Western Oregon Takes Down Alaska Fairbanks, 79-64

WOU men pick up first conference win with victory over the Nanooks.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

MONMOUTH - Western Oregon held the conference’s top-scoring offense to 17 points under its average and picked up its first league win in the process, topping Alaska Fairbanks 79-64 on Thursday night at the Physical Education Building.

The Wolves move to 1-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with the win and improved to 6-10 overall.

The Nanooks fall to 2-2 in GNAC play and are now 11-7 on the season.

Alaska came into the game averaging a GNAC-best 81 points a game, but went stone cold in its first game of the year on the road.

The Nanooks shot just 30 percent from the field and hit only three of 16 three-point attempts.

Meanwhile, WOU got a balanced offensive effort and strong bench play.

Starting center Jacob Mitchell led the Wolves with 19 points and point guard Alex Swerzbin added 17, but WOU also got bench points from Travis Kuhns (12), Brad Krichevsky (9), and Adonal Arrington (8).

Mitchell also had eight rebounds, while Kuhns had a complete game with six boards, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots.

Jushay Rockett, the GNAC’s leading scorer, had 20 points to lead the Nanooks. He also had 12 rebounds.

Mike Titus was also in double figures with 12 points.

Alaska jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, thanks in part to a lead-off three-pointer by Mike Titus.

But the Nanooks wouldn’t get another trey until the end of the first half, and they shot just 31 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of play.

But a trey by Barry Barnes and another driving lay-up by the point guard made it a three-point game at the half, 33-30.

WOU led by as many as 11 points before intermission, getting seven each off the bench from Arrington and Krichevsky.

Fairbanks tied the game early in the second half and took a brief lead, but the Wolves quickly regained their margin with a 9-0 run.

With the lead down the stretch, WOU converted free throws, including 8-8 late in the game from Swerzbin.

WOU will continue a three-game homestand, hosting Alaska Anchorage this Saturday at 7:30 PM.

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