ELLENSBURG, Wash. – For the first time in the 2017-18 season, the Western Washington University men’s basketball team was defeated on the road in a 92-81 setback against Central Washington University Thursday evening in front of 2,479 fans at Nicholson Pavilion in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.
After opening the league slate with a perfect 10-0 record, the Vikings suffered their third consecutive loss to fall to 15-6 overall and 10-3 in GNAC play to remain in second place behind leader Western Oregon (21-1, 13-1 GNAC). The loss also snapped WWU’s 8-game road winning streak in GNAC play dating back to last year, tying the all-time conference record. The Wildcats avenged their 10-point loss earlier in the season to the Vikings to extend their winning streak to four straight, improving to 12-8 overall and 7-6 in GNAC play.
WWU held a three-point halftime lead at 35-32, but the Wildcats opened the second half on an 18-4 run, hitting their first eight shots to take an 11-point lead at 50-39. Overall CWU shot 72.7% from the field in the second half (24-for-33), including a stretch where it was 15-for-17 to grow the lead to as many as 19 points.
Sophomore forward Daulton Hommes (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) led three Vikings in double-figure scoring with 22 points. Hommes was 7-for-9 from the floor and 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the game. Junior guardTrey Drechsel (Woodinville, WA/Cedar Park Christian) added 19 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists and redshirt junior guard Siaan Rojas (Concord, CA/Santa Rosa JC) scored a career-high 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
Overall the Vikings shot 42.9% from the field (27-for-63), compared to the 55.4% mark by Central (36-for-55). WWU out-rebounded CWU 39-30 and was 20-for-23 from the free throw line.
CWU had four players reach double figures in scoring, led by the game-high 24 points from freshman guard Khalil Shabazz. Jawan Stepney (21 points), Fuquan Niles (13 points) and Jerome Bryant (11 points) also reached double-digits in scoring. Guard Malik Montoya just missed the double-double with 10 assists and 9 points.
The Vikings trailed by as many as 10 points early in the first half, but used a 17-4 run over a seven-minute stretch to pull ahead of the Wildcats. After a back-and-forth last few minutes, WWU went into halftime with a three-point advantage at 35-32. Drechsel (7 points, 4 rebounds) andRojas (7 points, 5 rebounds) led the Vikings in scoring, with Deandre Dickson (Easton, CA/Bakersfield College) and Hommes each contributing 6 points to the balance attack.
Western shot 46.9% from the floor in the first half (15-for-32), and after a hot start, Central finished at 37.5% (12-for-32). The Vikings defense limited the Wildcats to 4-for-14 (28.6%) over the final eight minutes of the half. Shabazz led all players with 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting.
The Vikings three-point halftime lead was erased in the first minute of the second half, with the Wildcats hitting their first eight shots of the half. Shabazz hit a jumper at the 18:57 mark to give CWU the one-point lead at 36-35, a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the game. Central led by as many as 19 points at 71-52 with 7:58 remaining in the game, and held off a late WWU rally that saw the Vikings cut the lead to single digits four different times in the last two minutes.
The Vikings (15-6, 10-3) continue their road trip Saturday against Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, with tip-off set for 7:30 pm MT/6:30 pm PT. The game will stream live on GNAC.tv and also feature live statistical updates.
Game Notes: The game was streamed to a national audience on ESPN3/WatchESPN as part of the NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase…WWU has lost 3 consecutive games for the first time since a 5-game losing streak Feb. 4-18, 2016…Daulton Hommes has scored in double-digits in 20 of 21 games this season, leading the team and 4th in the GNAC averaging 17.9 points per game…Trey Drechsel has scored in double-digits in 6 consecutive games (20.3 points/game)…Logan Schilder recorded his 89th career block, needing 3 more blocks to move into the all-time WWU top 10…Siaan Rojas set a career-high in points scored for the second consecutive game with his 17-point performance (had 16 vs. SPU)…Rojas has scored in double-digits in 6 of his last 7 games (one start)…the 60-point second half by CWU marked the most points scored by a WWU opponent in a half this season…WWU has allowed 90+ points in three consecutive games, the first time that has happened the 2004-05 season (Jan. 20-27, 2005)…WWU and CWU split the season series after the Vikings won 77-67 on Jan. 6 in Bellingham…WWU has still won 16 of the last 21 in the series dating back to the 2008-09 season.
