LACEY, Wash. (Jan. 8) — An 18-1 run by the Central Washington University men's basketball team (8-3, 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) turned a 10-point, second-half deficit into a seven-point lead, and the Wildcats held on for a 70-68 conference road victory Thursday at Saint Martin's University (5-10, 2-3 GNAC).
CWU's run, which took only 5:22, began after the Saints went on a 9-3 run to begin the second half, as they took their biggest lead of the game (43-33) with 16:39 left.
"We turned up the pressure and forced then into some tough shots," said CWU head coach
Greg Sparling about the Wildcats' turnaround. "We made some good decisions on offensive and, then at the end, we stepped up and made our free throws."
The change in defensive intensity came in response to some fatigue that Sparling says he thought he saw among the Saint Martin's players.
"We were also a little tired but we went real deep into our bench and our guys stepped up and did what they needed to do," he added.
Sparling singled out several of his reserve players for accolades, including guard
Jordan Russell, who was one of three Wildcats to score 15 points in the victory. But Russell did more than just score.
"Five to zero assists to turnovers, that's huge," Sparling added. "He did a good job from [the Northwest] Nazarene [loss] to tonight doing what we asked him to do."
Gary Jacobs and
Joseph Stroud also scored 15 points apiece and Stroud led the Wildcats with six rebounds. He had a dunk, on a pass from Russell, that helped key the comeback.
"Any time I make a play like that—a block or a dunk—it definitely sparks the team," Stroud acknowledged. "We just had to find our will to play hard and compete."
Overall, Sparling says the team played better than in Saturday's 74-67 home loss to the Crusaders, particularly in shot selection.
"We didn't settle for threes," Sparling said. "The way we're going to win games is to penetrate and kick or by defending and getting our defense to get our offense going."
Saint Martin's actually had a chance to win the game at the end, coming back from a late 69-64 deficit. The Saints came up with an offensive rebound off a missed Riley Carel free throw with a couple of second remaining. Carel missed on a potential game-winning three-point shot that Russell rebound as time expired.
"They play hard," Sparling said of Saint Martin's. "They're a good team, give them some credit. When they got down they battled back. They've got some good players on their team and good young players. "
Carel led the Saints with 22 points, while freshman guard Trey Ingram added 20. However, Ingram was also charged with eight turnovers.
CWU's road swing continues Saturday with a game at Western Oregon University. Heading into that contest, Sparling acknowledged some continuing concerns about rebounding—as CWU was outrebounded by four by Saint Martin's—and turnovers, as the Cats made 12 miscues in the victory.
"But we ended up turning them over 21 times, and that's big for us," Sparling pointed out. Of those turnovers, 11 came in the second half, including several during the Wildcats' pivotal run.
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip off in the New P.E. Building in Monmouth, Ore.
"That's a tough place to play; it's always been a tough place," Sparling stated. "We've got to be ready for their press. We've just got to be focused and ready to go."
