WOU Wolves drop GNAC opener to Wildcats

Wildcats 87 - Wolves 78

www.wouwolves.com

(MONMOUTH, Ore.) - Tarance Glynn posted his third straight double-double and Jordan Freelander came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points, but in the end it was a balanced scoring attack and strong second half that earned Central Washington an 87-78 win over Western Oregon in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener on today.

With the win Central Washington remains undefeated on the season at 5-0 (1-0 GNAC). The loss drops Western Oregon's (0-1 GNAC) record to 3-4.

The Wolves found themselves down 18-7 after just the first four minutes of the game. They then went on an 18-7 run of their own to knot the game at 25-25. Western Oregon would not stop its first half momentum from there as it would put together a 12-0 run and take a 51-43 lead into halftime. Freelander was the spark plug for the Wolves off the bench in the half, scoring 13 points and hitting 4-of-5 shots from the floor.

"We shot the ball really well and caught them off guard a bit," explained Western Oregon head coach Craig Stanger. "That was a good half of basketball and I am proud of our guys for that effort."

The second half was much the same as those first four minutes of the first half for Western Oregon. Central came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders and put together an 18-4 run to open the half to take a six-point lead. After fighting back and taking the lead, the Wildcats would never relinquish their advantage as they went up by as many as 13 and held a double-figure lead much of the second half. WOU would cut the Wildcats' lead to eight points with 1:14 remaining but it could not get the breaks to take the lead.

"In the second half we struggled because we weren't able to get transition baskets and defensively we weren't creating those turnovers," said Stanger. "When they stepped up their defense we kind of struggled playing together. We have to play better team basketball."

Glynn continues to establish himself as one of the most diverse players in the GNAC. He scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including a two-handed slam early in the first half which ignited the Wolves' 18-7 run. He also added 11 rebounds, with four of those coming on the offensive end.

"Tarance is going to be a tough guard for a lot of people because we are playing him at the 4 spot so there is usually going to be a bigger, slower guy on him," Stanger said. "We feel we have some advantages there, plus he is athletic enough that he can rebound with those guys. He is doing a fantastic job and doing exactly what we ask of him."

Freelander notched those career-high 18 points by making 6-of-10 shots from the field and 5-of-6 at the line. He also added three rebounds and played outstanding defense on the opposing guards.

"He did what we ask him to do," explained Stanger. "He is an energizer and a defender. He gets after (the ball) and creates some energy. We are lucky to have him."

Central Washington was able to put five players in the double-figure scoring column led by 21 points Humberto Perez, who hit five treys.

"Central Washington has balanced scoring just like us," noted Stanger. "They have nine or 10 guys that can all play. All those guys can do some things so you have to be aware of everyone on the floor."

Western Oregon will be at home again on Thursday (Dec. 2) to face Multnomah University at 7:00 p.m. The Wolves will then continue GNAC play on Saturday, Dec. 4, against Northwest Nazarene at 4:30 p.m.

Source: Western Oregon University