BILLINGS, Mont. – Western Washington University junior guard Trey Drechsel scored a game-high 26 points to lead six Vikings in double-figure scoring in a 100-91 road victory over Montana State Billings Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action in Alterowitz Gym.
The Vikings never trailed in the game, led by as many as 24 points in the first half, had a 21-point advantage at the half, and then held off a late MSUB rally for the nine-point victory to improve to 13-3 overall and remain perfect at 8-0 in GNAC play. WWU has now won eight consecutive games to remain in first place in the GNAC, one game better than second-place Western Oregon (7-1). The Yellowjackets dropped to 11-8 overall and 3-5 in league play with their third home loss of the season.
Drechsel (Woodinville, WA/Cedar Park Christian) filled up the stat sheet with 26 points on 8-for-11 shooting, adding 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and one blocked shot. The junior guard was also 9-for-9 from the free throw line while recording his fifth 20-point effort of the season.
Sophomore forward Daulton Hommes (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) narrowly missed the double-double with 17 points and 9 rebounds, also contributing 2 blocks and a steal.
Senior forward Deandre Dickson (16 points, 7-12 FG, 5 rebounds), redshirt junior guard Siaan Rojas (13 points, 4 rebounds), sophomore guard Trevor Jasinsky (12 points, 4-8 FG) and senior guard Brett Kingma (10 points, 4-7 FG) also scored in double-digits as the Vikings scored 100 points for the third time this season.
“I felt as though our guys were mentally focused tonight,” said head coach Tony Dominguez. “They were efficient and played with great energy. I was proud of our approach to the game.”
The Vikings shot 59.0% from the field for the game (36-for-61) and were 25-for-31 (80.6%) from the free throw line.
MSUB had four players score in double-digits, led by 20 points each from Zharon Richmond and Kobe Terashima. The Yellowjackets entered the game ranked 11th in NCAA II averaging 11.5 3-pointers per game, but were limited to 9-for-27 shooting from beyond the arc (33.3%). MSUB was just 2-for-13 in the first half from 3-point range, but was 7-for-14 in the second half to fuel their comeback attempt.
WWU built a 21-point halftime lead, pulling away from a 5-point lead at 27-22 to take a 55-34 lead by going on a 28-12 run over the final 7:34 of the half. Drechsel led all players with 16 points (5-for-6 FG) with 5 steals, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Dickson also scored in double-digits with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting. The Vikings shot 61.8% from the floor (21-for-34), while holding the Yellowjackets to 35.7% (10-for-28 FG/2-for-13 3FG).
The Yellowjackets started the second half on a 14-8 run to close to within 15 points at 63-48, but WWU continued to lead by double-digits for the first 18 minutes of the second half. The Vikings held a 16-point lead at 94-78 with 3:34 remaining when MSUB went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 7 points at 94-87 with 1:37 left in the game. Western was held without a field goal over the final four minutes of the game, but clinched the win by going 8-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch, including four straight from Rojas.
The Vikings (13-3, 8-0) continue their stretch of four consecutive road games next week closing out the first half of the GNAC season with games at Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday (1/18, 7 pm AKT/8 pm PT) and at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday (1/20, 7 pm AKT/8 pm PT). Both games in Alaska will stream live online via GNAC.tv.
Game Notes: WWU’s 8-game winning streak is tied for 14th-longest in program history (had three 8-game winning streaks last season)…Daulton Hommes has scored in double-digits in 14 of 15 games this season and leads the team averaging 18.2 points per game (4th in the GNAC)…Trey Drechsel is averaging 17.8 points per game in GNAC play (13.9 ppg overall)…WWU out-rebounded MSUB 35-30 and has a +12.9 rebound margin overall this season…the 59.0% field goal percentage as the third-highest this season trailing 60.0% vs. Capilano (42-for-70) and 59.6% vs. Western Oregon (34-for-57)…the 5 steals by Drechsel are the most by a Viking since Taylor Stafford had 6 steals last season at Saint Martin’s (12/1/16)…WWU’s 25 made free throws are the second-most in a game this season, trailing only 26 at Saint Martin’s (12/30/17)…WWU led for 38:04 of the 40 minutes of the game and never trailed.

 

Courtesy of WWU Athletics.