NAMPA, Idaho – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (3-1) nabbed another comeback win, this time in a 70-65 affair over Colorado Christian University (0-4).
 
"Our second half defense won us that game," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "We came out and defended hard for the first five minutes of the game, but the wheels came off for the last 15 minutes.  We got away from who we are and dug ourselves a good hole.  For the second night in a row I have to give guys credit for fighting back and finding a way."
 
Central scored the first six points of the game, before consecutive baskets for Colorado Christian brought them within one at 6-5.  A jumper from inside the paint by Tariq Woody put the 'Cats up 8-5.  The Cougars responded with a bucket of their own, closing the gap back to one.
 
Colorado Christian took their first lead with 14:35 to play in the opening stanza.  A three from Aidan Campbell gave the Cougars a 10-8 lead.  They stretched it to four a minute later, but a pair of free throws from Xavier Smith cut the gap to two, 12-10.
 
Marqus Gilson tied the game at 14-14, taking a pass from Micah Pollard for a layup with 11:17 left in the half.  The Cougars were able to push their lead to five, 21-16, with 8:35 to play.
 
With under three minutes to play in the first half, Colorado Christian had extended their lead to double digits.  The Cougars led 31-21 with 2:43 remaining before halftime.  They made the last two buckets of the half, taking a 39-24 advantage into the locker room.
 
The Wildcats struggled from beyond the arc in the first half, going 0-for-7.  Woody led the first half offense with 10 points.  Central went 8-for-10 at the charity stripe.
 
After the Cougars opened the second half with a jumper, the Wildcat hit the next three baskets.  Woody knocked down a jumper in the paint, before Xavier Smith made a three.  After a defensive rebound and layup from Poquette brought the score to 41-21 in favor of CCU.
 
Central Washington chipped away at the Cougars' lead, bringing it back to single digits with 16:56 to play on a three from Gamaun Boykin.  Colorado Christian responded by extending their lead back to 12 a minute later.
 
A three from Jeryn Lucas with 13:45 to play brought the Cougars' lead down to single digits again, 50-41.  Consecutive buckets from CCU, after a free throw from Pollard, one again brought the double-digit advantage back, 54-44.  Lucas responded again for Central, hitting a jumper before the media timeout. 
 
Boykin hit the Wildcats' next bucket, cutting the Cougars' lead to six at 54-48.  He hit a three on the next possession as well, pull Central within three.  With 7:32 remaining in regulation, Smith cut the Cougars' lead to one, 54-53, with a layup.  Colorado Chrisitan forced its lead back to three twice before Boykin made a pair of free throws to pull CWU within one again.
 
Pollard gave the Wildcats their first lead of the second half, 59-58, on a layup with 4:47 to play.  Smith then extended the lead with a trey, after Pollard picked up the defensive rebound on the Cougars' possession.
 
A layup from Collin Hunn pulled the Cougars within two, but Poquette made both of his shots at the charity stripe.  Jake Hornick then cut the deficit to two again for CCU, but Smith responded with a layup of his own for Central.  Smith added four free three throws over the last 11 seconds, while CCU only managed a three from Hornick, allowing CWU to hang on 70-65.
 
Smith led the CWU offense with 20 points.  Boykin and Woody both finished with 12 points.  Poquette led the rebounding effort with 11 boards, three of which were offensive.  The Wildcats shot 59.26 percent from the floor in the second half to finish with a shooting percentage of 49.  They scored 34 points in the paint.
 
"I give Smith and Boykin a lot of credit for leading the comeback," Rinta added.  "Their energy got us back on track.  Poquette was big on the glass tonight the second half as we were getting stops."
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Friday (Nov. 22) as they host Evergreen State College in a non-conference matchup at Nicholson Pavilion.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.