BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team aims to build off its road victory over Montana State Billings last week heading into a pair of home games inside Carver Gym.

 

WWU hosts No. 17 nationally-ranked Saint Martin's (16-2, 5-0 GNAC0 on Thursday and Western Oregon (3-12, 0-5 GNAC) on Saturday with both games featuring a 7 pm tip-off on WECU Court. Tickets are available for pre-purchase at WWUVikings.com/Tickets and the Carver Gym Box Office opens one hour prior to tip-off. Free parking is available close to Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings notched their first GNAC win last Saturday with a 14-point 84-70 triumph over the defending conference champion MSUB Yellowjackets. WWU is 9-7 overall and 1-5 in conference play heading into this week's home games.

 

Western is 5-3 in home games this season and will look to rekindle the early-season performances that led to an 8-2 record in non-conference play.

 

The Vikings are led by four players averaging double-digits in scoring, with senior guard Will Wilson (15.3 points/game) and redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley (15.0 points/game) pacing the offensive attack. Junior forward Garrett Levesque has surged to lead the team with 5.1 rebounds per game and Kepley is listed 3rd in the conference averaging a team-best 4.5 assists per game. Tijan Saine (13.2) and Louis Grante-Halliday (10.4) are also averaging at least 10 points per game, with Trevor White at 9.9 points per game.

 

 

The Vikings close out the first half of the 18-game conference schedule next week crossing the border to play at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby on Saturday, January 25. Both WWU teams will play at SFU, with the Viking women tipping off vs. the Red Leafs at 5:15 pm in West Gym, followed by the WWU men vs. SFU at 7:30 pm. Both games on Burnaby Mountain will feature a live and free webcast on SFU's YouTube channel. 

 

WWU's remaining 12 games are all Great Northwest Athletic Conference games, including home games this week vs. nationally ranked Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. All 10 GNAC teams play an 18-game league schedule, with the top six teams in the standings at the end of the regular season advancing to the GNAC Championships that will be held March 6-8 at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.

 

Thanks to a partnership with WECU and The Foundation for WWU & Alumni, all current WWU students will receive free admission to all regular-season athletic events in Carver Gym and at Harrington Field again in 2024-25. Students just need to show their W card at the door and then head over to the WECU Student Section to cheer on the Viks. 

 

Parking for all WWU home events in Carver Gym is free and now located in the 19G Lot by the Student Recreation Center. Season ticket parking will be in the 9G lot. A parking map is available at wwuvikings.com.

WWU went 1-1 last week, dropping a 97-86 contest at Seattle Pacific on Thursday and bouncing back for an 84-70 win over Montana State Billings on Saturday. Grant Kepley led the Vikings and was the team's nominee for GNAC Player of the Week averaging 19.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game. Will Wilson averaged 18.5 points, Tijan Saine scored 29 points and Trevor White averaged 11.5 points per game.

 

Four of the Vikings seven losses this season are by a combined 11 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 9-7 on the season heading into the remaining 12 conference games of the season.

 

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

 

 

Both home games this week feature a live (and free) webcast on YouTube with links available at WWUVikings.com/Live. All home games will stream live on YouTube via Vikings TV. Additionally, every away GNAC game will feature a webcast on YouTube produced by the visiting team. To watch WWU home games on your Smart TV, navigate to the YouTube application and search for WWU Athletics, or for away games search for the opposing school's YouTube channel (example: WOU Athletics). 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 this week:

 

·         Saint Martin's: Vikings and Saints meet for the first of two conference games this season…WWU travels to Lacey for a rematch inside Marcus Pavilion on February 15…WWU has dropped its last six games vs. the Saints dating back to the 2022 season…prior to current string of losses won 19 of 23 games from 2010-2020…WWU leads the all-time series 136-70.

·         Western Oregon: Vikings and Wolves meet for the first time this season with WWU's return trip to Monmouth scheduled for February 13…WWU leads the all-time series vs. WOU 51-25…Vikings swept the season series last year winning 82-68 in Carver Gym and 78-62 on the road…WWU has won three of the last four in the series after dropping four straight and six of eight from 2020-22.

 

Redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley has been filling the stat sheet in his first collegiate season averaging 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game…while shooting 51.3-percent from the field (81-for-158), 46.7-percent from three-point range (21-for-45) and 89.4-percent from the free throw line (42-for-47). Among GNAC leaders Kepley ranks 12th in scoring average, 3rd in assists, 4th in steals, 11th in field goal percentage, 2nd in three-point field goal percentage and 2nd in free throw percentage.

 

Senior guard Will Wilson is averaging a team-best 15.3 points per game to rank 9th in the GNAC. Wilson is also averaging 4.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and shooting 48.3-percent from the field (85-for-176) while starting all 16 games. He has scored in double-digits in 13 of 16 games with four 20-point performances. 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 1,696 points in 98 career games (17.3 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 one point shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career entering Thursday's game with 120 points in 16 games this season (7.5 ppg).

 

Here is a look at the 2024-25 GNAC Men's Basketball standings and overall records heading into this week's schedule. 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 this week's schedule:

 

 

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 223-122 record (.646) 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 1,569 all-time victories.