ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Nov. 24) – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (4-2) defeated Corban University (7-1), 90-68, in their final non-conference game before Great Northwest Athletic Conference play starts next week. 
 
"I thought our guys did a good job moving the basketball," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said afterward.  "We could have been a little more aggressive, getting to the rim and the foul line.  We didn't get to the foul line at all in the first half.  I liked our rebounding.  Corban has really good size and have been out rebounding their opponents by 13.  To out rebound them by nine, that was a focus for us.  When that shot goes up, our guys have to crash and I thought they did a pretty good job of that tonight."
 
The Crimson and Black opened the game by going on a 9-0 run in the first four minutes of play.  The Warriors scored their first basket of the contest at 15:06, cutting the deficit to 9-2.
 
Corban bounced back from their slow start, chipping away at the Wildcats' advantage until a layup from AJ Hodges brought them within two, 22-20.
 
Consecutive threes from Jackson Price minutes later reestablished a seven-point advantage for Central, 30-23.  After a three from Chandler Cavell, Matt Poquette hit a three and Hayden Nelson picked up a fast break layup to give Central a 35-26 advantage.
 
The Crimson and Black added the final two buckets of the half.  A layup from Price gave way to a three from Malik Montoya at the buzzer for a 40-26 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
Central hit nearly 50 percent of its shots in the opening stanza, knocking down 45.7 percent from the floor.  The Wildcats were solid from beyond the arc, draining eight treys.  They also recorded 23 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.
 
The second half was more of the same from the Crimson and Black.  After trading buckets for the first minute, the Wildcats knocked down a pair of shots from Malcolm Cola and Gamaun Boykin, before Montoya added a layup of his own.
 
A three from Corban's Denis Kirichenko brought the Wildcats' lead to 16, but Jeryn Lucas drained a trey of his own 14 seconds later to extend the lead back to 19, 55-34.  Lucas hit another three 30 seconds later, giving Central their first 20-point lead at 55-34.
 
Lucas finished with a team-high 19 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one steal.  He went 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.
 
The Warriors tried to battle their way back into the contest, dipping Central's lead to as little as 13 with just over eight minutes to play.  The Wildcats answered seemingly every call, keeping the lead in double digits and extending it back to 20 with five minutes remaining.  The Crimson and Black kept Corban at arm's length for the remainder of the contest.
 
The Wildcats recorded 18 points off of turnovers, 38 points in the paint, 15 fast break points, 15 second chance points, and the reserves chipped in 39 points.  The Crimson and Black out rebounded the Warriors 47-38.
 
Central starts its GNAC season next week with a trip to Saint Martin's University on Thursday (Nov. 29).  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.