Box Score NAMPA, ID (Jan. 4) -- Central Washington University senior MARK MCLAUGHLIN recorded his first double-double of the season with a game-high of 34 points while adding 10 rebounds as the Wildcats upended Northwest Nazarene 80-71 Saturday Evening in Nampa, Ida.

The Wildcats Improve to 5-6 on the season,  securing their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference win (1-2).  Northwest Nazarene fall to 3-8 on the season, 1-2 in the GNAC.

The Wildcats took a 36-26 lead going into halftime, with McLaughlin scoring 14 of his points in the half.  Central Washington made 11 of its 29 first-half shots and was five of 12 from behind the arc..  The Wildcats led by as many as 12 points before the Crusaders scored a jumper by Michael Loomis with 30 seconds left in the half.

Northwest Nazarene rallied in the second half cutting the Wildcat advantage to just two-points at 46-48.  The Wildcats recovered by going on small 4-0 run to gain a 52-46 advantage with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Central Washington would not let the Crusaders get much closer as they lead by as many as 13 points in the second half.  The Wildcats got a boost from true freshman JALEN PEAKE who scored nine of his 11 eleven points in the second-half.

As a team, CWU was 24 of 53 from the field and 10 of 24 from three-point territory.  The Wildcats made a living at the charity stripe scoring on 22 of their 30 free throw attempts.

The Wildcats will return home for two games next week starting with a 7:00 pm matchup with Saint Martin's on Thursday, Jan. 9