BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team looks to get back on track this week with a pair of road games in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

 

The Vikings take their 8-6 overall record into road games at Seattle Pacific on Thursday (7:30 pm) and Montana State Billings on Saturday (4:15 pm MT). WWU is 0-4 to open GNAC play.

 

WWU will be looking to rekindle its hot start to the season that resulted in a 6-1 record through the first seven games. The Vikings are 2-5 in their last seven games.

 

Senior guard Will Wilson leads the team and ranks 11th in the GNAC averaging 14.8 points per game. Redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley sat out Western's four-point loss to Alaska Anchorage with an injury, but is averaging 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Sophomore Louis Grante-Halliday (4.9) and junior Garrett Levesque (4.6) are also among the team leaders in rebounds. Sophomore guard Tijan Saine is coming off a career-high 29-point game and is averaging 12.9 points per game.

 

All of WWU's remaining 14 regular-season games will be GNAC contests, with seven at home and seven on the road. 

 

 

The Vikings are back at home next week hosting Saint Martin's (Thursday, Jan. 16) and Western Oregon (Saturday, Jan. 18) in GNAC play. Both conference games feature a 7 pm tip-off on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

WWU's remaining 14 games are all Great Northwest Athletic Conference games, including road games this week at Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. 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.

 

Four of the Vikings six 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 8-6 on the season heading into the remaining 14 conference games of the season.

 

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

 

 

Both road games this week will 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:

 

·         Seattle Pacific: Vikings and Falcons have split each of the last three season series, with SPU winning the first game each season and WWU winning the second…last season Western dropped a 89-74 decision at SPU and defeated the Falcons 80-76 at home…SPU leads the all-time series 89-59 with WWU holding a 4-3 advantage in the in the last seven meetings.

·         Montana State Billings: Vikings have dropped the last four games to the Yellowjackets, and six of the last seven dating back to the 2019-20 season…Vikings lead the all-time series 25-14 with a 10-8 record in road games vs. MSUB.

 

Senior guard Will Wilson is averaging 14.8 points, 3.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game while playing an average of 34.2 minutes per game. He has scored in double-digits in 11 of 14 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 1,659 points in 96 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 five points shy of 1,000 for his collegiate career entering Thursday's game with 116 points in 14 games this season (8.3 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 222-121 record (.647) 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 1,568 all-time victories.