Wednesday, March 23, 2016

FRISCO, Texas – For being the newcomers in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, Western Oregon played Wednesday night like they were old pros.

All-American Andy Avgi led four WOU players in double figures with 20 points as the Wolves defeated Saginaw Valley State in the quarterfinals, 81-68, at Dr. Pepper Arena.

Avgi connected on 7 of 15 from the field and 4 of 8 from three-point range, coming up big on a night where Western Oregon struggled to shoot well. The Wolves finished the night shooting 38.7 percent from the field (24-62) and Avgi accounted for four of the three-pointers as the Wolves went 5 of 23 from beyond the arc. Western Oregon was solid from the free throw line for their second straight game, making 28 of 31.

Julian Nichols added 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists while Tanner Omlid contributed a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Devon Alexander added 15 poinra and six rebounds.

With the victory, Western Oregon (31-3) set a school record with their 31st win of the season, surpassing the old record of 30 set by the 1981-82 squad. The Wolves also kept alive a string of six straight wins for GNAC teams in the national quarterfinals dating back to the conference’s founding in 2001.

The Wolves will face No. 2 seed Augustana (S.D.) in the second semifinal game on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. (CDT). The game will be aired nationally on the CBS Sports Network. The winner will face the winner of the first semifinal between No. 1 seed Lincoln Memorial and No. 4 seed West Liberty for the national championship on Saturday.

Saginaw Valley opened with the game’s first points, but that was the last lead the Cardinals would have as Western Oregon went off of 15-0 run, culminating on back-to-back pointers by Avgi, to take a 15-3 lead with six minutes gone in the period. The Cardinals cut the lead back down to six points at the midway points of the half, but the Wolves came right back to build it back to a 10-point lead. The advantage held for most of the rest of the half as Western Oregon took a 36-29 lead to the locker room.

Western Oregon extended their lead to 38-29 to open the second half, but Saginaw Vallley roared to life with a 10-1 run and took the 39-38 lead on Garrett Hall’s lay-in at the 16:30 mark. Two Julian Nichols free throws of the Wolves next possession, however, ignited a 14-2 run of their own that ended on Alexander’s jumper with 12:14 to go that made it a 52-41 WOU advanrtage. Saginaw Valley had cut their deficit to 61-54 on CJ Turnage’s lay-up with 6:33 left before the Wolves all but closed out the game with a seven-point run, ending on Devon Alexander’s three-point lead for a 68-54 WOU lead with 5:04 to go.

Hall led Saginaw Valley with 15 points while Kenne Smith came off the bench to score 15 points and grab eight rebounds. Damon Bozeman finished with 14 points and CJ Turnage added 12. The Cardinals, members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, finished their season at 25-8.