Box Score

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (Feb. 11) -- Sophomore Shane Miller (Moscow, Idaho) scored 16 of his career-high 25 points in the first half, and junior teammate JC Cook (Canby, Ore.) added 22 points in leading the Central Washington University men's basketball team to an 89-77 victory over the Alaska Nanooks on Thursday night at the Patty Center.

The Wildcats, ranked 10th in the NCAA Division II West Region this week, improved to 13-7 overall and 7-3 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Alaska fell to 6-13 overall and 1-9 in the GNAC.

Miller was 6 of 9 from the field and made 11 of 12 at the free throw line in helping Central to its best free-throw shooting night of the season -- 85.3 percent (29 of 34). He also hit both of his three-point attempts in the contest as the Wildcats, who came into the game shooting just 33.2 percent from behind the arc this season, made 8 of 18 treys for 44.4 percent on Thursday.

Cook connected on 9 of his 13 shot attempts and made three three-pointers in six tries. No other Wildcat player aside from the duo of Miller and Cook reached double figures, although three players finished with nine apiece.

The Wildcats trailed briefly to start the game before taking their first lead at 6-4 at the 15:21 mark in the first half as Central built a 12-6 advantage. Later in the period, CWU scored 10 consecutive points over a three-minute stretch to turn a five-point lead into a 13-point margin, and the Wildcats pushed the lead to 20 at 39-19 with 2:31 left in the first half. However, Alaska scored the final eight points of the period to make the halftime count a 12-point margin.

The Nanooks scored the first three points of the second half to cut Central's lead to eight. Cook carried the Wildcat offense early in the second half with 11 of the team's first 13 points in the first six minutes of the period, and the advantage remained in double figures for the duration of the contest.

Alaska closed to within 10 points with 3:49 left, but Central made eight of nine free throws and added a pair of layups down the stretch to preserve the double-digit margin and the eventual 12-point victory.

Juniors Humberto Perez (Yakima/A.C. Davis HS), Chris Sprinker (Tacoma/Curtis HS), and Toussaint Tyler (Kent/Kentwood HS) scored nine points apiece to help supplement the offense, and with eight rebounds, Sprinker led the Wildcats in that department.

Alaska had three double-figure scorers, led by the game-high 29 points of Nashorn Maynard, who made 10 of 19 field goals, 9 of 10 free throws, and added 10 rebounds for the Nanooks. Emmanuel Jenkins added 16 points and Bo Edwards finished with 10 for UAF.

Central Washington wraps up a stretch of five road games in six starts this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Alaskan Standard Time (8:30 p.m. Pacific Time) against Alaska Anchorage. The Wildcats have won three of their last four away games and need a victory against the region's eighth-ranked team (UAA) to help its postseason positioning.