Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Dec. 11) -- Four Central Washington University players scored in double figures, including a game-high 21 points from junior Mark McLaughlin (Bothell/Inglemoor HS), as the Wildcat men's basketball team cruised to a 100-59 victory over visiting Evergreen State College on Tuesday night at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats improved to 6-2 on the season with the win, while Evergreen, which competes as a member of the NAIA and the Cascade Collegiate Conference, fell to 1-8.

Tuesday's game was never in doubt, as CWU scored on its first possession of the game and led the entire way. The Wildcats started the game on a 10-2 run, then took their first double-digit lead of the night at the 13:23 mark, and never looked back. CWU closed the first half on an 11-0 spurt after holding the Geoducks scoreless over the final 4:09 of the period.

The differential reached as many as 43 points on two occasions in the final six minutes, and the only suspense that remained for the Wildcats was whether or not they would reach the century mark. A basket by senior Derrick Davis (Tacoma/Clover Park HS) with 65 seconds remaining put CWU at the century mark for the third time in eight starts this year, and proved to be the final points of the contest.

McLaughlin finished as the game's high scorer after making 8 of 19 field goals. He scored 16 of his points after halftime, while Davis had nine of his career-high 12 counters in the final stanza. Senior Jordan Coby (Tacoma/Woodrow Wilson HS) led a balanced scoring attack in the first half with 10 of his 15 points before the break, while junior Chris Holmes (Seattle/Franklin HS), who finished with 13 points in the game, made 5 of 6 field goals. Senior Jordan Starr (Yakima/A.C. Davis HS) finished the game with seven points and a career-high eight assists while not committing a turnover. All 10 Wildcats scored at least three points.

Evergreen was led by Cody Peters with 15 points, while Marc Taylor added 10 points and six rebounds. Guard Jakob Herron came off the bench to grab 10 rebounds for the Geoducks, who finished with a 42-40 edge on the glass.

Central Washington will travel to Las Vegas for the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic next Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec. 18-19), where it will face the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of West Florida, respectively. The Wildcats' next home game is their Jan. 3 contest against the University of Alaska Fairbanks in their return to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.