WOU Men's basketball Opens Season at Home

The Wolves were picked to finish seventh (29 points) in the conference in the preseason GNAC Coaches’ Poll.

Salem-News.com Sports

MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon University men’s basketball team will open the 2008-09 season at home against Dixie State Saturday Nov. 15th, at 3:00 PM, in the Physical Education Building. This will be the first game of the season for both teams.

Wolves Preview

The Wolves return three starters, which all averaged in double-figures, to a team that went 15-12 during the 2007-08 regular season and finished tied for fifth place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an 8-10 record.

Seniors Travis Kuhns and Sam Kelly return at the wing positions. Kuhns, a 2007-08 second team all-conference performer, averaged 13.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game last season. Kelly averaged 11.7 points per game while shooting 45-percent from behind the arc. McLaughlin shot 61.6-percent from the field (122-198) to average 10.7 points to go along with 6.5 rebounds per game.

Head coach Craig Stanger returns for his fourth season at the reigns of the Wolves men’s basketball program. He has compiled a 34-47 record in his three seasons as the head coach with the Wolves, as the team has won more games in each season of his tenure.

"This team has been taking the concepts that were engrained in last year's team, the work ethic, the team chemistry and that has continued on," said Stanger. "In the off-season the veterans did a nice job of working hard in the weight room and doing individual skill development. We have come back in overall better condition and better overall skill set than where we were sitting last year at this time."

The Wolves were picked to finish seventh (29 points) in the conference in the preseason GNAC Coaches’ Poll.

Dixie State Preview

The Dixie State College Rebels were picked to finish third in the PacWest Men’s Basketball Preseason coaches’ poll. Last year, Dixie State finished the season 13-14 and in third place in the seven-team PacWest conference with a 10-8 record. The Rebels did finish the season with a 3-10 record away from St. George, Utah.

Ryan Sanchez, a 2007-08 second team PacWest selection, returns to lead Dixie State. Last season, he averaged 14.2 points per game while shooting 49.4-percent from the field and 88.3-percent from the free throw line. He also averaged 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contests. The Rebels will be looking to fill the void left by Kasey Winters who averaged 17.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game as a senior.

This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.

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