Mount Hood

Men’s Basketball gets back-to-back wins

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The Western men’s basketball team defeated Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) 82-76 on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 in their first game of the regular season.

The first half was back-and-forth, and there were eight ties and six lead changes. With the score tied at 38-38 with 2:15 remaining till half time, the Sea Lions outscored the Wolves 10-4 to take a 48-42 lead into the break.

PLNU, with the momentum carrying over from the first half, continued to build on their lead until the Sea Lions had an 11 point advantage with the score at 61-50.

The Wolves would claw their way back into the game and go on a 7-0 run with a three-pointer from senior Devon Alexander (G) and a tip from Sophomore Tanner Omlid (F).

WOU would take the lead with a little over five minutes to play and never look back.

Omlid, who made his WOU debut, led all scorers with 28 points and shot an amazing 93 percent from the field, making 13 of 14 shots. Omlid also added eight rebounds and six steals.
Western had three other players beside Omlid that cracked double digits in scoring. Senior Julian Nichols (G) had 14 points, sophomore Alex Roth (G) had 13 points and Devon Alexander had 11 points.

Then on Saturday, Nov. 14, the Wolves defeated Fresno Pacific University (FPU) 82-73 to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The Sunbirds jumped out to an early lead in the first half with an 11-8 margin. The Wolves would buckle down and tie the score at 11-11 with a Kadeem Strickland (G) 3-pointer.

After taking the lead on the next possession, WOU would not look back, and kept the lead for the rest of the game.

Although FPU would finish the game with a higher shooting percentage of 48 percent from the field compared with Western’s 42 percent, the Wolves won the turnover battle 12 to 18. WOU also had 13 steals compared with FPU’s five.

Winning the turnover battle has been key for the Wolves in the first two regulation games. In both games, the Wolves have had a total of 21 turnovers and created 39 turnovers off of their opponents.

Alexander led Western in scoring with 17 points and also added four assists. The Wolves had three other players in double digits for scoring; Roth and Nichols both had 16 points and Omlid had 12 points.

The No. 21 ranked Wolves’ next two games are back-to-back home games. The first is against California State Monterey Bay University on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. The second is on Saturday, Nov. 21 against Warner Pacific College also at 7 p.m.

2014-15 GNAC Player of the Year Andy Agvi (F) will make his season debut for Western, after sitting out the start of the season due to NCAA regulations as he was also playing on the football team.

Both games are held at the New P.E. Building. You can purchase tickets online or on game day at the box office.

Heartbreak for football

By: Jamal Smith Sports Editor

Western Football dropped their last game of the season 29-13 to Humboldt State University (HSU) on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015 at McArthur Field.

The Wolves came into the game with the hopes of reaching the NCAA Division II Playoffs with a win against HSU.

The Wolves were ranked No. 10 in the region and Humboldt was ranked No. 3 prior to the game; the top eight teams in the region would qualify for the playoffs.

The Wolves struck first on their second drive of the game when redshirt-sophomore Phillip Fenumiai (QB) connected with sophomore Maurice McSwain (WR) for a 71-yard strike, giving the Wolves an early 7-0 lead and sending the Western faithful into a jubilant frenzy.

McSwain finished the game with a season-high 129 yards on five catches.

The Jacks would even up the score a few minutes later after the GNAC’s leading rusher Ja’Quan Gardner found a hole in the Wolves’ defense and broke away for a 43-yard touchdown run.

WOU’s running game, which has been a staple of the offense all season, had trouble establishing a rhythm. Leading rusher and true-freshman Malik Braxton was held to only 26 yards on 11 carries.

To make matters worse, the Wolves were stung by the injury bug. In the second quarter, senior defensive play maker Jonathan Breland (LB) had to leave the game after an apparent knee injury.

Then early in the second half, Fenumiai sustained an injury which took him out of the competition. Both players would not return.

HSU showed why they are at the top of the GNAC ladder in the second quarter, stopping the Wolves from scoring and then adding a field goal and a touchdown. The Jacks took a 17-7 lead going into half time.

Senior Trey Shimabukuro (QB) took over for Fenumiai early in the third quarter, but HSU’s defense held Western scoreless in the quarter. The Jacks would again add to their lead, scoring another field goal and a touchdown in the quarter to take a 26-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

After HSU kicked another field goal and went ahead 29-7 early in the fourth quarter, it seemed like the game could get out of hand. But the Wolves showed their never-say-die attitude and stepped up the defense.

Last weeks’ GNAC Defensive Player of the Week junior George Swartzlender (DL) continued his impressive play with a career-best 11 tackles for the game.

The Wolves’ leading tackler senior Shane Kuenzi (LB) had 8 tackles and also saved a touchdown with a key interception in the first half.

With just seconds left in the game and Western on the HSU 1-yard line, senior Joe Harris (RB) punched his way into the end zone. Although the score was insurmountable, scoring the last touchdown was a matter of pride for the Wolves.

“Getting in was the only way. I had to score,” said Harris after the game. “Not getting in wasn’t an option. We had to go out with a touchdown. That was the only way to go out.”
With the victory, the Jacks became 2015 GNAC champions, guaranteeing their spot in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

“We couldn’t get enough on offense, and defensively we allowed them to run the ball and they wore us down,” said head coach Arne Ferguson after the game. “We knew we were going to play a really good Humboldt team; they are number three in the region. With their strength in schedule they should be number one in the region.”

Although the Wolves’ concluded their season on a sour note, Ferguson was optimistic about the future of the program.

“First of all we want all of our players to do well in school. We want them to be disciplined. We want them to develop as football players. Throughout the season our players continued to get better,” said Ferguson. “We aren’t where we would have liked to be, but the progress we made finishing 7-4, there’s a really good opportunity to build on that.”

The 7-4 season marks the tenth consecutive winning season for the Wolf Pack.

“We are fortunate to have most of our d-line coming back and they are the staple of our defense. Replacing seniors and that experience is so hard to do and [so is] the physicality they bring,” added Ferguson.

WOU hosts XC Regionals

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

Western played host to the 2015 NCAA Cross-Country Regionals on Saturday Nov. 7, 2015 at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Oregon.

The men’s team finished 12th out of 23 teams. Sophomore David Ribich was the first to cross the finish-line for the Wolves, and placed 11th individually, earning him All-West honors and also qualifying him for the NCAA individual championships.

“As a team we came a long way from last year. We wanted everyone on the team to run the best race they could to give back to the seniors who deserved a good last race and to go out on a high note,” said Ribich.

“[The team] fell short on making nationals, but I qualified as an individual which will take place next Saturday on the 21st in Joplin, Missouri,” Ribich said.

Ribich became the first WOU cross-country athlete to qualify for the NCAA individual Championships since Connor Kasler succeeded back in 2011.

Ribich finished the 10K race with a blazing time of 30:11.95.

“During the race I felt pretty good. I was expecting the Anchorage, Alaska competitors and the Chico competitors and Oliver Jorgensen from Simon Frasier to go straight to the front, and that’s where I wanted to be,” said Ribich.

Ribich continued, “The race was really packed up and I couldn’t get my full stride because of how close everyone was to each other.”

“At about 6K, Chico and Alaska started picking up the pace so at that point I had to give it my all because if I dropped off from the lead group there would have been no way to catch back up,” added Ribich.

“So I hung on till about 8500 meters and then I started struggling. But with the support of the fans, community and my family; when I heard the cheering, it gave me a second wind,” Ribich concluded.

The Wolves had three other male athletes place in the top 100. Senior Zach Hollaway placed 43rd with a time of 31:23. Junior David Cornish finished in 67th place and freshman Tyler Jones finished 91st.

The women’s team placed 15th out of 28 total teams.

Junior Nichole Maurmann had the Wolves’ best time of the day, finishing the 6,000-meter race in 37th place with a time of 22:07. Senior Stephanie Stuckey finished the race three seconds later to place 40th.

“We were all really excited that it was a home meet for regionals. We had so much support from the track team and the other sports teams,” said Stuckey.

Stuckey added, “As a team we went out and did our best, but we didn’t finish exactly where we wanted to be. But at the end of the day, we ran the best race we could. I had a lot of fun and was able to run with Nichole and it was really cool that we got to work together.”

The 2015 NCAA Championships is on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015 at 11 a.m. in Joplin, Missouri. Ribich looks to build on his successful season and accomplish is macro and micro goals.

“My focus goal is to place in the top 40 to gain an All-American medal,” said Ribich, “My macro goal is to just go out there and run the best race I possibly can and represent the GNAC and Western Oregon.”

Women’s basketball drops opening exhibition games

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The women’s basketball team opened up their exhibition schedule on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015 on the road against Weber State University. The Wolves were out-matched and lost to the Wildcats 42-71.

Redshirt-junior Kelsey Henry (F) led the Wolves in scoring and finished with 14 points and 4 rebounds.

Senior Emily Howey (C), junior Jordan Mottershaw (G) and first year Kaylie Boschma (G) each finished with 6 points for the Wolves.

Both teams shot 48 percent from the field, but the score discrepancy came down to turnovers and missed free-throws.

WOU racked up a total of 31 turnovers which led to 41 Wildcat points, giving Weber State an extra 25 field goal opportunities.

Two days later, the women’s basketball team concluded their exhibition schedule in a tough fought 56-73 loss to Idaho State University Saturday Nov. 7, 2015.

Sophomore Jasmine Miller (G/F) led the way for the Wolves, finishing the game with 16 points while shooting 6-of-9 from the field.
Miller also tallied 8 rebounds. WOU’s center Howey continued to play solid, tallying 10 points and 5 rebounds.

The Wolves shot a respectable 40 percent from the field, but just like in Thursday’s game, they struggled from the free-throw line, converting just 12 of 27 from the charity stripe. Idaho State also held the rebound advantage of 45-38, and outscored the Wolves 40-24 in the paint.

It is worth noting that exhibition results do not impact the team’s record.

The Wolfpack look to rebound in Western’s first regular season game on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 at 4 p.m. against California State University Easy Bay in Hayward, California.

Their first home game is on Saturday Nov. 21, 2015 against California State University, Chico at 2 p.m. in the New P.E. Building.

For tickets and game information, visit the ticket office during regular business hours in the New P.E. Building, or call 503-838–8917.

Men’s basketball posts loss to Oregon State

By: Jamal Smith Sports Editor

The men’s basketball team lost their first exhibition game 76-57 in Corvallis on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015, to Oregon State University (OSU).

Senior Devon Alexander (G) led the wolves in scoring with 16 points. Alexander hit a game-best five shots from beyond the arch.

Jefferson High School product Kadeem Strickland (G) had 14 points in his collegiate debut while sophomore Oregon State transfer Alex Roth, had 14 points and five rebounds against his former team.

Oregon State got off to a quick start, scoring the game’s first 14 points, but Western would grind their way back into the game. With 5:27 left in the first half and Western down 29-19, the Wolves hit four unanswered shots from beyond the three-point line to take the lead 30-29.

The Beavers would answer with a run of their own, scoring the final eight points of the half to take the lead 37-30 going into half time.

In the second half, after OSU increased their lead by 14 points, Alexander would keep the Wolves in the game when he hit two consecutive three-pointers, cutting the lead to 59-53.

After it looked as though Western could challenge the Beavers for the upset, the Wolves went cold from the floor. OSU would outscore the Wolves 17-4 in the final minutes sealing the victory.

The Wolves were without last year’s leading scorer and 2014-15 GNAC Player of the Year, senior Andy Agvi (F). Agvi was inactive for the game due to NCAA regulations because he is currently playing on the football team.

Next up the Wolves play Point Loma Nazarene University in the GNAC/PACWEST challenge on Friday, Nov. 13 2015 in Olympia, Washington at 5 p.m.

Tough loss for a young team Simon Frasier edges out Western in four nail-biting sets

By: Grace Knapp 
Freelance Writer

The young WOU volleyball team faced Simon Frasier University on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015.

Battling for every point, the 7-18 Wolves eventually succumbed to the 12-12 Clan after four hotly contested sets. The set scores were 26-24, 25-23, 25-15, and 25-22.

In the opening set, the score difference between the teams never exceeded three points, and the Wolves secured four aces.

However, this wasn’t enough to win the set, and WOU fell to SFU 26-24.

Motivated by the close set, the Wolves rallied their efforts in the second. Although the Clan took an early lead of 20-15, the pack overtook the five point deficit and tied the score 22-22, eventually winning the set with a kill by Sydney Blankinship (MB).

Western quickly fell behind, leading to a disappointing set loss of 25-15. Fighting to stay in the game, WOU secured an early lead of 15-20 in the final set, but ultimately fell to SFU 25-22.

Head coach Brad Saindon feels like the close battle with SFU shows the true potential of the Wolves.

“Our team continues to improve daily. We put ourselves in position to win regularly, and I believe if we continue to work and stay on course that the wins will start coming,” Saindon said. “We are so close, and our games show that.”

A strong contributor to the team’s potential is junior Christie Colasurdo (L) who leads the GNAC in digs, and is currently ranked fourth in the nation in digs per set.

Colasurdo does everything she can to help her team on defense in the hope that they can finish out the season with some wins.

Next up, the Wolves face Montana State-Billings at home on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. For tickets and game information, visit the ticket office during regular business hours in the New P.E. Building, or call 503-838–8917.

Update: On Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015 the Wolves lost in three sets to Concordia University at home. The set scores were 25-23, 26-24 and 25-21.

Fenumiai’s four touchdowns lead Wolf Pack to victory

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

It was a cold, wet, and windy night at McArthur Field, but the Wolves got their seventh consecutive victory on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 against South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SD). The final score was 37-26.

The victory improves the Wolves overall record to 7-3 and 5-1 in GNAC play.

Redshirt-sophomore Phillip Fenumiai (QB) led Western downfield on their first drive of the game, connecting with senior Daniel Thomas (WR) for a 26-yard touchdown pass.

Fenumiai would finish the game with 168-yards through the air, four passing touchdowns and tack on 55-yards rushing.

Fenumiai, who is known for his ability to run the ball, showed that he is not just a one trick pony, connecting with sophomore Maurice McSwain (WR) for a 16-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter.

The Wolves led 12-0 after the first quarter.

SD would score the only points in the second quarter after the Hardrockers started their drive on the Western Oregon 17-yard line. SD would convert on a two-point attempt to tighten the score to 12-8 going into half time.

Fenumiai picked up right where he left off on the Wolves’ first drive of the second half, throwing his second touchdown pass to McSwain, his third TD pass of the game.

Five minutes later, Fenumiai would connect with sophomore Paul Revis (WR) for a 15-yard touchdown, giving Fenumiai four total passing touchdowns for the game. The third quarter would end with the Western leading 26-8.

“Phillip threw a pass up the middle, and once I made the catch I just followed my blockers,” said Revis. “There just happened to be no one in front of me and I just walked into the end zone.”

In the fourth quarter, with just minutes remaining in the game, first year Malik Braxton (RB) would break way for 57-yard run, but was stopped at the SD 4-yard line.

He finished the drive by bullying his way into the end zone. Braxton would finish the game with 136-yards rushing.

“Every week the offensive line keeps doing what they’re doing, and I just had to get a touchdown for them,” said Braxton after the game.
Junior George Swartzlender (DL) led the defense with 10 total stops and four tackles for a loss which included a 10-yard sack.

Swartzlender was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week.

“We felt positive about the way we played on defense. We made a lot of defensive stands, and we have been doing that all year,” said head coach Arne Ferguson. “Offensively, our offensive line took some time to wear them down. Malik had a big run, Phillip played well and we were getting the ball to Paul.”

Next up, the Wolves finish out the regular season at home against Humboldt State University (HSU) on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015 at 1 p.m. With a win against HSU, the Wolf Pack has a good chance at improving their regional ranking to keep their post-season hopes alive.

“We’re 10th in the region, Humboldt is second. The top seven go to the NCAA playoffs,” said Ferguson. “We feel really good about beating Northern Alabama and if we are able to beat Humboldt the last game of the season, with winning seven in a row, there is a really good chance we can make it.”

“They are a really good team; they’re coached really well and they are on fire, so it’s going to be a really tough task,” added Ferguson.

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