Men's Basketball | 2/20/2012 5:12:00 PM

MEN'S BASKETBALL - NORTHWEST NAZARENE AT WESTERN OREGON
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 – 7:00 p.m. – Monmouth, Ore.
TICKETS: https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?w=64842a3d315b28c4909efccca718a02e&t=tix
LIVE VIDEO: www.pennatlantic.com
LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm

MEN'S BASKETBALL - CENTRAL WASHINGTON AT WESTERN OREGON
Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012 – 2:00 p.m. – Monmouth, Ore.
TICKETS: https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?w=64842a3d315b28c4909efccca718a02e&t=tix
LIVE VIDEO: www.pennatlantic.com
LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm

THIS WEEK:
Western Oregon men's basketball team returns home for the final two games of the regular season as they play host to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, Feb. 23rd at 7:00 p.m. and then to Central Washington on Saturday, Feb. 25th at 2:00 p.m.

SENIOR DAY:
Before Saturday's game against Central Washington the Wolves will say goodbye to five seniors: Blair Wheadon, Kyle Long, Jordan Freelander, Jamaal Veal, and Kris White with a short ceremony prior to tip-off.

WHEADON TIES THE ALL-TIME GNAC STEALS LEADER:
During Thursday's game against Alaska Fairbanks, Wheadon attached his name next to another record. During the second half of the game Wheadon poked the ball free from Carthal McDonald giving him his 210th steal of his career to tie Grant Dykstra.

Dykstra set the all-time GNAC record at 210 while playing for Western Washington. Wheadon has a chance to become the all-time steals leader this weekend as the Wolves play host to NNU and CWU.

WESTERN OREGON AS A TEAM:
The Wolves are 17-8 and in fourth place in the GNAC with a 10-6 record.

As a team Western Oregon ranks first in the GNAC with a +2.88 turnover margin. They also rank second in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.410) and steals (8.7). Other top five rankings in the conference include WOU in third in scoring defense (64.6) and three-point field goal percentage (.384), and fourth in scoring margin (+5.8).

WOLVES IN THE RANKINGS:
Wheadon ranks 27th in the nation and third in the GNAC with 2.3 steals per game. He is sixth in the GNAC in scoring (16.0) and three-point field goals made (2.4).

James Gehring and Kolton Nelson rank fifth and ninth in the GNAC in shooting percentage at .562 and .530, respectively. Nelson also ranks ninth in the conference with 0.8 blocks per game. Gehring sits eighth in the conference with 2.3 offensive rebounds per game.

Freelander and Long hold down the sixth and seventh spots in the GNAC steals category as they are averaging 1.7 and 1.5 steals a game, respectively.

WOLVES SPLIT THEIR FINAL ROAD TRIP:
WOU split its series with the Alaskan schools over the weekend. Western Oregon won 60-42 over Fairbanks, as the Wolves ran away on a 27-8 run to double their lead to 50-25 during the second half.

Against Alaska Anchorage, the Wolves struggled to put a stop to the Seawolves attack in the second half as UAA put the game in its hands thanks to a 12-0 run that increased their lead by 14 (70-56). The Wolves looked strong as the first half came to a close thanks to a 13-5 run to give them a 35-30 lead at intermission.

A LOOK AT THE NORTHWEST NAZARENE CRUSADERS:
Tipoff: 7:00 p.m.
Overall Record: 12-12, 6-10 GNAC (7th place)
Last Five: 2-3
Last Meeting: Wolves won 79-75 in overtime (Dec. 3rd, 2011)

The Crusaders enter Thursday game against the Wolves coming off an 84-78 win over Simon Fraser.

NNU leads the GNAC with a .766 free throw percentage. It also comes in at third in the conference in field goal percentage (.470) and rebounding defense (31.0). The Crusaders rank fourth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.383).

JB Pillard is ninth in the conference in scoring, and 10th in rebounds (6.2). He also ranks fourth with .581 field goal percentage. Michal Kurimsky sits in the third spot in the GNAC with a .594 field goal percentage.  Jonathan Hawkins and Anthony Golden ranks in the seventh and eighth spots in the conference with 3.6 and 3.5 assists, respectively. Hawkins also ranks first in the conference with 3.1 three-point field goals made.

Northwest Nazarene holds a 29-21 all-time series lead over Western Oregon. The last time the Wolves swept the Crusaders was during the 2002-03 season when they won 87-75 in Monmouth and 93-83 in Nampa, Idaho.

A LOOK AT THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON WILDCATS:
Tipoff: 2:00 p.m.
Overall Record: 13-11, 7-9 GNAC (6th place)
Last Five: 3-2
Last Meeting: Wolves won 77-75 (Dec. 1st, 2012)

Central Washington is looking to feed off their 89-82, victory over No. 10 ranked Western Washington (Feb. 18) as they face off against the Saint Martin's Saints on Thursday (Feb. 23) before heading to Monmouth to close out the season.

Currently Central Washington ranks first as a team in the GNAC in scoring (83.2), offensive rebounds (14.2), and blocked shots (5.7). They rank second in offensive rebounds (.378), and third in steals (8.2) and turnover margin (+2.29).

Many Wildcat players rank in the top 10 of the GNAC including Kevin Davis who ranks first in blocked shots (2.5) and offensive rebounds (3.5). Lacey Haddock ranks seventh in the GNAC in scoring and eighth in field goal percentage (.532). Jody Johnson and Davis rank second and fourth in rebounds with 8.0 and 7.7, respectively.

Central Washington holds a 40-9 all-time series lead over Western Oregon. The last time the Wolves swept the Wildcats was the 2004-05 season.