Mount Hood

Avgi leads Wolves in victory over Saints

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By:Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

1,100 fans packed the New P.E. Building on Saturday, Jan. 9 to watch the No. 13 Wolves defeat Saint Martin’s University (SMU) 74-61.

The Wolves had three players in double figures. Redshirt-senior Andy Avgi (F) led Western in scoring with 24 points. Senior Jordan Wiley (G) filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists, and redshirt-sophomore Alex Roth (G) tallied 10 points on 4-6 shooting from the floor.

“Andy Avgi is a tremendous offensive force, and I thought Jordan Wiley really played like a senior with 7 rebounds and 2 assists with no turnovers,” said Head Coach Jim Shaw after the game. “I thought he did a good job and I thought some guys made progress off the bench. Kadeem Strickland did some good things and it was good to get Nick [Nestell] back.”

After the Saints scored the first basket of the game on the opening possession, Western answered by hitting their first two shots to take the lead; a lead the Wolves would hold the rest of the game.

Western hit seven shots from beyond the arch in the first half and took a 35-30 lead into half time.

In the second half, the Wolves buckled down defensively and Avgi, the 2014-15 GNAC Player of the Year, caught fire. Avgi had 16 second-half points and played tough defense against the Saint’s big man, seven foot center Fred Jorg.

“Usually I guard people that are taller than me, but he had more weight on me. I think that he is around three-hundred pounds to my two-seventy, and that was a real load on defense,” said Avgi after the game. “It really got me tired at times, but I just kept on going at him and I think he only shot one for three. If I can do that against bigger guys I think we will do great.”

Western’s lead ballooned to 20 points with 6:46 remaining for the game, but SMU chipped away at the lead, and looked to bring Western’s advantage to single digits. Avgi’s 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining all but sealed the Wolves’ victory.

The Wolves shot 0.431 from the floor and 0.387 from long range and out-rebounded the Saints 36-34. Ball security and limiting turnovers were also a key factor.

“I thought that we didn’t have the level of energy in the first half that I thought we needed and I thought that we picked that up in the second half,” said Coach Shaw. “The best thing that we did today was not turning the ball over. We only had five turnovers for the entire game, which is hard to do.”

“We defended the interior better tonight than we have. I think that we need to improve our three point defense. They were 8 from 23, which I would have liked to see that about 6 for 23,” added Coach Shaw. “Overall I think we played solid, just not great.”

The victory improves the Wolves’ overall record to 12-2 and 5-1 in GNAC conference play.
After dropping two out of the last three games prior to the start of the week, the Wolves got back on track with a 96-90 overtime victory on Thursday, Jan. 7 against Seattle Pacific University and have now won three in a row.

Avgi’s 34 point performance on Thursday’s game combined with his 24 point performance against the Saint’s, earned Western’s big man the GNAC Player of the Week honor.

Up next, Avgi and the Wolves travel north to play Western Washington University on Saturday, Jan. 16. The next home game is on Thursday, Jan. 21 against the University of Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. in the New P.E. Building.

Wolves nearly pull out victory over Western Washington

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The Western Oregon women’s basketball team nearly gave Western Washington University (WWU) their first GNAC conference loss, but inevitably fell short 59-61 on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016.

For the second consecutive game, senior Emily Howey (C) led the Wolves in scoring and finished with 12 points on 5-7 shooting from the floor. Sophomore Sydney Azorr (G) was the only other Western player to reach double figures in scoring with 10 points.

Fresh from Thursday’s 58-57 victory over Simon Fraser University, the Wolves started off the game in dominating fashion. In the first quarter, the Wolves shot a blistering .571 from the floor to take a 12 point advantage into the second quarter.

Western continued to press the Vikings in the second quarter and reached their highest lead of the game with a 14 point advantage and just 2:30 remaining until half time. WWU would score two unanswered baskets to close the lead to 32-22 going into the half.

WWU closed the scoring gap midway through the fourth quarter. The Vikings would chip away at the Wolves’ lead, scoring 12 unanswered points to put WWU up 51-50 with 4:44 remaining in the game.

With Western clinging on to a 1 point lead with less than a minute to go, WWU hit a dagger 3-pointer to crush the Wolves’ hope for a victory.

The loss brings the Wolves’ overall record to 2-10 and 1-3 in GNAC conference play.

Next up the Wolves head to Alaska to face the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016.

The next home game is on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. in the New P.E. Building. Fans are asked to wear black to support their team. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office on game day.

Wolves best Simon Fraser 58-57

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The women’s basketball team edged out Simon Fraser University (SFU) 58-57 at home on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015.

Senior Emily Howey (C) led the Wolves in scoring with 14 points on 6-9 shooting from the floor. Junior Launia Davis (G) tallied 9 points while freshman’s Ali Nelke (G/F) and Natalie DeLonge (C) both added 8 points.

The first quarter went back and forth with five lead changes. The quarter would end with the score even at 20-20.

At the start of the second quarter, Howey scored three unanswered baskets, with all of her points coming in the paint. Western fed off of Howey’s energy and played smart basketball by taking high percentage shots. The Wolves held a 36-29 advantage going into half time.

In the first half, Western played arguably their best half of the season shooting .54 from the floor and going 2-4 from beyond the 3-point line. The Wolves also created 13 points off of turnovers and had 10 offensive rebounds.

Three minutes into the third quarter the Wolves got their largest lead of the game at 11 points. The Clan, however, would fight their way back into the game after Western went cold from the floor to take a 41-40 lead with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Both teams struggled with shooting the ball in the final quarter and the score remained within a single basket for nearly the rest of the game.

With 1:41 remaining for the game, Wolves’ head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter subbed in sophomore Jasmine Miller (G/F). Miller scored the final four points to seal the much needed victory.

Western finished the game shooting .438 from the floor and .375 from beyond the arch. Western out-rebounded SFU 38-33 and tallied 7 steals.

The Snow Gods have blessed Oregon

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports editor

Winter term is officially here, and to the delight of skiers and snowboarders, so is the snow. On Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, snow pounded the valley and Western Oregon University closed its doors.

Although many students might have been upset, skiers and snowboarders rejoiced. Last year, snowfall in the mountains hit record lows. Mt. Hood Ski Bowl had so little snow last year that the resort’s lifts stayed closed the entire season.

This year, however, Ski Bowl already has a base of 68” and all of the resort’s lifts are operational.
Because Ski Bowl’s elevation is significantly lower than Mt. Hood’s other two resorts, Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline, Ski Bowl’s snow levels provide a good indication on how much the Snow Gods have blessed Oregon.

Monmouth is smack dab in the middle of four ski resorts which provides ski and snowboard enthusiasts multiple viable options for entertainment. Mt. Hood’s three resorts are north east and Mt. Bachelor is to the south.

Mt. Bachelor is a three hour drive from Monmouth, and the mountain has been blasted with powder. With a snow depth of 115” and 243” of total snowfall since Oct. 1, 2015, the mountain has already seen more snow in a few months than all of last year.

Mt. Hood’s three resorts are a little closer in distance to Monmouth than Mt. Bachelor. According to Google Maps, the drive takes a little over two and a half hours, depending on the desired resort.

Mt. Hood Meadows has a base of 79” and Timberline has a base of 89.”

Already, in just a few months, snow levels are higher on all four resorts than they were at any point last season, which has diluted skiers and snowboarder’s tears from last year.

Snow has pounded Oregon ski resorts and it is up to you to take advantage.

Drama and excitement set to begin with NFL Playoffs

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports editor

The final day of the regular season in the NFL didn’t disappoint, and now after the dust has settled, all of the playoff matches are set in stone.

There are 32 teams in the NFL, and now, after waiting 11 months for the regular season to conclude, the remaining 12 playoff teams face a do-or-die, win-or-go home scenario.

The first two games, the AFC Wild-Card games, kick off on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016.

First, the No. 5 Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) travel to Texas to play the No. 4 Houston Texans (9-7). Kickoff is at 1:45 p.m. Then at 5:15 p.m., the No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) travel to Ohio to play the No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals (12-4).

On the final day of the regular season, the Denver Broncos (12-4) seized the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC with a victory over the San Diego Chargers, and with a New England Patriot (12-4) loss to the Miami Dolphins which slid New England into the No. 2 seed.

Both Denver and New England earned a first week bye. Denver will host the lowest seeded victor from the Wild-Card matchups on Sunday, Jan. 17. New England will play the highest ranked victor on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016.

The NFC Wild Card games will kick off on Sunday, Jan. 10.

The red-hot No. 6 Seattle Seahawks (10-6) travel to the east coast to face the No. 3 Minnesota Vikings (11-5) at 10:05 a.m. Then at 1:40 p.m., the No. 4 Washington Redskins (9-7) host the No. 5 Green Bay Packers (10-6).

After a surprising season, the Carolina Panthers (15-1) dominated the regular season and look to continue their momentum into the playoffs. Because Carolina seized the No. 1 seed in the NFC, they got a first round bye and will host the lowest seed winner of the NFC Wild-Card games on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 10:05 p.m.

The No. 2 Arizona Cardinals (13-3) also earned a first round bye and will host the highest seeded winner from the Wild-Card games on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 5:15 p.m.

What makes this NFL Playoff so exiting is there is no clear-cut favorite. There will be drama and there will be excitement. Twelve teams remain but there will be only one winner.

Men back on track with victory over NNU

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

After back-to-back losses the Wolves got back on track with a decisive 75-53 victory against Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016.

Western dominated the game with a balanced attack. Five players scored in double figures with redshirt-sophomore Alex Roth (G) leading the way with 16 points.

Senior Julian Nichols (G), coming off a season-high 29 points against Central Washington University, tallied 13 points and had a game-high 8 assists. Senior Jordan Wiley (G) and redshirt-sophomore Tanner Omlid (G/F) each added 12 points, and redshirt-senior Andi Avgi (F) had 11 points.

NNU had a 3 point lead with 3:49 remaining in the first half, but the Wolves would buckle down on defense and hold NNU scoreless for the remainder of the half. Western would score the final 10 points of the first half to take a 34-27 lead into halftime.

The Wolves continued their stellar play in the beginning of the second half with stifling defense and ball control. After NNU cut the Wolves’ double digit lead to just 8 points with 13:32 remaining for the game, Western converted four unanswered buckets from beyond the arch; two from Roth, one from Nichols, and one from Omlid to increase the lead to 59-39.

The 12 point swing proved to be insurmountable for NNU and the Wolves cruised to a hard-fought victory. Western shot .476 from the floor, .462 from beyond the arch and held every statistical advantage over NNU.

With the victory, the Wolves improve their overall record to 10-2 and 4-1 in GNAC conference play.

Western Oregon currently sits in third place in the GNAC behind University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Fairbanks; however, the Wolves host both teams in two weeks.

Up next, the Wolves host Seattle Pacific University (9-3, 2-2 GNAC) on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016 at 7 p.m. in the New P.E. Building. Fans are asked to wear black to support the team. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office on game day.

Wolves fall to CWU in nail-biter

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

Coming off a tough loss to the University of Oregon just two days earlier, the men’s basketball team fell to Central Washington University (CWU) on New Year’s Eve in Ellensburg, Wash. The final score was 77-81.

Western Oregon was led by senior Julian Nichols (G) who had a game-high 29 points and also added 3 assists and 1 steal. Redshirt-senior Andy Avgi (F), the second leading scorer in the GNAC, added 16 points. Redshirt-sophomore Alex Roth (G), was the third player in double figures with 12 points.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 10-5 lead but the Wolves would go on a 6-0 run thanks to multiple hustle plays from Avgi. The first half continued in this back-and-forth trend and there was eight lead changes in the first half alone.

The Wolves would hold a 40-39 advantage going into half time.

Western looked to put the pressure on CWU early in the second half. With stingy defense and cohesive play, the Wolves went on a 14-6 run to take a 9 point advantage with 14:47 remaining for the game.
CWU responded with an 11-2 run which included three shots from beyond the arch. The Wildcats went 6-10 from deep in the second half.

Western wouldn’t back down and, with 2:08 left for the game, the Wolves took their final lead on a step-back 3-pointer from Nichols. The Wolves, however, couldn’t get stops in the final minutes of the game and CWU scored 8 points from the free-throw line in their final four possessions.

The Wolves shot .455 from the floor and .364 from beyond the arch.

The tough loss marks the Wolves’ first GNAC conference loss and brought their record to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in GNAC conference play.

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Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

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