BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Feb. 12) — After trailing by as many as 21 points in the first half at Western Washington University (14-10, 7-7 Great Northwest Athletic Conference), the Central Washington University men's basketball team (13-7, 8-5 GNAC) roared back and pulled to within two points in the second half. But, in the end, the Wildcats fell to the Vikings 83-77.
 
"I've got to give my guys credit, they battled back," said CWU head coach Greg Sparling. "They listened to the adjustments at halftime and got us within two. We just couldn't get over the hump."
 
CWU started fast and led by four points early in the game. But WWU responded with a seven-point run that gave the Vikings their first lead, at 9-6, with 15:17 left in the first half. That spurt became part of an overall 43-18 run that propelled Western to a 45-24 lead with about three minutes left in the first period. It was fueled by nine first half turnovers by CWU.
 
"We've got to make sure to take care of the basketball in an environment like that, when it's going to come down to a one or two possession game," Sparling pointed out.
 
Western also connected on 17 of 28 field goal attempts in the first half, including four of eight on three pointers.
 
"Credit them, they hit some big shots," Sparling added. "Every time we had a miscue on the defensive end, they capitalized."
 
The Wildcats managed to close the gap to 14 points (47-33) at halftime before making the big second half comeback.
 
"In the first half, we didn't play much defense," Sparling said. "We started playing defense in the second half and we did a little better job on the boards."
 
Coupled with better ball movement and improved shot selection, CWU got back to within six points (51-45) just five-and-a-half minutes into the second half. The Wildcats sliced the deficit to two twice, the last time at 79-77 with 17.7 remaining in the game. But the Vikings hit four free throws to ice the victory.
 
"They're good and they have a lot of talent," Sparling acknowledged. "On their home floor, they're going to play a lot better. I've got to give them credit."
 
The Wildcats won the earlier meeting with the Vikings in Ellensburg (74-71), as the two teams split their regular-season, two-game series.
 
"We've got to make sure we learn from it [the loss]," Sparling said. "We've got five conference games left and then we'll see where the clips fall at the end."
 
The next GNAC game for the Wildcats is Saturday, when CWU faces Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
"We can't come out flat," Sparling stated. "We've got to find plenty in the tank. It's Senior Night up there and they'll be hungry because they're still chasing a playoff spot. We've got to get a split out on this trip and then head home."