BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University junior guard Tucker Eenigenburg scored a career-high 28 points to lead the No. 15 nationally-ranked Vikings to a commanding 129-55 victory over Langara College Saturday afternoon on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
The Vikings improved to 5-1 on the season by extending their winning streak to four consecutive games.
Eenigenburg (any-gun-berg) connected on 10 of his 11 shots attempted from the field, including 8-for-9 from 3-point range. The junior college transfer out of Bakersfield College concluded his breakout weekend, adding 15 points in Friday’s victory over Capilano to finish with 43 points in the two games.
Freshman forward Jalen Green (Renton, WA/Lindbergh) added a career-high 13 points while going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. Redshirt junior guard Micah Winn (Los Angeles, CA/Cerritos College) added 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Redshirt junior guard Elijah Cotton-Welch (Tacoma, WA/Wilson/Lower Columbia College) had 9 points on 4-for-8 shooting and contributed 4 steals and 3 assists.
SHARP SHOOTERS
The Vikings shot 62.7% from the field, connecting on 52-of-83 shots in the game and were 17-for-32 (53.1%) from 3-point range. The 52 field goals made are the fourth-most by the Vikings during the Division II era (since 1998-99) and the 62.7% is tied for 9th-best. The 17 3-pointers made fell one short of the school-record 18 set in 2005 vs. Saint Martin’s, and tied for 2nd-most in program history. Eenigenburg’s 8 3-pointers made are the most by a Viking since Jeffrey Parker also had 8 three’s at Alaska Fairbanks in 2016.
BIG FIRST HALF RUN
The Vikings kicked it into high cylinder going on a 32-4 run over an 8-minute stretch to turn a 7-2 deficit into a 34-11 lead.Winn helped lead the extended run scoring 10 points during the breakout stretch, as the Vikings went 13-for-15 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range to grow their lead to 23 points.
AT HALFTIME
The Vikings held a commanding 61-28 lead at the half, with the team shooting 67.6% from the field (25-for-37) and 8-for-14 (57.1%) from 3-point range. After starting 1-for-6 from the field, the Vikings found their stride to connect on 24 of their final 31 shots in the first half (77.4%). Winn led WWU with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting, with Eenigenburg adding 9 points on 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Overall 10 players recorded points in the first 20 minutes. Langara was led by 13 points from forward Tyler Anderson (5-for-7 FG, 3-for-3 FT).
SECOND HALF BREAKDOWN
The Vikings scored 68 points in the second half to bring the game to the final score of 129-55. Eenigenburg scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and connected on all five of his 3-pointer attempts.
UP NEXT
The Vikings (5-1, 0-0 GNAC) open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on the road next week facing Concordia in Portland on Thursday (7 pm) and Western Oregon in Monmouth on Saturday (7 pm)…the Vikings are 33-7 (.825) in GNAC play over the last two seasons…both games will stream live and feature statistical updates via GNAC.tv.
