BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University sophomore guard Trevor Jasinsky scored a career-high 23 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead the Vikings to their third consecutive victory with a 91-65 win over Montana State Billings Thursday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
The Vikings improved to 18-6 overall and remain in 2nd place in the GNAC with a 13-3 league mark. With Central Washington’s 79-76 victory over Alaska Fairbanks, the Vikings also officially secured their spot in the GNAC Championships that will be played March 1-3 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska. MSUB drops to 12-14 overall and 4-11 in GNAC play.
“Our focus right now is our defensive effort and moving the game, and if we can play with that kind of energy on defense like we did tonight good things are going to happen,” said WWU head coach Tony Dominguez on the postgame show. “Trevor is a really hard worker and has put a lot of time into working on his shot. Proud of him tonight…he had a great game.”
Jasinsky (Camas, WA) led five Vikings in double-figure scoring, recording his career-high point total on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. The sophomore was 5-for-9 from 3-point range, connecting on 13 points in the first half and 10 points in the second half.
“The coaches and teammates have been giving me confidence and encouraged me to just keep shooting,” said Jasinsky. “As a shooter, when you knock down the first few shots, you just get that feeling it is going to be a good night.”
Senior forward Deandre Dickson (Easton, CA/Bakersfield College) added 15 points and 7 rebounds, connecting on 7-of-12 shots from the floor. Junior point guard Trey Drechsel (Woodinville, WA/Cedar Park Christian) had a solid all-around effort with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.
Also reaching double-figure scoring for WWU was sophomore forward Daulton Hommes (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting and 10 points by sixth-man Siaan Rojas (RS Jr., Concord, CA/Santa Rosa JC).
The Vikings shot 57.9% from the field for the game (33-for-57), the seventh time in the last nine games to shoot over 50.0%, and were 15-for-25 (60.0%) from beyond the arc. WWU out-rebounded MSUB 32-27 and had a 5-0 advantage in blocked shots.
MSU Billings was led by 19 points from junior guard Zach Rollins (6-for-16 FG), with freshman forward Hafeez Abdul (18 points) and sophomore guard Tyler Green (13 points) also reaching double-digits in scoring. MSUB shot 39.7% from the field (23-for-58), with a 64.0% mark in the second half (16-for-25).
The Vikings jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back while taking a 25-point lead into halftime at 45-20. WWU shot 58.6% in the half (17-for-29) with three players reaching double-digit scoring. Jasinsky led the way with 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including three 3-pointers. Dickson (11 points) and Rojas (10 points) scored in double figures. MSUB was held to 21.2% shooting in the first half (7-for-33), including 2-for-20 to start the game. Rollins and Abdul each scored 7 points for the Yellowjackets.
Western remained in control in the early part of the second half, before MSUB went on an 18-7 run to cut the WWU lead to 16 points at 56-40. The Vikings answered with an 18-3 run of their own to pull away and lead by as many as 32 points before settling for the 26-point victory. Hommes scored all 13 of his points in the second half, connecting on 5-of-6 shots from the field.
The Vikings (18-6, 13-3) remain at home next week for the penultimate week of GNAC play hosting Alaska Anchorage (Thursday, 7:30 pm) and Alaska Fairbanks (Saturday, 3 pm). Tickets are available via the WWU Box Office on campus an online via WWUVikings.com/Tickets.
Game Notes: For the second straight game the Vikings led from wire-to-wire, holding the lead for 39:23 of the 40-minute contest (was scoreless for first 37 seconds)…WWU made a season-high 15 3-pointers, besting the mark of 14 set two games ago at Northwest Nazarene…first time with 15+ 3-pointers since making 15 twice last season (last: 1/19/17 vs. NNU)…Trey Drechsel had his string of 21 consecutive made free throws snapped, but is still 47-for-his-last-49) and is at 87.9% (87-for-99) on the season…Daulton Hommes reached double-figures in scoring for the 15th consecutive game and has scored 10+ points in 23 of WWU’s 24 games this season…Trevor Jasinsky scored a career-high 23 points, breaking his previous high of 20 points set last season at MSUB…in four career games vs. MSUB, Jasinsky is averaging 12.25 points per game.
About WWU Basketball:
One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, recording a 20-win season in seven of the last nine seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western is coming off a 2016-17 season where the program went 25-6, winning the GNAC regular season and conference championships title, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships as the No. 3 seed in the West Region. The program enters its 116th season, having combined for 1,476 victories and a .591 winning percentage.
— @WWUHoops —
