|
3 Point FG Pct.
|
.238 (5-21)
|
.500 (11-22)
|
|
Free Throw Pct.
|
.737 (14-19)
|
.737 (14-19)
|
|
Rebounds
|
36
|
35
|
|
Offensive Rebounds
|
15
|
8
|
|
Defensive Rebounds
|
21
|
27
|
|
Assists
|
11
|
19
|
|
Turnovers
|
12
|
11
|
|
Steals
|
5
|
6
|
|
Blocked Shots
|
1
|
4
|
|
Time Led
|
00:41
|
37:50
|
|
Points off Turnovers
|
8
|
16
|
|
Points in the Paint
|
28
|
36
|
|
Bench Points
|
23
|
21
|
|
Fouls
|
14
|
15
|
While the regular-season conference champion and seeding for the GNAC tournament will be decided on a new points system, here is an updated look at the league standings following Monday's game. View the conference schedule, scores, stats and updated standings at GNACSports.com.
|
MEN'S BASKETBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Saint Martin's
|
10-5
|
.667
|
17-7
|
.708
|
10-2
|
6-5
|
1-0
|
Won 3
|
|
2.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
8-5
|
.615
|
13-7
|
.650
|
9-0
|
3-7
|
1-0
|
Won 2
|
|
3.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
7-5
|
.583
|
9-8
|
.529
|
6-1
|
3-6
|
0-1
|
Won 1
|
|
4.
|
Central Washington
|
8-6
|
.571
|
14-7
|
.667
|
7-2
|
6-4
|
1-1
|
Lost 1
|
|
5.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
7-6
|
.538
|
14-10
|
.583
|
9-3
|
2-5
|
3-2
|
Lost 1
|
|
6.
|
Montana State Billings
|
8-7
|
.533
|
12-13
|
.480
|
5-8
|
5-4
|
2-1
|
Lost 2
|
|
7.
|
Western Washington
|
7-9
|
.438
|
14-12
|
.538
|
10-5
|
3-5
|
1-2
|
Lost 1
|
|
8.
|
Simon Fraser
|
6-8
|
.429
|
11-11
|
.500
|
6-3
|
4-7
|
1-1
|
Won 1
|
|
9.
|
Western Oregon
|
5-9
|
.357
|
6-16
|
.272
|
3-5
|
3-8
|
0-3
|
Won 1
|
|
10.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
4-10
|
.286
|
7-13
|
.350
|
4-1
|
1-10
|
2-2
|
Lost 3
|
|
THIS WEEK'S GNAC SCHEDULE & RESULTS
|
|
Monday, February 21
at Western Oregon 89, Western Washington 65
Seattle Pacific at Alaska Fairbanks (Canceled)
Tuesday, February 22
Simon Fraser at Northwest Nazarene, 7 pm MT
Thursday, February 24
Montana State Billings at Central Washington, 7:30 pm
Western Oregon at Alaska Anchorage, 5:15 pm AKT
Saint Martin's at Alaska Fairbanks, 7:30 pm AKT
Seattle Pacific at Northwest Nazarene, 7:30 pm MT
Saturday, February 26
Western Washington at Simon Fraser, 7:30 pm
Western Oregon at Alaska Fairbanks, 3:15 pm AKT
Seattle Pacific at Central Washington, 6:15 pm
Saint Martin's at Alaska Anchorage, 7:30 pm AKT
Montana State Billings at Northwest Nazarene, 7:30 pm MT
|
The Vikings (14-12, 7-9 GNAC) close out the regular season Saturday evening with another road game – the fourth in a row – on Burnaby Mountain against Simon Fraser University. The border clash features a 7:30 pm tip-off, with the WWU women's team taking on SFU in the first game of the GNAC doubleheader in West Gym at 5:15 pm. Links to follow the game at SFU are available at wwuvikings.com/Live.
