Saturday, March 12, 2016

MONMOUTH, Ore. – Andy Avgi had a game-high 22 points to lead four Western Oregon players in double figures as the top-seeded Wolves defeated No. 5 seed Azusa Pacific 81-69 Saturday to earn a spot in Monday’s NCAA West Region title game at the New P.E. Building.

It will mark the first NCAA regional title-game appearance for the Wolves, who improved their home record to 14-0 with the victory.

Western Oregon (29-3), winner of six straight, will face No. 2 UC San Diego (24-7) Monday night at 7 p.m., in Monmouth, for a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. UC San Diego advanced to the championship game with a thrilling 71-69 victory over Cal Baptist in the other semifinal game Saturday.

Azusa Pacific, which ended its season at 23-9, was led by Bruce English, who had a team-high 18 points. Jared Zoller added 12 points and Petar Kutlesic 11.

Avgi, the two-time GNAC Player of the Year, punctuated WOU’s victory with a breakaway slam dunk inside the final minute. Avgi hit 8 of 14 field goal attempts, including 6 of 7 from beyond the arc, and had three blocked shots.

Also with big scoring nights for the Wolves were guards Devon Alexander (19) and Julian Nichols (18). Nichols was 12 of 14 at the free throw line, helping WOU to a 21-of-24 team performance from the charity stripe. Jordan Wiley added 11 points.

After going into intermission leading 38-29, Western Oregon continued to build on its lead, moving out to an 18-point advantage at 64-46 with 7:08 left. But Azusa did not give up, outscoring the Wolves 11-1 over the next few minutes to pull within eight, 65-57, with 3:33 remaining. The Cougars could get no closer than five points the rest of the way.

Monday’s meeting will be the second between the two clubs this season. Back on Dec. 14, Western Oregon registered a 67-63 road victory over UC San Diego.