ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Jan. 17) – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (8-7, 2-5) fell to the University of Alaska Anchorage (8-7, 3-4), 79-63.
 
Naim Ladd led the Wildcats with 13 points and four rebounds.  He shot 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.  Ladd also recorded a pair of assists.
 
After Anchorage staked out an 8-4 lead just three minutes into the game, a three from Jeryn Lucas cut the deficit to one.  A three from Tyler Brimhall pushed the Seawolves' advantage back to four, 11-7.  Brimhall's three was one of ten for Anchorage in the opening stanza.
 
"We were not where we needed to be defensively tonight," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said. "To have any success against UAA you have to guard the three-point line and we didn't tonight."
 
A pair of free throws by Gamaun Boykin, and a jumper from Lucas, levelled the contest at 11-11 with 15:15 remaining in the first half.  Central took its largest lead of the contest three minutes later, on a three from Malik Montoya, at 22-15.
 
Consecutive threes from Brimhall and Jack MacDonald tied the game again at 24-24.  MacDonald finished with a career-high 23 points.
 
Anchorage took a 45-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.  In the first period, the Seawolves shot 16-for-29 from the floor, including 10 three-pointers.  Central shot just 12-for-29 and knocked down five treys.
 
The barrage of threes slowed in the second half.  The Seawolves went just 4-for-8 in the back end, while Central finished 2-for-4. 
 
Central cut the deficit to single digits only once in the second half after a three from Lucas brought the score to 48-40.
 
Malcolm Cola finished with 12 points, while Matt Poquette recorded 10.  Cola also picked up three rebounds and two blocks. 
 
The Crimson and Black finished with 24 points in the paint, 11 points off of turnovers, and the reserves tallied 35 points.  Central held the Seawolves' bench to just five points.  Six Wildcats recorded multiple assists.
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday (Jan. 19) as they take on the University of Alaska.  Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. AKT (3:00 p.m. PT).