Friday, March 9, 2018

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Playing in front its home crowd Friday night, Western Oregon survived a late push by Point Loma to earn a 73-66 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Division II West Regional.

With the win, Western Oregon extended its win streak to 23 games and will take on No. 5 seed Saint Martin’s Saturday night in a rematch of the GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships final. The semifinal contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).

Western Oregon senior Tanner Omlid led WWU with 20 points, four assists and four steals. Seniors Vince Boumann and Malik Morgan were the other two Wolves in double-figure scoring with 15 and 10 points, respectively.

Owning the lead the entire night, Wester Oregon saw its advantage cut to seven with 2:19 left in the contest after Preston Beverly converted a free throw to bring PLNU within 67-60.

Omlid, the reigning GNAC Player of the Year, responded shortly after by knocking down a deep three-pointer to restore WOU’s lead 70-60 with a little over two minutes remaining in the game. Morgan and senior Brandell Evans were able to sink a pair of late free throws to preserve the nation’s longest win streak.

Point Loma’s Ziggy Satterthwaite pumped in a team-high 18 points on 8 for 12 shooting while Sterling Somers chipped in 17 points on 70 percent shooting. Despite shooting 46 percent throughout the night, the Sea Lions were plagued by 22 turnovers for 23 Western Oregon points.

Defeating the Saints’ 65-55 for the GNAC title last weekend, Western Oregon looks to earn its fourth win over Saint Martin’s this season.