ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Jan. 26) – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (9-9, 3-7) erased a 17-point lead but fell just short of completing the comeback against Concordia University (7-11, 2-8) Saturday evening in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
Gamaun Boykin missed a chance to take the lead with just ten seconds remaining. After the Cavaliers converted only one of two free throws, Boykin missed another attempt to tie the game at 65. Both attempts were heavily contested.
 
"I thought that they were good, strong, hard takes that I think he could have easily made," Head Coach Brandon Rinta said. "They didn't fall for us there down the stretch in those last couple possessions."
 
Boykin led the Wildcats with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Malik Montoya added 15 points of his own along with four steals.
 
The visitors started the game quickly jumping out to a 7-2 lead. The Wildcats recovered to tie the game at nine following back-to-back fast break hoops. After a 6-0 run for the Cavaliers, the home team rallied once more to tie the game at 23 with 7:56 remaining in the half.
 
Montoya provided a spark off the bench for the Crimson and Black with six points and three steals. The bench as a unit contributed eight points in the opening period.
 
From that point, Concordia closed the half outscoring Central 16-9 behind six points from Xavier Smith and five from Tyler Wells. The home team shot just two-for-ten down the stretch, including eight straight misses from beyond the arc.
 
Central shot a respectable 44 percent from the field for the half, but were outscored 22-12 in the paint and faced a 39-32 deficit at the halfway point.
 
The Cavaliers opened the second period on an 8-0 run before the Wildcats scored their first basket at the 16:15 mark. The teams traded hoops for the next several minutes as the visitors increased their lead to 17 with 14:27 left in the contest.
 
The Crimson and Black responded with a 11-1 run to get back into the game, bringing the score to 58-51 with 7:49 left in the game. The home team closed the game scoring 12 of the last 18 points behind seven points from Montoya and nailing six of eleven from the charity stripe as a team.
 
"I thought our defense was just at another level the last 15 minutes," Rinta said. "It wasn't quite where it needed to be the first 25 minutes."
 
The Crimson and Black are now 0-2 on their three-game home stand. They take on Northwest Nazarene University next on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.