ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team picked up a 65-57 win Friday night in non-conference game against the Evergreen State College Geoducks. The win brings the Wildcats record to 4-1 overall and pushes their win streak to three-straight.
 
The game was only an exhibition tune-up for the Geoducks to keep their record at 2-1 overall. The Wildcats eight-point win seemed close, but a fast start propelled the home to a wire-to-wire lead for the game as they shot 45.7% for the game. Evergreen State finished shooting 41.1% from the floor.
 
The Wildcats opened the game scoring 11 straight points and established an offensive rhythm early against the Geoducks. The fast pace of the Crimson and Black forced an early timeout by Evergreen State with 16:26 to play in the half.
 
With an 11-0 lead, CWU came out of the timeout continuing to be fast on offense and aggressive on defense. The Geoducks managed to get on the board with just under 16:00 to play in the half with a layup to make it an 11-2 game.
 
"I thought we came out with really good energy, defensively. That opening stretch was as good of a defensive stretch we've had," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.
 
The game's pace slowed down as the Wildcats managed just three more points until the next media timeout at 11:14 on the clock. The Geoducks added just four points and it was a 14-6 lead for the Wildcats at the midway point of the first half.
 
The Wildcats wire-to-wire lead in the first half remained at 10 points. Despite the slowdown after a fast start, CWU maintained an 18-8 edge with 7:57 to play in the first. Four points from Matt Poquette and Xavier Smith paced the Wildcats.
 
The Wildcats continued to be methodical and patient on offense added 12 more points before halftime. Evergreen State looked to keep pace scoring 10 but the fast start kept CWU in front 30-18 at the break. Six points from Poquette, Smith, Tariq Woody, and Gamaun Boykin helped CWU hold a 12-point advantage.
 
The Wildcats were at a 40.7 shooting percentage going into halftime on 11-27 made shots. Defensively, CWU held the Geoducks to 28.6% shooting (8-28) from the floor in the first 20 minutes. Neither team shot the ball well from deep as CWU was just 4-16 for 25%, while Evergreen state was 2-9 for 22.2%.
 
The second half continued to play in the Wildcats favor as they lead by double figures for almost all 20 minutes of action. The Geoducks did not have an answer for much of the second half until just over 6:30 to play in regulation.
 
Despite holding a comfortable lead, CWU found its double figure lead cut to seven with just over 6:30 to play. Back-to-back transition buckets by the Geoducks cut the Wildcats lead to 48-41. Following a timeout by CWU, the Wildcats then strung together a 6-2 run to get the lead back to double-digits, 54-43.
 
With 3:53 to play in the game, CWU was able to stay in front despite late turnovers. Evergreen State had late shots fall in the final 60 seconds but they were too little to late as they were outscored by one, 17-16. The Geoducks got under single digits in and managed to stay there but was unable to close the gap. CWU handled late pressure and hit free throws down the stretch to secure the 65-57 win.
 
Despite a solid 21-46 made shots for the game, the Wildcats only managed to go 7-21 from three-point range for 33.3%. They held the Geoducks to 34.8% shooting from deep. Turnovers nearly plagued CWU as they had 22, which Evergreen State converted for 29 points. Bench points went in CWU's favor with a 25-19 edge.

"Really for the most part, I thought this game our guys were able to find another level defensively and that's what won us this game," Coach Rinta said. "I think that offensively, we just to limit our turnovers. We turned it over a little bit too much tonight and if we don't do that, I think that we have a little more success on the offensive end.
 
Poquette led all scorers for the game with 14 points on 5-8 made shots. He also grabbed five rebounds and had a blocked shot. Boykin was the only other player in double figures with 11 on 4-7 shooting. He also grabbed five boards and dished out a game-high four assists. Three players chipped in eight points in Smith as a starter, along with Amari Stafford and Marqus Gilson off the bench.
 
"Off the bench there when we were able to kind of put together a run in the second half, I thought that Amari [Stafford] and Micah [Pollard] and Matt [Poquette] and Marqus [Gilson] were able to string together some pretty good possessions offensively when the ball was moving," Coach Rinta added.
 
The Wildcats are back on the hardwood this coming Tuesday, Nov. 26 when they host Corban (Ore.). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. PT inside Nicholson Pavilion.
 
"We have a pretty quick turnaround playing on Tuesday night," Coach Rinta said. "We'll take tomorrow off and come back on Sunday. Corban is a good team and they're going to provide different challenges than Evergreen state, but at the end of the day hopefully we can defend like that, but just turn it over less."