ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington Men's Basketball tipped off the 2019-20 campaign Friday night inside Nicholson Pavilion against the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters. The Wildcats secured a 93-73 win to start the season 1-0.
 
Helping the Wildcats earn the season opening win was a 63.8 shooting percentage from the floor on 37-58 made shots. They also did damage from deep nailing seven three-pointers on 12 attempts.
 
The Otters (0-1) looked to run with the Wildcats as they shot 51.8% on the night, but the Wildcats converted 11 CSMUB turnovers into 10 points. CWU's bench was also productive in the win outscoring the Otters reserves 49-18. A 10-2 edge in fast break points also helped the Wildcats on the night.
 
"I thought we played pretty well, especially offensively," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said. "We could have been better at time defensively, but [CSU] Monterey Bay is a good team. There was a lot of unknowns and uncertainties going into the first game where we had to adjust on the fly and I thought our guys did a pretty good job."
 
The Wildcats found themselves down 4-0 early but were not phased. Gamaun Boykin got the Wildcats on the board with a made layup and from there the Wildcats managed to tie the game at 6-all with just under 17:00 to play in the first half.
 
A Jeryn Lucas jumper with 15:43 on the clock gave CWU its first lead of game at 8-6. Both teams then traded made buckets for the next five minutes. CSUMB managed to tie the game after giving up the lead, but the Wildcats never let the Otters lead by more than four in that span.
 
At the midway point of the first half, the game was knotted at 18-all. CSUMB got back up by two, 20-18, on a quick layup, but it was short lived. A long three from Amari Stafford gave CWU a 21-20 edge. Marquis Gilson made it 23-20 with a driving layup. Xavier Smith pushed it to a five-point lead with a layup of his own.
 
CSUMB looked to counter and scored on the following possession but Smith then found Matt Poquette in the paint for an easy dunk that brought the crowd to its feet and pushed the CWU lead to 27-24. Smith continued to push the offense scoring once more before the media timeout. With 7:18 to play in the half, CWU led 29-25.
 
Smith drew contact on his layup to get the and-one opportunity. He converted and the Wildcats were up 30-25. Tariq Woody got in on the scoring action for the Crimson and Black as well with a made layup. Lucas added to the fire for the offense with a deep triple and in quick time CWU was up 35-29 with 6:10 to go until half.
 
The Wildcats quick surge made the difference as they ultimately took a 44-36 lead going into halftime. A 62.1 shooting percentage for CWU helped them hold an eight-point lead at the break. CSUMB kept things close thanks in part to 15-30 shooting (50%) in the first 20 minutes of play.
 
Rebounding was in the Wildcats favor, 18-11, but both squads put up 24 points in the paint. CWU's bench was the X-factor with 27 points compared to the Otters six. Both teams took care of the ball with CSUMB giving up just six turnovers to CWU's eight.
 
Lucas put up 14 first half points for CWU to lead the offensive charge and did not miss a shot in 13 minutes of play. He was 5-5 from the floor overall, 2-2 from beyond the arc, and 2-2 at the free throw line.
 
Coming out of the locker room, CWU wasted little time getting up by double figures. A long jumper from Poquette gave the Wildcats a 46-36 lead. Woody extended the lead to 12 two possessions later and CWU was up 48-26 in the first 89 seconds of the second half.
 
"We were able to keep clicking offensively at a pretty steady pace and then get them just off balance enough in the second half to get a little bit of a lead," Coach Rinta noted. "They're a good team, they're much improved from last year."
 
The Wildcats maintained a double figure lead for the next for nearly five minutes before the Otters managed to get within nine with 13:48 to play in the game. A quick layup from Ben Carter cut CWU's lead to 58-49.
 
With just over 13:00 to play, CSUMB nailed a jumper to get within seven, 58-51, but CWU once again maintained its composure to stay in front by two possessions. Lucas continued his hot shooting in the second half going 4-5 in the second half and added 10 more points to keep the Wildcats in the driver seat.
 
"Offensively, that was a pretty special night and I thought he had a good all-around game, but went 9-10, 3-3, 3-4, and had three assists," Coach Rinta said. "He's been scoring the ball very well day in and day out."
 
Both squads continued to trade shots through the later part of the second half. Midway through the second, CWU led 72-60. CSUMB managed to cut its deficit to single figures one last time with 8:22 to play in regulation at 72-64. From that point on, the Crimson and Black outscored the Otters 21-9 to secure the 93-73 blowout win.
 
Lucas led the way with a game-high 24 points in 28 minutes of play off the bench. He was 9-10 shooting overall, a perfect 3-3 from three-point range, went 3-4 from the free throw line and dished out three assists.
 
Smith added 14 points in the win. He was 6-10 from the floor for 60% and grabbed five rebounds as well. Poquette was the only other figure scorer with 11 point on 50% shooting (4-8). He also grabbed four boards and was a clean 3-3 at the free throw line. Gilson was the leading rebounder with seven.
 
The Wildcats are back on the hardwood tomorrow (Saturday) to take on another CSU school in San Bernardino. Tip-off against the Coyotes is scheduled for 8 p.m. PT inside Nicholson Pavilion.
 
"San Bernardino looked really good, really athletic, really quick and it's going to be a quick turnaround," Coach Rinta added. "We've been able to look at them a little bit but not much. I thinks it's going to be the same thing out there tomorrow night with two really good West Region teams going at it."