ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- The Central Washington University men's basketball team scored 60 second-half points to defeat Western Washington University 92-81 in front of 2,479 fans inside Nicholson Pavilion and a national audience as part of NCAA's DII Showcase on ESPN3.
 
The Wildcats are now riding a four-game win streak and stand with a 12-8 record with a 7-6 mark in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  The Vikings fall to 15-6, 10-3 in the GNAC after dropping their last three games.
 
Central Washington made 72.7 percent of its shots in the second half, including 15 of its first 17 shots in the frame.
 
"We started fast tonight, which was very important in a game like this because we knew momentum was going to swing back and forth," CWU Head Coach Greg Sparling said.  "Our guys always get excited for this game, and with the environment we had tonight in the Pavilion, it was key to stay composed and keep sharing the basketball.  Our guys stayed composed and embraced the moments when momentum swung our way."
 
Freshman point guard Khalil Shabazz paced the scorching CWU offense with 24 points on 10 of 18 shooting and snatched a season-high five steals.  Jawan Stepney continued his impressive play, pouring in 21 points, while Fuquan Niles and Jerome Bryant added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Malik Montoya added nine points and a career-best 10 assists in 37 minutes of action.
 
The CWU starters scored 78 of the Wildcats 92 points.  The Wildcats has relied on bench production as of late, averaging 37 bench points in the last previous four games.
 
The Wildcats started hot in the first half, leading by ten with 11:35 to go in the frame but the Vikings took advantage of a CWU cold streak with a 12-2 run to tie the game at 21 with 5:21 to go in the half. A Daulton Hommes three by the Vikings at the end of the half helped the visitors to a 35-32 lead at intermission.
 
CWU Head Coach Greg Sparling gathered the troops at the half and the Wildcats took over the rest of the game as the Crimson and Black knocked down its first eight shots of the period including a pair of triples by Shabazz and Montoya and a rim rattling dunk by Niles.
 
"That second half was unbelievable," Sparling added.  "The guys did such a good job sharing the ball, finding the open man, and taking very good shots.  There were points where all we could do as coaches was sit back and let them play.  When your team is shooting and competing as well as we did in the second half, there isn't much to change, you ride the wave for as long as you can and make adjustments when it comes to an end.  Fortunately for us, we were able to stay the course, it was fun to be a part of."
 
After a rare miss, the Wildcats then ripped off seven straight scores behind three pointers by Sage Woodruff and Coleman Sparling to push the CWU lead to 19 points with 10:54 remaining in regulation.
 
Western Washington pulled with within eight points, but the red-hot Wildcats would not succumb to the pressure, and walked away with the 11-point victory.
 
For the game, CWU shot 54.4-percent from the field and 45-percent (9 of 20) from three, while holding the Vikings to 42.9-percent shooting clip.
 
The Vikings were led by Hommes' 22 points, followed by Trey Drechsel and Siann Rojas with 19 and 17, respectively.
 
The Wildcats will look to extend its winning streak this Saturday when they host Simon Fraser at 7:30 p.m. inside Nicholson Pavilion.