ELLENSBURG, Wash.- Three Wildcats tallied double-digit point totals as the Central Washington University men's basketball team defeated the University of Alaska Anchorage 72-71 Thursday night in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
"This was a big win for us, and we really needed it after losing both games last week," CWU Head Coach Greg Sparling said.  "Anchorage is a tough, well-coached team that refuses to give up.  However, our guys really stepped up, especially defensively, to help us close out this game."
 
Senior guard Jawan Stepney registered his seventh double-figure scoring effort of the season (14) to lead the Wildcats offensively. Sage Woodruff scored 13 points with nine coming from beyond the arch and junior Naim Ladd chipped in 12 points.
 
Senior center Fuquan Niles led CWU on the glass, hauling in 11 rebounds to go with eight points and a block.
 
The Seawolves were led by Jack McDonald's 17-point effort. Drew Peterson added 12 points on the evening.
 
The Wildcats led by as many as nine (18-9) in the first half. Malik Montoya initiated CWU's scoring production with a successful three-pointer in the opening seconds of the game, which was assisted by Stepney. A nine-point run by the Seawolves evened the score 18-18, but Stepney converted from beyond the arch to regain the lead 21-18. The remainder of the period was back-and-forth, as neither team managed to gain the upper hand. Niles scored a layup with 40 seconds remaining in the period to give CWU a 32-31 lead heading into the locker room.
 
Despite UAA opening the second half on a 7-2 run and taking a five-point lead (38-33), Central Washington managed to battle back to regain the lead 45-44 at the 11:55 mark. The Wildcats continued to apply pressure, using a 6-0 run to jump out to a 57-50 lead thanks to back-to-back threes from Ladd. Ladd would end up scoring eight of CWU's ten points in a run that pushed CWU's lead to 61-52 late in the period.
 
"They (UAA) came out the gates firing in the second half and really stuck it to us in the early minutes of the half," Sparling added.  "We responded with a big run of our own and made some big stops defensively.  We just have to do a better job of closing games out.  We missed too many free throws down the stretch, shots that should would have ended the game in regulation.
 
The Seawolves refused to go down quietly, stringing together a 13-4 run to even the score at 65-65. The game would come down to the wire as Coach Sparling called a timeout with 2.3 seconds remaining. Shabazz inbounded the ball to Ladd, who managed to get off a half court short, but the ball failed to reach the bottom of the net. 
 
The overtime period began with both sides converting on three-point attempts. Back-to-back layups by Shabazz and Stepney gave Central a four-point lead (72-68) with 3:06 remaining. A three-pointer by UAA's Drew Peterson brought the game within one (72-71), but the stingy Wildcat defense managed to hold on and escape with the victory.
 
CWU finished the game converting nine of its 28 three-point shots on the night. The Wildcats would also convert 64.3 percent from the free throw line, knocking down nine-of-14 from the charity stripe.
 
CWU and UAA were tied on seven different occasions, and there were six different lead changes overall.
 
The win improves CWU to 8-6 overall and 3-4 in GNAC play, while Alaska Anchorage dropped to 7-8 on the season and 3-4 in conference play.
 
CWU will return to Nicholson Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. against the University of Alaska Fairbanks.