BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Junior guard Trey Drechsel recorded career highs with 32 points and 17 rebounds as the Western Washington University men’s basketball team used a strong finish to the first half to pull away from visiting Concordia for a 99-72 victory in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both schools Thursday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

The Vikings improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the GNAC while Concordia dropped to 4-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

A close game through the early portion of the first half, WWU led 26-20 with 8:10 to play before outscoring Concordia 30-12 over the last eight minutes on its way to a 56-32 advantage at halftime.

A 6-0 spurt helped WWU into its first double-digit lead for a 32-20 advantage with 7:15 to play. The Cavaliers came within 34-26 at the 5:45 mark before WWU re-extended the lead into double digits, using a 17-4 run to build a 51-30 advantage on a 3-pointer from Drechsel with 1:28 to go. The Vikings led by no fewer than 17 points throughout the second half on their way to the final margin.

“They were focused and were frustrated with some of our early performances, but we came out and really gave a good effort tonight,” head coach Tony Dominguez said.

Drechsel (Woodinville, WA/Cedar Park Christian) helped fuel the offense during the strong finish to the half, scoring his first points of the game on a jumper with 10:22 to play. The basket was the first of a string of seven consecutive made field goals for the junior, with his last made field goal of the half coming on his third consecutive made 3-pointer for the 51-30 lead. Combined with a 4-of-4 effort at the free throw line in the first half, Drechsel scored 21 first-half points, all over the final 10:22 of the period.

“There are a lot of ups and downs through the season, but this game, my teammates found me and things were clicking,” Drechsel said. “I didn’t hesitate with my jump shot, confidence starts rolling and buckets start falling.”

Adding 11 points in the second half, Drechsel finished 12-for-17 from the field overall, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and 4-for-4 at the free throw line. His 17 rebounds included 4 offensive rebounds and he added 3 assists as well.

“Trey was dialed in tonight,” Dominguez said. “I am really happy for him because he is really working hard and did a great job tonight.”

Sophomore forward Daulton Hommes (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) added 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, including 3-of-7 from long range, to go along with a team-high 4 assists. Redshirt junior guard Siaan Rojas (Concord, CA/Santa Rosa JC) added 11 points for the Vikings.

Senior forward Deandre Dickson (Easton, CA/Washington Union/Bakersfield) and junior center Logan Schilder (Bellingham, WA) each added 9 points, with Schilder pulling down 9 rebounds and blocking 4 shots as well. Sophomore forward Trevor Jasinsky (Camas, WA) had 8 points and senior guard Brett Kingma (Mill Creek, WA/Jackson) added 7 points.

As a team, WWU went 38-for-66 (57.6%) from the floor, connecting on 8-of-23 (34.8%) 3-pointers. The Vikings were also 15-of-18 (83.3%) at the free throw line. The Cavaliers finished 28-for-71 (39.4%) from the field, making 5-of-18 (27.8%) 3-pointers and 11-of-16 (68.8%) free throws.

Concordia was led by forward Christopher Edward with 21 points, while guard Jarrett Gray added 11 points. Center Daniel Thiesen and guard Bryan Michaels each finished with 10 points while forward Deandre Stallings contributed 9 points.

The Vikings remain at home to host Western Oregon (7-0, 1-0 GNAC) on Saturday at 7 pm. The game can be streamed live online via WWUVikings.com/Live with Doug Lange calling the action courtside.

Game Notes: Vikings won their third consecutive GNAC opener…Trey Drechsel had career-high totals of 32 points and 17 rebounds…previous points career-high was 27 points against Concordia on 1/14/16…previously rebounding career high was 11 rebounds against Northwest Nazarene on 2/20/16… the scoring performance by Drechsel is the 101st 30-point game in WWU history, while his 17 rebounds are the most by a Viking since Anye Turner had 20 on 12/6/14 at Simon Fraser…the 17 rebounds are also the most in a 30-point game for a WWU player since Austin Bragg totaled 30 points and 17 rebounds on 1/11/14 vs. Simon Fraser.