ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Five players scored in double figures as the men's basketball team defeated Saint Martin's University 84-69 Saturday afternoon at Nicholson Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats improve to 11-3 on the season, and 6-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, while the Saints fall to 7-9, 3-5 GNAC.
 
The Wildcats played without Dom Hunter, who leads the conference in scoring.  In his absence, a host of CWU players stepped up with Jawan Stepney scoring 22 points, making 9 of 15 shots from the field.  Stepney also hauled down seven rebounds and gathered three steals.
 
Naim Ladd kept his scoring pace, adding 17 points and six assists.  Terry Dawn, Fuquan Niles, and Marc Rodgers also scored in double figures with 13, 11, and 10 points, respectively.
 
"Dom is our leader, and without his scoring presence, we needed others to step up," CWU Head Coach Greg Sparling said.  "Everyone stepped up tonight, we got quality minutes from everyone who got into the game.  Great team win tonight."
 
The Wildcats shot 51.6 percent from the field, while holding Saint Martin's to just a 36.2 percent shooting clip.  Central's perimeter defense was exceptional, as SMU made just 4 of 21 shots from behind the arc while the Wildcats drained 12 of 31.
 
"From start to finish, this was our best defensive game of the season so far," Sparling said of his team's performance.  "Our guys did a great job of sticking to our game plan.  We knew who their shooters were and consistently had a hand up on their shots. "
 
Central Washington led from start to finish, as Jawan Stepney scored the opening five points of the game.  The Wildcats led by just six with 4:15 to play in the first half, but a 13-1 run by the Wildcats, capped by a Sage Woodruff three pointer, gave CWU an 18-point lead, its largest of the contest.
 
With a 48-34 halftime advantage, the Wildcats made their first two shots of the second half to build a 16-point lead that the Saints cut in half with 12:09 to play.  Stepney rattled off five quick points to provide the home team with a double-digit cushion, leading the Wildcats to the final 84-69 victory.
 
The Saints, who were also without their top scorer, got 16 points from Tyler Copp, and Preston Cole added 14 points and seven assists.
 
Central Washington will put its five-game win streak on the line when they travel to Simon Fraser and Western Washington on Jan. 19 and 21, respectively.