Box Score
ELLENSBURG (Jan. 23) -- Junior
Humberto Perez (Yakima/A.C. Davis HS) made 6 of 9 shots for a team-high 16 points, and sophomore
Roby Clyde (Connell/Pasco HS) had a career-high 15 rebounds in Central Washington University's 84-70 men's basketball loss to 15th-ranked Western Washington in front of a near-capacity crowd on Saturday night at Nicholson Pavilion.
The Wildcats suffered their second straight home loss to fall to 9-6 overall and 3-2 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Western Washington improved to 17-3 overall and 4-2 in the GNAC.
Perez made 4 of 7 three-point shots on the night, including two on consecutive fast breaks in the first half as part of a 14-0 Wildcat run that gave Central a 16-5 lead with 13:33 to go in the first half. After that 11-point lead, however, Western whittled away at the margin with a run of its own, keeping CWU scoreless for nearly a five-minute span.
The Wildcat lead was back at eight points with 3:56 to go before halftime, but Western closed the half on a 17-5 run, including a buzzer-beating putback by Zach Bruce that made it a 38-34 halftime count.
Central never led in the second half, but did close to within one on several occasions. However, the Wildcats were never able to find the equalizing basket, as Western countered on every possession following a Central score. Then, after the final one-point margin of the period, the Vikings scored eight straight points -- and 11 of the next 13 -- to secure a double-point lead. The Wildcats didn't get closer than six points the rest of the way.
The Wildcats finished with a commanding 51-38 edge in rebounding, led by the career-best efforts of Clyde who had seven offensive rebounds. He also scored nine points on 4 of 8 shooting, while Toussaint Tyler (Kent/Kentwood HS) and Chris Sprinker (Tacoma/Curtis HS) finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, on a combined 10 of 28 shooting. Central shot just 38 percent from the floor, making 27 of 71, including just five three-pointers.
Western Washington, which was led by the career-high 23 points of Andrew Ready, committed just six turnovers to Central's 15 and outscored the Wildcats, 32-11, at the free throw line. Morris Anderson totaled 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists for the Vikings, while Derrick Webb had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds and led Western's charge to the foul line by making 9 of 11 at the stripe.
Central, which has not lost consecutive home games since a three-game skid during the 2005-06 season, will hit the road for five of its next six contests, beginning with next Thursday night's visit to Montana State Billings. The Wildcats' next home game is Feb. 4, when they face nationally-ranked Seattle Pacific as part of a women's-men's doubleheader at Nicholson Pavilion. The men's game versus the Falcons is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.
