KENNEWICK, Wash.- Junior Fuquan Niles registered his first double-double as a member of the Central Washington University men's basketball team as the Wildcats fell to Washington State University Tuesday evening 81-76 in an exhibition matchup.
 
"In the first half we were getting some transition baskets," CWU head coach Greg Sparling said. "They went smaller in the second half and started switching everything, which is fine. We just didn't make shots. We tried to adjust to it, but by the time we adjusted it was too late."
 
"They are a good transition team," Sparling continued. "We didn't do what we needed to do in transition defense, but we will improve upon it. I think at the end of the day, our guys competed and battled. We just had a few hiccups along the way. We play these games to see what our strengths and weaknesses are. We will now go back to the drawing board and keep getting better."
 
Niles hauled in a team and season-high 16 rebounds and tallied 12 points (5-9) to register his first career double-double since joining the Wildcats. This was his first game with 15 or more rebounds.
 
Senior point guard Dom Hunter scored a team-high 26 points to go along with four rebounds, two steals and one assist. He was 4-for-5 at the foul line and has now finished with more than 20 points for the third consecutive game.
 
Naim Ladd scored 12 points and added two assists to go with four rebounds.
 
Junior forward Jerome Bryant hit three of his four field goal attempts for seven points. Bryant also hauled in three rebounds to go with three assists, one block and an assist.
 
The Wildcats shot the lights out early, shooting 63.6% from the field in the opening six minutes of play. Junior Jerome Bryant scored on Central's opening possession following a steal by Terry Dawn.
 
A successful three-pointer by Jawan Stepney, followed by a layup from Bryant extended the Wildcat's lead to 7-2. The Cougars battled back to take a 12-11 advantage, but a successful jumper by Naim Ladd would give the Wildcats the lead once again.
 
Hunter registered six points in a span of less than a minute to help the Wildcats go on a 11-5 run and capture a 22-16 lead. An offensive rebound and dunk by Niles later in the first increased CWU's lead to 28-20.
 
WSU would close the scoring margin to 36-33 after a pair of free throws by Conor Clifford. Central would go on a 6-3 run to close out the first half to secure a 42-36 halftime advantage.  
 
Central was scorching hot in the first half where they shot 47.2-percent from the field, making 17 of 36 shots, including 4 of 11 from behind the arc. The Cougars also shot the ball well, shooting 46.4-percent (13-28), but the CWU defense forced six WSU turnovers.
 
Hunter picked up right where he left off in the second half, scoring on his first attempt to extend the Wildcat lead to 46-36. The game tightened as Washington State strung together a 12-2 run to even the score at 48-48. A jumper by Chirs-Michael Garret and a three-pointer by Hunter ended the Cougar run, allowing CWU to regain the lead 53-48.
 
Back-to-back layups by Charles Callison and Ike Iroegbu sparked a Washington State 12-0 run to jump out to a 61-53 advantage. A jumper by Marc Rodgers would end the Cougar run, but Washington State would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game.
 
A late jumper by Ladd brought the score within six, but Washington State quieted the comeback and held on for the 81-76 win.
 
Josh Hawkinson led Washington State with 18 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and two assists. Malachi Flynn also added 18 points and six rebounds.
 
The Wildcats will return to the hardwood on Nov. 18 against Dixie State University.