ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Nov. 28) – The Central Washington University men's basketball team opens Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on the road against Saint Martin's and Seattle Pacific.
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
at Saint Martin's
Marcus Pavilion
Lacey, Wash.
Live Stats |
Live Video
Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
at Seattle Pacific
Brougham Pavilion
Seattle, Wash.
Live Stats |
Live Video
QUOTABLE
"I think our team is excited for the challenge of opening conference play on the road against two of the top teams in the West Region," CWU Head Coach
Brandon Rinta said. "Both these teams have everyone back from last season and are picked to finish top two in the conference."
SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN'S
The Saints enter the week with a 5-1 record on their young season. Last week, Saint Martin's picked up a pair of victories in the Thanksgiving Classic over Notre Dame de Namur (81-55) and Holy Names University (77-63). The Saints are receiving votes in the NABC Poll.
Rhett Baerlocher and Tavian Henderson lead the Saints' scoring output. Baerlocher has played in, and started, all six games for the Saints. He boasts 11.2 points per game and 5.3 rebounds. Henderson averages 10 points per game and 4.8 rebounds. Saint Martin's is shooting 49 percent on the season, including a clip of 41.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Saints are averaging 81.3 points per game and allowing opponents just 70.8.
Last season, the Saints swept both ends of the season series. They captured an 80-75 victory in Ellensburg before notching a 75-68 win in Lacey.
Luke Chavez led the Saints in both games against the Wildcats last year, scoring 46 points over two games.
SCOUTING SEATTLE PACIFIC
The Falcons are 2-2 on the season after dropping their last two games to St. Cloud State (77-69) and California State San Bernardino (79-27). Seattle Pacific hosts Northwest Nazarene on Thursday (Nov. 29) before taking on the Wildcats on Saturday.
Gavin Long leads the Falcons in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game. Nikhil Lizotte sits behind Long at 12.5 points per game. Coleman Wooten is the final double-digit scorer, he averages 11.8 points per game. Wooten is the clubhouse leader in rebounds, hauling in 11 rebounds per game thus far in 2018-19. Nathan Streufert is averaging seven rebounds per game. The Falcons are averaging 76.2 points per game and allowing 73.2. They out rebound their opponents 37-32.
Seattle Pacific is 2-0 when the Falcons have scored 80 points or more, but are 0-2 if the Falcons fail to reach to the 80-point mark.
Last season, the Falcons won both games against Central Washington. The Falcons and Wildcats played to an 84-83 finish in overtime at Nicholson Pavilion. The second meeting between SPU and CWU resulted in an 82-69 win for Seattle Pacific.
Long recorded 31 points against the Wildcats, shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor. Wooten led the rebounding effort in both games, hauling in a combined 23 rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats picked up a pair of victories last week and are 4-2 on the season.
The Crimson and Black put up 111 points against Evergreen State College, taking away a 111-65 victory. They went on to defeat Corban University (Ore.) 90-68.
Jeryn Lucas led the scoring in both games for the Wildcats, scoring 16 against Evergreen and 19 against Corban. He added six rebounds, five assists, and one steal to his totals as well.
Against the Geoducks, Central shot 54.5 percent from the floor, including knocking down 60.61 percent of their shots in the second half. The Wildcats had 14 different players score against Evergreen, six of which compiled double digit efforts.
The Crimson and Black then had three players reach double digits against Corban in a 90-68 victory. Central outrebounded the Warriors, 47-38, despite Corban holding a plus-eight rebounding advantage on the season. The Wildcats recorded 10 steals and dished out 22 assists.
PREGAME FESTIVITIES
The Central Washington University Alumni Association is hosting a Pregame Social before each game this week.
Fans in Lacey for tomorrow's (Nov. 29) game can join in on the fun at O'Blarney's Irish Pub in Olympia starting at 5:00 p.m.
Saturday's Pregame Social will be held at Nickerson Street Saloon starting at 5:00 p.m.
O'Blarney's Irish Pub Nickerson Street Saloon
4411 Martin Way E 318 Nickerson St
Olympia, WA 98516 Seattle, WA 98109
For questions regarding the Pregame Social, contact the CWU Alumni Association office at (509) 963-2160 or
alumni@cwu.edu.
