LA JOLLA, Calif. – Western Washington University junior forward Trevor Jasinsky scored a career-high 32 points to lead the No. 14 nationally-ranked Vikings to a season-opening 84-78 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills in the CCAA/GNAC Challenge in RIMAC Arena.
Jasinsky (Camas, WA) led three Vikings in double-figure scoring, with redshirt junior guard Micah Winn (Los Angeles, CA/Cerritos College) adding 12 points and junior forward Cameron Retherford (Portland, OR/Portland CC) contributing 11 points. Jasinsky scored 10 of WWU’s final 12 points in the game to help secure the season-opening victory.
“It was a good first game for our new team,” said WWU head coach Tony Dominguez. “Cal State Dominguez Hills is a very talented team and had a new-look team as well. Our tempo was great until the 10-minute mark of the second half and they did a nice job of rallying back. I liked how our guys responded the last three minutes of the game.”
Senior guard Siaan Rojas (Concord, CA/Santa Rosa JC) just missed a double-double with 9 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Eight different Vikings scored points, with 10 players seeing action.
“Trevor Jasinsky was outstanding for us offensively and Siaan did a great job on the boards,” added Dominguez. “Overall it was a good team effort. Tomorrow’s game will be tough vs. UC San Diego, but I like our guys and we are ready for the challenge.”
The Vikings took a 46-37 lead into halftime, and led by as many as 18 points at 30-12 at the 9:10 mark midway through the half. WWU used a 19-5 run to grow the lead to 18 points, but the Toros answered going on a 16-2 run of their own closing to within four points at 32-28. Jasinsky led the Vikings with 10 first-half points on 3-for-7 shooting, with sophomore forward Luke Lovelady (Tacoma, WA/Life Christian/Point Loma) and redshirt junior guard Elijah Cotton-Welch (Tacoma, WA/Wilson/Lower Columbia) Cotton-Welch each contributing 7 points.
WWU led by as many as 12 points in the second half, last when Jasinsky hit a pair of free throws at the 13:39 mark to give the Vikings a 66-54 lead. The Vikings led 74-63 after two more Jasinsky free throws at the 9:17 mark, but CSUDH went on a 10-0 run to pull to within one point at 74-73 with 4:59 remaining in the contest.
Jasinsky stopped the run with a jumper in the paint and at the 3:48 mark, and hit a clutch fadeaway jumper at the 1:51 mark to give the Vikings a four-point lead at 80-76. Senior Tyler Payne (Long Beach, CA/Cerritos College) and Jasinsky went 4-for-4 down the free throw line to secure the six-point victory.
Michael Chavers led Dominguez Hills with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting, with Mikey Hatfield adding 10 points and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes.
