Central Washington University Athletics

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Nov. 7) -- The Central Washington University men's basketball team heads to San Bernardino, California for a pair of non-conference games to open the 2018 season.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Friday at 5:30 p.m.
vs Cal State Monterey Bay
Coussoulis Arena
San Bernardino, Calif.
Live Stats | Live Video
 
Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
vs Cal State San Bernardino
Coussoulis Arena
San Bernardino, Calif.
Live Stats | Live Video
 
QUOTABLE
"Early in the season every team is learning a lot about each other every time they step out on the court," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "I think that was evident in our first 80 minutes of basketball this past week.  Once we settled in to playing in an actual game we were able to get a realistic look at where we are right now.  There were some positives that we will continue to build on and some areas that we need to make sure that we improve on heading into this weekend.  We are going to play two good teams this weekend in California.  Both teams are like us in that they have a lot of new players on their roster so it is hard to get a read on what to expect.  I believe our guys are excited for these games and opportunity they provide to test ourselves against two good West Region teams."
 
SCOUTING MONTEREY BAY
The Otters compiled a 4-22 record and finished CCAA play with a 3-19 mark.
 
Monterey Bay and Central Washington met last season and the Wildcats picked up a 73-67 victory.    
 
Jahvon Johnson returns for the Otters after leading Monterey Bay in scoring last year, averaging 13.2 points per game.  Josh Kollman also returns after finishing third in scoring at 9.8 points per game.
 
Last season, the Otters averaged 70.33 points per game, while allowing 79.92.  From the floor, Monterey Bay shot 42.6 percent to go with a 36.5 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.  The Otters reeled in 36.3 rebounds per game to their opponents 39.2.
 
 They did not win either of their neutral site games, finishing 0-2.  Monterey Bay had a rough go in the second half of their season, losing 16 consecutive games to close out 2017-18.
 
SCOUTING SAN BERNARDINO
San Bernardino finished 2017-18 with a 13-14 record overall and an 11-11 mark in CCAA play.
 
The Coyotes named Andy Newman as their bench boss in May.  Newman was previously at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.  In his final season with at Permian Basin, Newman guided the Falcons to a 26-7 record overall and 14-4 in the Lone Star.  The Falcons appeared in the NCAA South Central Regional, defeating No. 23 UA Fort Smith and No. 22 Regis before falling to No. 11 Texas A&M.
 
The 16-man roster has just one returner, sophomore Isaac Udo-Ema who did not play last season.  The Coyotes brought in 15 new players for this season, including DI drop downs Tyrell Henderson (Portland State), Naradain James (UIC), Justice Green (Eastern Illinois), Dante Williams (Kansas State), and Malik Rhodes (Memphis).  San Bernardino also has former CWU men's basketball player Cameron Williams rostered for 2018-19.
 
When Central and San Bernardino met last season, the Coyotes came away with an 81-62 victory.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats played a pair of exhibition games prior to this week's regular season openers.
 
Central Washington first took to the road for a game against No. 3 Gonzaga.  The Wildcats came out to a slow start, but shook the jitters at half time.  In the second half, the Crimson and Black shot 43.24 percent and knocked down seven threes.  Jackson Price finished as the top Wildcat scorer, tallying 12 points.  Jeryn Lucas finished with 10 points in the contest.  
 
In their second exhibition against George Fox University, the Wildcats finished with a 64.4 shooting percentage from the field.  The Crimson and Black scored early and often in the first half against the Bruins. Things got rolling when a steal from Malcolm Cola turned into a layup from Malik Montoya. Lucas hit a three-pointer, followed by a pair of free-throws from Price. After nearly a minute and a half without a bucket, price drained a three-pointer, giving the Wildcats an 11-2 lead heading towards the first media timeout. 
 
The aggressiveness of the Wildcats helped them get into the bonus with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the first half. They'd shoot 17-for-20 from the free-throw line in the first half. The Wildcat offense was deadly from beyond the three-point arc. They went 7-for-12 from deep, led by Price who knocked down all three of his attempts. He'd finish the night with 19 points, going five-for-six from three-point range, while dishing out seven assists. 
 
Central's bench chipped in 61 points in the 118-70 victory.  The Wildcats also made 90.6 percent of their free throws against the Bruins.
 
Friday's game against Cal State Monterey Bay will be head coach Brandon Rinta's first regular season game as the bench boss for Central Washington.  Rinta is a 2001 graduate of Central Washington.  During his career, Rinta averaged 8.4 points per game and shot 45.8 percent from the floor for the Wildcats.  He was previously at Lewis-Clark State for the past seven seasons, where he compiled a 156-62 record.