ELLENSBURG, Wash.- The Central Washington University men's basketball team fell to the No. 4-ranked Western Oregon Wolves, 89-59, on Senior Day in Nicholson Pavilion on Saturday.
 
CWU is 15-10 overall and 10-8 in GNAC play after suffering its fourth home loss of the conference season. The Wolves improve to 25-1 on the season and 16-1 in GNAC play.
 
"Western Oregon is a good team and there is a reason they are 25-1," CWU head coach Greg Sparling said. "I thought we did a good job forcing them to work the shot clock. We forced them to take a lot of shots in the low teens, but they are a team that does a lot of things well. If you close out hard on them, they will still find a way to score. Western Oregon is a team that I think can make a run deep into the NCAA postseason. We need to make sure we do our part to close out the season strong."
 
CWU had two players score in double figures with Khalil Shabazz leading the way. The freshman scored 20 points, while senior Jawan Stepney added 11 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
 
Coming off the bench, Sage Woodruff had a strong showing with eight points. Fuquan Niles registered seven points, seven rebounds and eight blocks. With his eighth block Niles tied the all-time school record at CWU with a total of 144 over his career.
 
The Wolves came out hot to start the game, winning the tip and scoring eight straight points. A jumper by Stepney ended WOU's run, and a basket by Jerome Bryant brought the score within four (8-4). Western Oregon's lead grew too as many as 16 in the frame, thanks in large part to 12 points by Tanner Omlid. The Wildcats would enter halftime down 44-28, thanks to a last second three-pointer by Demetrius Trammell.

Fuquan Niles blocked four shots in the first half, while Western Oregon as a team only recorded one. The Wolves held the advantage in rebounding (29-18), assists (6-2), and steals (4-2). The Wildcats struggled shooting from beyond the arch, making just one of their nine attempts (11.1-percent). The Wolves shot 41.2-percent (7-of-17) from three-point range in the first half.
 
CWU continued their struggles into the second half as Western Oregon outscored the Wildcats 14-7 over the first five minutes to take a 58-35 lead. The Wildcats came into the final ten minutes of play down 62-39, but continued to fight. CWU rattled off an eight point run with 6:18 remaining to cut WOU's advantage to 73-51. Stepney scored nine of his 11 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats offensively.  Unfortunately, the Wildcats were unable to overcome their deficit as Western Oregon breezed to an 89-59 victory.
 
Central Washington will return to action next Thursday, Feb. 22 when they head to Seattle, Wash. to face Seattle Pacific University. The game is set for a 7 p.m. PST tip.
 
-CWU-