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ELLENSBURG (Dec. 16) -- The Central Washington University men's basketball team had four double-figure scorers, and the Wildcats scored 70 points in the paint en route to a 111-59 victory over visiting Quest University Canada on Monday night at Nicholson Pavilion.
The Wildcats evened their record at 4-4 overall, including 2-1 at home. Quest, from Squamish, B.C., Canada, counted the game as an exhibition.
CWU held a commanding edge in the game against the Kermodes , overcoming two early two-point deficits and cruising to a 56-29 halftime lead. The second half was more of the same, as the two teams almost identically matched their first-half point totals in the final 20 minutes. The Wildcats' final 52-point margin was their largest of the game and was the greatest since a 65-point win over Quest to open the 2010-11 season.
"We wanted to be able to share the minutes between our roster players," CWU head coach
Greg Sparling said. "We also wanted to take care of the basketball tonight, which we did, and we wanted to rebound. I think we did a good job crashing the boards."
Balance in terms of minutes and scoring was key for CWU on Monday, as all 10 players in uniform played and scored at least four points each. They also logged between 16 and 26 minutes against the Kermodes. On the glass, the Wildcats pulled down 53 total rebounds including 21 on the offensive end, and they committed a school-record-low two turnovers.
CWU shot 52.3 percent for the game, making 46 of 88 attempts. The Wildcats' starting frontcourt of seniors
JB PILLARD III (Kirkland/Juanita HS) and
KEVIN DAVIS (Federal Way/Todd Beamer HS) were a combined 17 of 23 from the field, while senior guard
MARK MCLAUGHLIN (Bothell/Inglemoor HS) made 8 of 16 from the floor en route to a team-high 21 points. Pillard, meanwhile, scored 20 with 11 rebounds and Davis finished with 14 points and eight boards.
Coming off the bench was senior
JEFF BUDINICH (Maple Valley/Kentlake HS) to score 13 points and pull down seven rebounds.
Quest had just two players score in double digits, led by a game-high 23 points from Jose Colorado. Eighteen of Colorado's points were in the first half. Shedrick Nelson, who played previously in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference at Western Washington University, added 18 for the Kermodes.
CWU will have two more games before the holiday break, making its annual trip to Las Vegas for the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in the Arena at South Point. The Wildcats will face two challenging foes in Las Vegas, taking on nationally-ranked Tarleton State (Texas) on Saturday (Dec. 21) and also the University of West Florida on Sunday (Dec. 22). Both games start at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.