ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Feb. 11) – The Central Washington men's basketball team was outscored 9-2 in overtime falling to Saint Martin's University 84-77 Thursday night in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats (14-6, 9-6 GNAC), trailed for the majority of the contest including late in the second half before Joseph Stroud slammed home a basket with 1:56 left in regulation to give the Wildcats a one-point lead.  Saints' forward Brandon Kenilvort made one of two free throws to tie the game and force overtime.
 
In overtime CWU was unable to score from the field going 0 of 8 and just 2 of 6 from the free throw line, while SMU made 3 of 6 shots in the extra period, including 3 of 5 from the charity stripe, earning an 84-77 win.
 
Despite a career night from Naim Ladd and a solid performance from Stroud, the Wildcats shot just 39.7 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from behind the arc (9 of 32) and committed 15 turnovers.
 
Ladd scored 24 points off the bench for CWU, going 8 of 14 from the field including 6 of 12 from long range.  Stroud made 10 of 14 shots, scoring 23 points and hauling down 11 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season.
 
Guard Devin Matthews was three rebounds shy of a triple double adding 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
 
Saint Martin's came out the gates firing making seven three pointers within the first eight minutes of the game and led by as many as 13 points in the first half. 
 
The Wildcats rallied behind four treys from Ladd in the final 6:49 of the stanza including one in the final seconds to head into overtime tied 42-42.
 
The Saints were led by Tyler Copp who scored 21 points, making 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc.  Trey Ingram and Kenilvort came off the bench and combined to score 32 of the Saints 36 bench points.
 
The Wildcats will look to get back on track this Saturday when they host Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m. in Nicholson Pavilion.