ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Nov. 28) – Six players scored in double figures as the Central Washington University men's basketball team defeated Walla Walla University 119-82 Saturday night in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats remain undefeated with a 4-0 mark.  This is the best four-game start since the 2010-11 season.  Walla Walla falls to 1-5 on the season.
 
"We just have to keep getting better, and we did that tonight," CWU Head Coach Greg Sparling.  "We did a good job sharing the ball, but we have to improve on our rebounding totals.
 
Gary Jacobs set career highs in both rebounds and assists with 10 and 9 respectively.  The senior also poured in 18 points on 9 of 14 shooting.
 
"My teammates were knocking down shots today, which made it easy to get pile up assists" Jacobs said in response to his career high totals.  "Coach emphasized rebounding, so I made it an effort to get as many as possible."
 
Joseph Stroud led the Wildcats with 19 points, adding nine rebounds and four blocks.
 
Joey Roppo, Devin Matthews, Drake Rademacher added 16, 11 and 10 points, respectively, with Matthews adding nine assists.
 
Redshirt freshman Naim Ladd added 17 points off the bench, making five three pointers, in just 16 minutes of action.
 
"I thought Naim came in and gave us a spark," Sparling said.  "I could go down the list of our team right now and talk about positive contribution to our night, we will need this steady play from our bench as we start conference play."
 
The Wildcats shot 58.3-percent from the field and had assists on 31 of their 49 baskets, including 15 of 29 from behind the arc.  The 15 three-pointers are tied for the fourth-most in a single game for the Wildcats in school history.
 
"The highlight of the evening for me was the unselfish play for the guys," Sparling added.  "We shared the ball all night and our assist total reflects that.  In games like this you worry about guys worrying about their own statistics but our guys stayed focused on the game plan and got a good win."
 
The Wildcats scored the first four points of the game on a jumper by Matthews and a fastbreak dunk by Jacobs, and never looked back, building a 19-point lead at the 11:07 mark in the first half.  Matthews finished the half the same way he started it with a basket giving the Wildcats a healthy 62-35 lead.
 
Central Washington continued its hot shooting in the second half building a 33-point lead six minutes into the stanza.  The wildcats led by as many as 45 points en route to their 119-82 win.
 
Up next CWU begins Great Northwest Athletic Conference play when they travel to Alaska to take on Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 3 and Alaska on Dec. 5.