BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team won their third consecutive game defeating Western Oregon University 90-86 Saturday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

WWU led by as many as 12 points early in the second half, but WOU battled back going on an 11-0 run to pull even at 68-68 with 10 minutes remaining. The Vikings answered scoring seven consecutive points and led the remainder of the way clinching the four-point victory with two Will Wilson free throws in the final seconds. 

The Vikings improved to 11-7 overall and remains in 7th place in the GNAC standings at 3-5 with one game remaining in the first half of the conference slate. WOU dropped to 4-13 overall and 1-6 in GNAC play.

Wilson led the Vikings with a game-high-tying 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting, going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 from the free throw line. He added five assists and five rebounds in 33 minutes, scoring 17 of his 27 points in the second half. 

Sophomore Louis Grante-Halliday flirted with a triple-double racking up 12 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals in 36 minutes. Freshman Trevor White added 12 points (6-8 FG), eight rebounds and four blocked shots and redshirt freshman Grant Kepley tallied 10 points and seven assists.

The Vikings shot 53.7-percent for the game (36-for-67) and were 12-for-29 from three-point range (41.4%). WWU also held a decisive 38-22 advantage in rebounding with 17 offensive boards leading to 20 second chance points.

WOU was led by 27 points by Jahville Collins, who was coming off a career-high 34 points Thursday at Simon Fraser. O'shen Cazimero added 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting (14 in second half) and 17 points by Jason Gallant. WOU shot a season-best 53.2-percent from the field (33-for-62) and was 8-for-14 from beyond the arc.

Western Oregon went on an 11-0 run over a three-minute stretch to tie the game 68-68 with 10:01 remaining. Not only fighting off the extending scoring run, the Vikings answered scoring seven consecutive points and went on a 14-6 run to pull ahead 82-74 with 4:37 remaining. The Wolves again cut the lead to one possession at 86-83 following a 9-4 run, but Will Wilson made a layup and put the game out of reach with two free throws in the final seconds.

The Vikings held a nine-point halftime lead at 52-43, led by 10 points each from Will Wilson and Louis Grante-Halliday. WWU shot 56.8-percent in the first 20 minutes, going 21-for-37 from the field and 9-for-17 from beyond the arc (52.9%). The Vikings led by as many as 11 points before settling for the nine-point lead. Freshman Aidan Rice had nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range. 

The Vikings (11-7, 3-5 GNAC) return to the road next week closing out the first half of the conference slate with a 7:30 pm game against Simon Fraser (6-12, 2-6 GNAC) on Burnaby Mountain. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Western Oregon:

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

The Vikings have won four of the last five in the series after dropping four straight and six of eight from 2020-22. WWU leads the all-time series 52-25 and have won the last three games vs. the Wolves. Two teams meet again February 13 in Monmouth.

Here is a look at the 2024-25 GNAC Men's Basketball standings and overall records through Saturday's action. 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 following the four-point home win over Western Oregon:

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 1,571 all-time victories.