WOU Men's Basketball: Fort Lewis 96, Western Oregon 64‏

Western Oregon made seven of its 12 three-point attempts in the first half but were held to just 1-of-9 from behind the arc in the second half.

Salem-News.com Sports

ST. GEORGE, Utah - The Western Oregon University men's basketball team had its three-game winning streak snapped Monday, December 29th, as it fell to Fort Lewis 96-64, in the first round of the Dixie State Tournament.

The loss drops the Wolves to 5-3 on the season as the Skyhawks improved to 10-3.

Western Oregon led 46-42 at the half, but it shot just 20 percent in the second half (5-25) and scored only 18 points in the period while Fort Lewis converted on 54.5 of its shot attempts and put up 54 second-half points for the win.

The Wolves lost the rebounding battle for the first time this season as Skyhawks had a 48-to-20 advantage on the boards including a 17-to-4 mark on the offensive glass.

Matt Schmidt came off the bench with 14 points to lead four WOU student-athletes in double-figure scoring. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range in the first half and finished 4-of-5 on the evening.

Kyle Long also notched double-digits off the bench as he registered 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Blair Wheadon had 11 points to go along with a season-best eight assists. Travis Kuhns also recorded 11 points and Sam Kelly was the team's leading rebounder with five.

The Skyhawks made it to the free throw line 34 times in the game and converted on 28 attempts as it limited the Wolves to just 8-of-13 from the charity stripe.

Western Oregon made seven of its 12 three-point attempts in the first half but were held to just 1-of-9 from behind the arc in the second half. The Wolves did share the ball well on the evening as it had assists on 18 of its 24 baskets.

The Western Oregon men's basketball team will play its second game in the Dixie State Tournament tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 30th, when it faces Mesa State College at 5:00 PM (MT).

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports