Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Jan. 19) -- Senior Brandon Magee (Spanaway/Bethel HS) recorded his third double-double of the season, and junior Mark McLaughlin (Bothell/Inglemoor HS) finished with a team-high 18 points, but the Central Washington University men's basketball team fell short in its upset bid against sixth-ranked Seattle Pacific University on Saturday night, 80-71, at Nicholson Pavilion.

The Wildcats fell to 10-6 overall and 4-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. SPU improved to 13-2 overall and 6-1 in the conference.

CWU shot a season-low 34.9 percent against the Falcons and was held nearly 20 points below its season average of 90.3 points per game. The Wildcats kept things close in the first half, overcoming a seven-point deficit with an 8-1 run late in the period, and trailed by just two (34-32) at halftime.

The Wildcats caught Seattle Pacific just once in the second half -- at 66 apiece with 3:02 to go -- but they missed their final five field goal attempts over that final span. SPU hit a go-ahead three-pointer on its next possession after CWU senior Jordan Coby (Tacoma/Woodrow Wilson HS) had tied the score with his trey, and the Falcons iced the victory by making six of eight free throws over the final 39 seconds to turn a four-point lead into a nine-point win.

Neither team shot the ball especially well in the first half, as CWU made 37.5 percent and SPU was at 40.7 percent. Seattle Pacific countered in the second half by making 48.3 percent of its shots, while the host Wildcats actually cooled to 32.3 percent in the period (10 of 23). Free throw shooting kept CWU in the contest, as they converted on 23 of 29 (79.3 percent) at the stripe for the game including 18 of 24 in the second half. SPU finished at 24 of 37 overall (64.9 percent).

McLaughlin's team-high 18 points came despite making just 5 of 15 shot attempts. Magee scored 10 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds before fouling out in the closing seconds. Coby (12 points, six rebounds) and fellow reserve Kevin Davis (Jr., Federal Way/Todd Beamer HS; 11 points, four rebounds) also scored in double figures for the Wildcats, who won the turnover battle by a narrow 11-10 count.

Patrick Simon scored a game-high 20 points for Seattle Pacific, while Andy Poling added 14 and David Downs finished with 12. Downs also had nine assists and just one turnover, while Jobi Wall chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds for the Falcons.

CWU wraps up the first half of GNAC play next week, hosting Northwest Nazarene University on Saturday (Jan. 26) as the second game of a women's-men's doubleheader beginning at 7:30 p.m.