ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Feb. 3) – Five Central Washington University men's basketball players finished in double digits as the Wildcats defeated Simon Fraser, 81-67, extending their winning streak to five games.
 
The Wildcats are now 13-8 overall and 8-6 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. 
 
Jawan Stepney led the Wildcats' offense scoring 14 points.  Fuquan Niles (12), Khalil Shabazz (11), Sage Woodruff (11), and Jerome Bryant (10) also recorded double digit points.  Shabazz led the Wildcats with six rebounds.  The Wildcats finished 47.2 percent from the fllor and 24-for-29 at the charity stripe.  Central's bench chipped in 27 points. 
 
"Guys are making plays when we need them," CWU Head Coach Greg Sparling said afterward.  "Sage came off the bench in the second and hit three threes for us.  But if you look at the stats, the biggest thing that sticks out to me is the assist to turnovers.  We had 18 assists and only 10 turnovers.  We took care of the ball extremely well today.  We turned good shots into great shots tonight."
 
Kedar Salam finished with 21 points for the Clan, while Othniel Spence (15) and Michael Provenzano (10) also finished in double digits.  The Clan took 23 threes, but only knocked down three.  Of their 55 total shots, 23 (41.8 percent) came from behind the arc.  Simon Fraser shot 68.75 percent from the floor, after removing their three-point effort.  The Clan finished with a shooting percentage of 45.5.
 
The Wildcats shot 37 percent from the floor in the first half.  Jawan Stepney led the scoring with five points, but took just two shots. Stepney knocked down a three and converted twice at the charity stripe.  Central made up for a sluggish start shooting-wise by going 11-for-12 at the free throw line in the first half. 
 
While neither team reached double digits in fouls in the first half, the Wildcats made the Clan pay for every mistake.  Simon Fraser sent the Wildcats to the line for 12 free throws on just nine fouls, whereas the Wildcats gave Simon Fraser just six free throws on eight fouls.
 
The Clan shot slightly better from the field, converting a clip of 44 percent.  Beyond the three-point line, however, their success was dismal.  Simon Fraser went just 2-for-12 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes of play.  Salam the first half scoring with 11 points, over a third of the Clan's offensive production.
 
Central's offense went to work in the second half.  The Wildcats outscored the Clan 22-4 in the first 10 minutes of the second half. They extended their advantage to 58-39, a 19-point lead.
 
The Clan never found their stride in the second half and once again struggled from three-point land.  They knocked down just one of their 11 attempts in the second half.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half.  That number includes a 4-for-9 effort from beyond the arc, three of which came from Woodruff.
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Thursday (Feb. 8) in Fairbanks, Alaska as they take on the University of Alaska.  Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. PT.