HONOLULU, Hawai’i – Western Washington University junior guard Trey Drechsel scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Vikings to an 86-77 victory over the University of Tampa Sunday evening in the 2017 Hoops in Hawai’i Holiday Classic at the Hawai’i Convention Center.

The Vikings improved to 7-3 on the season with their fifth win in the last six games, and finished the tournament with a 2-0 record with wins over Tampa (86-77) and Harding (80-76).

The Vikings led for much of the early part of the contest and held a 30-28 lead at halftime. The second half featured six lead changes, but WWU pulled away midway through the half to record the nine-point victory. Tampa closed to within four points at 71-67 with 1:43 remaining in the game, but the Vikings clinched the game going 15-for-18 at the free throw line over the last minute-and-a-half of the contest.
Drechsel (Woodinville, WA/Cedar Park Christian) recorded his second 30-point game of the month, going 9-for-13 from the field and 10-for-14 from the free throw line. He also added 7 rebounds.

Sophomore forward Daulton Hommes (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) added 13 points (3-for-8 FG) after scoring 37 points against Harding and junior center Logan Schilder (Bellingham, WA/Whatcom CC) had 10 points and 4 blocks. Senior forward Deandre Dickson (Easton, CA/Bakersfield JC) also reached double-digits with 10 points and 6 rebounds.

WWU’s balanced scoring attack featured seven players score at least 7 points each. As a team the Vikings shot 51.8% (29-for-56) and were 5-for-15 (33.3%) from 3-point range. Western also held a sizeable advantage in rebounds (41-26) and blocked shots (6-3), while out-scoring the Spartans in the paint 44-30.

Tampa (4-6) had four players reach double-digits in scoring, led by 17 points from junior guard Pat Bacon. The Spartans shot 46.6% (27-for-58) from the field and were 7-for-15 (46.7%) from beyond the arc.

The Vikings led by as many as 10 points early in the first half at 23-13, but the Spartans chipped away at the deficit to pull even at 28-28. Two late free throws by Dickson gave the Vikings the two-point edge going into the half. Drechsel led all players with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field. Overall WWU was at 46.2 percent from the field (12-for-26), but committed 13 turnovers that led to 12 Tampa points.

Tampa gained its first lead of the game at 37-36 just over three minutes into the second half. WWU and UT would play a back-and-forth affair with six lead changes until the Vikings started to pull away with 12 minutes left in the game. Sophomore forward Trevor Jasinsky (Camas, WA) put the Vikings ahead 48-47 on a dunk, and WWU would never trail the rest of the game. Jasinsky finished with team high’s in rebounds (8) and steals (2), with all eight of his points coming on dunks.
Western returns to GNAC play after the Christmas holiday with road contests at Seattle Pacific (Thursday, Dec. 28) and Saint Martin’s (Saturday, Dec. 30). Both games will tip off at 7:30 pm and can be followed live via webcast and live stats at GNAC.tv.