BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University junior center Logan Schilder recorded his first career double-double to lead the nationally 22nd-ranked Vikings to a season-opening 87-45 victory over Notre Dame de Namur Friday night in the GNAC/PacWest Conference Challenge on WECU Court at Carver Gym.
WWU led from wire-to-wire in its official 2017-18 debut, notching a season-opening victory for the 10th consecutive season.
“It was nice to get everyone out on the court together as our preseason has been pretty interesting with some injuries,” said 6th-year head coach Tony Dominguez. “I thought we did a real nice job on defense and we had some nice offensive performances for a season opener.”
Schilder (Bellingham, WA/Whatcom CC) led five players in double figures, recording a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. The 7-footer was 6-for-8 from the floor and tied his career-high with the 10 rebounds. He also added 5 blocked shots to his performance.
“I thought Logan was outstanding tonight, on both ends of the court,” added Dominguez. “He had some really nice posts moves, a couple of dunks and played really solid defense.”
Also reaching double-digits in scoring were redshirt junior guard Siaan Rojas (12 points, 4 assists), sophomore swingman Trevor Jasinsky (11 points, 3 assists), senior forward Deandre Dickson (10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks) and sophomore forward Daulton Hommes (10 points, 4 rebounds). Junior guard Trey Drechsel added 7 points, 3 assists and 3 steals in the 42-point victory.
The Vikings played all 13 players that suited up, with 10 scoring points.
Overall the Western shot 56.1% from the floor (32-for-57), connecting on 10-for-26 from 3-point range (38.5%) and were 13-for-14 from the charity stripe. The defense limited NDNU to 30.4% shooting (17-for-56), including a stifling 9-for-31 mark in the second half. The Vikings also recorded 12 blocked shots, tied for the 5th-most in a game during the Division II era dating back to the 1998-99 season.
NDNU guard Cass Wade led the Argonauts with 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting, scoring 8 in the second half.
The Vikings built a 39-22 halftime lead, led by 9 points from Dickson and 7 points each from Drechsel and Jasinsky. Overall WWU shot 56.0% from the field in the first half (14-for-25) and held a 19-12 advantage on the boards. Schilder had 5 blocked shots and 5 rebounds in the half to lead the defensive effort.
WWU jumped out to a commanding 16-4 lead, and never looked back. The closest NDNU would get before the half was a 12-point deficit at 32-20. Senior guard Brad Wallace (Lacey, WA/River Ridge) hit a long 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the half give the Vikings their biggest lead at 17 points. NDNU center Mitchell Fulfer came off the bench to lead the Argonauts with 6 points on 2-for-3 shooting from the field (2-for-3 FT).
Resting most of the starters in the second half, the Vikings used a smaller lineup to out-score NDNU 48-23 over the final 20 minutes. Rojas (Concord, CA/Santa Rosa JC) scored 10 of his 12 points in the half on 3-for-4 shooting and senior guard Blake Fernandez (Mountlake Terrace, WA/Edmonds CC) scored 9 points on 3-for-3 shooting (2-for-2 3-pointers). Schilder scored 8 of his 12 points while playing only 8 minutes in the second half.
The Vikings (1-0) return to action Saturday with the final game of the GNAC/PacWest Conference Challenge hosting Hawai’i-Hilo (0-1) in the 7:30 pm game on WECU Court. Simon Fraser, an 87-75 winner over Hilo in the opening game of the tournament, will play Notre Dame de Namur in the 5 pm 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. The program enters its 116th season, having combined for 1,458 victories and a .589 winning percentage.
— @WWUHoops —
