ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Freshman Coleman Sparling and Khalil Shabazz scored 12 of the Wildcats final 14 points as the Central Washington University men's basketball team defeated Linfield College (7-4) 63-56 to improve to 7-4 on the season.
 
The Wildcats led 49-42 with 15:50 left in regulation before going scoreless for over 10 minutes of game, allowing Linfield to take a 52-49 lead with 8:15 to go.
 
A Shabazz lay in at 5:35 broke the Wildcats scoring drought, and Sparling followed with a long three pointer – that just beat the shot clock – to regain the lead.  Central Washington held the lead for the remainder of the contest and Shabazz sealed the victory with three free throws in the final 13 seconds.
 
Shabazz led the Wildcats with 11 points and a season high nine rebounds to go along with four assists and three steals.  Sparling finished with 10 points and four rebounds, with seven coming in the second half.  Fuquan Niles packed the score sheet with eight points, 12 rebounds and six blocks.
 
Sage Woodruff scored all nine of his points in the first half, all on three pointers during a four-minute span, leading the Wildcats into intermission with a 38-34 lead.
 
The Wildcats were not as particularly sharp offensively, making 20 of 48 of their attempts for a shooting percentage of 41.7.  Central shot well from long range, making 8 of 18 shots from behind the arc and sank 15 of their 17 free throw attempts.
 
Defensively, Central Washington smothered Linfield and held the visitors to a 33.9 shooting percentage, including 29.1 percent in the second half.
 
Linfield forward Jordan Clark led all scorers with 15 points - 12 in the second half -, and gathered five rebounds and two steals.
 
The Wildcats return to action on Jan 4 and 6 when they travel north to play Simon Fraser and Western Washington, respectively.  Both games are set for a 7 p.m. tip.