BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team takes its 7-3 record into a pair of non-conference games at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic this week to close out the 2024 calendar year.

 

The Vikings face a pair of teams from Texas taking on Lubbock Christian (7-3) and St. Mary's (5-3) in the holiday tournament at the South Point Arena located inside the South Point Hotel and Casino. Both games will stream live on FloHoops on a Pay-Per-View basis and offer free statistical live updates.

 

WWU is coming off a 92-56 home victory over Langara College, led by double-doubles from senior guard Will Wilson (15 points, 10 rebounds) and redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley (15 points, 12 assists). Kepley was selected as the GNAC Player of the Week for his performance becoming the third Viking to earn that honor this season.

 

The Vikings enter the final two games of 2024 ranked 12th nationally with a team field goal percentage of 51.3 (316-for-616) and in the top 40 nationally averaging 85.3 points per game.

 

Wilson (16.9) and Kepley (14.2) lead a balanced offense with six players averaging double-digits in scoring. Kepley is also the team leader averaging 5.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

 

Following the trip to Las Vegas, the Vikings will be off for the holidays returning to GNAC play January 2-4 hosting the Alaska schools in conference play.

 

 

For the first time since the 2021-22 season (and 2016-17 previously) the Vikings are back in Las Vegas for the Holiday Hoops Classic at South Point Arena. WWU went 1-1 during its last trip to Las Vegas defeating Lindenwood 60-58 and falling to then No. 1 Lubbock Christian 84-74. The Vikings were a regular in Las Vegas making nine trips over an 11-year stretch from 2007-2017 to play tournament games.

Redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley is the reigning GNAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for games played December 9-15. Kepley recorded a 15-point, 12-assist double-double in the Vikings 92-56 victory over Langara College on Sunday in Carver Gym. Kepley tied for the team high with 15 points shooting 6-for-8 from the field and was 2-for-3 from three-point range. He also grabbed four rebounds, had two steals and recorded one blocked shot. The 12 assists are the most by a GNAC player this season and the most by a Viking since Ricardo Maxwell also had 12 against Thompson Rivers in 2014. The Vikings have had three players earn GNAC Player of the Week honors so far during the 2024-25 season with Kepley joining senior guard Will Wilson (Nov. 4-10) and sophomore guard Louis Grante-Halliday (Nov. 11-17).

Western leads the GNAC and ranks 12th nationally with a team field goal percentage of 51.3, connecting on 316-of-616 shots on the season. The Vikings have shot at least 50.0% from the field in five of 10 games. Trevor White (7th, .561, 46-for-82), Will Wilson (8th, .545, 60-for-110) and Grant Kepley (10th, .535, 53-for-99) all rank in the top 10 in field goal percentage among qualifying players in the GNAC. Here is a look at the top shooting teams in the nation through games of December 17:

 

 

 

The Vikings have endured three losses this season by a combined seven points. WWU dropped its first game of the season vs. Westminster on a half-court buzzer beater (66-63) and opened GNAC play with a pair of tight games falling at Northwest Nazarene by one point (75-74) and Central Washington (79-76). The Vikings are 7-3 on the season heading into Thursday's game vs. Lubbock Christian.

 

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2024-25 season:

 

 

WWU's games at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic will stream on the FloSports College Network on a pay-per-view basis. Links to follow the games are listed on the schedule page on WWUVikings.com. All WWU links to follow the Vikings online can be found online, but be sure to bookmark the following links for easy access:

 

·         Vikings TV

·         GNAC Live Streams

·         Direct Link to watch games – wwuvikings.com/MBB_Watch

·         Direct Link to follow live stats – wwuvikings.com/MBB_Stats

 

Here is a look at the series history between WWU and its opponents at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic:

 

·         St. Mary's: First meeting between the Vikings and Rattlers…St. Mary's is located in San Antonio, Texas…Rattlers are 5-3 overall heading into the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.

·         Lubbock Christian: WWU and LCU meet for the second time with the Chaparrals defeating the Vikings 84-74 at the 2021 Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic…LCU was the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in that game.

 

Following the trip to play in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic, the Vikings return to GNAC play January 2-4 hosting the Alaska schools on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings lead the GNAC and ranks 39th in the nation averaging 85.3 points per game. WWU's offense has been led by six players averaging double-digits in scoring, led by senior Will Wilson with a team-best 16.9 points per game. Redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley is second on the team averaging 14.2 points per game. Also averaging at least 10.0 points per game is Louis Grante-Halliday (12.0), Trevor White (11.3), Tijan Saine (11.3) and Dajon Lott (11.1).

 

Senior guard Will Wilson has gotten off to an impressive start to the season averaging 16.9 points, 4.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game while playing an average of 34.8 minutes per game. He has scored in double-digits in nine of 10 games with three 20-point contests. Wilson was an honorable mention All-GNAC selection during his first WWU season averaging 15.8 points per game in 2023-24. Including junior college stops at State Fair CC and Mt. Hood CC, Wilson is making a run at 2,000 career points scoring 1,621 points in 92 career games (17.6 points per game).

 

Junior forward Dajon Lott came to WWU after a standout two-year career at Sacramento City College, where he scored 879 points and grabbed 485 rebounds in 55 games for the Panthers. Lott is now 10 points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career entering Thursday's game with 111 points in 10 games this season (11.1 ppg).

 

Here is a look at the 2024-25 GNAC Men's Basketball standings and overall records heading into the holiday slate of games. Updated standings and conference statistics can be viewed online at GNACSports.com. The top six teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the GNAC Championships held March 6-8 in Lacey:

 

 

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2024-25 season heading into the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic:

 

 

WWU has made nine appearances in the NCAA Division II Championships since joining the level in 1998-99. Owns an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 17-7 (.708) and have won at least one game in six of eight previous championships appearances (2+ games  in 4 of 8). The Vikings are three-time West Region Champions (2001, 2012, 2013), advancing the NCAA II Final Four in all three of the Elite 8 appearances in program history. The Vikings won the 2012 NCAA II National Championship.

 

Head coach Tony Dominguez is in his 13th year and 12th season at the helm of the program, and 30th overall at WWU. Dominguez has led the Vikings to a 221-118 record (.652) and was the 2016-17 GNAC Coach of the Year. He is assisted by AJ Albritton (3rd season), Bob Hofstetter (12th season) and Atiavo Jude (12th season).

 

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 13 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 2012 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has 20-win seasons in three of the last six years (and seven of 11) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is amongst the top 20 winningest Division II programs with its 1,567 all-time victories.