Box Score
LACEY (Nov. 29) -- Senior
Brandon Magee (Spanaway/Bethel HS) made 8 of 9 field goals and scored a career-high 23 points, helping lead the Central Washington University men's basketball team to an 81-75 victory over Saint Martin's University on Thursday night in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The Wildcats won their fifth straight contest, improving to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the GNAC. The win was also the 300th of head coach
Greg Sparling's career at CWU, making him the third coach in school history to reach that milestone. Saint Martin's fell to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
Magee, whose previous career-high was a 20-point outing against Rollins College (Fla.) last season, scored 17 of his game-high 23 in the second half as CWU came back from a two-point halftime deficit. His basket on the opening possession of the period brought the Wildcats to a tie score, and they did not trail the rest of the way. In fact, CWU used 20-3 run over a span of less than five minutes to take a 17-point lead. Saint Martin's closed to within four with just under three minutes remaining thanks to a 7-0 scoring spurt, but the Wildcats responded with a 7-0 run of their own to preserve the victory.
In addition to Magee's career-best scoring effort, junior
Mark McLaughlin (Bothell/Inglemoor HS) recorded another 20-point outing with 21 points, while
Dominique Williams (University Place/Curtis HS) scored 12 points. Juniors
Nate Walker (Tacoma/Henry Foss HS) and
Chris Holmes (Seattle/Franklin HS) had eight rebounds apiece, including six offensive caroms for Walker, as CWU finished the game with a commanding 40-26 advantage on the boards.
Aided by a 51.6 percent effort (16 of 31) in the second half, CWU finished the game shooting 44.6 percent from the floor. The Wildcats were nearly perfect at the free throw line, making 18 of 19 including 13 of 14 in the final period. Magee (6 for 6) and McLaughlin (5 for 6) were instrumental in leading the team's efficiency at the charity stripe.
Saint Martin's saw four of its starters reach double figures. Roger O'Neill scored 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting for the Saints while Rei Jensen added 17 points and Evan Coulter scored 16.
CWU rounds out the opening weekend of conference play on the road this Saturday (Dec. 1), visiting Western Oregon University for a 2 p.m. contest in Monmouth, Ore. The Wildcats return home Dec. 11 to face The Evergreen State College in a non-conference contest.
