ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (1-1, 0-0) fell to Cal State San Bernardino (2-0), 80-71, in a non-conference matchup.
 
"That was a competitive game," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "It's what we thought it would be.  Unfortunately, we came out on the short end, but that's as good as a defensive team as we faced last year.  I think we had our moments defensively, especially late in the game.  They hit some tough shots there.  Early on, we let Jeremy Smith get on a roll too much.  In the second half, Daytone Jennings got it going late and those guys ultimately were the difference.  I thought each of our guys had some moments tonight and I thought we played hard.  Davon had some good moments, as did Jeryn.  Marqus' rebounding was big all night.  I think there's a lot we can learn from a game like tonight."
 
The game was fast paced from the outset. In the first 4:30 of play, the game was already tied at 10-all. Jeremy Smith was the pace make for CSUSB scoring seven of the team's 10 points. On the flip side, it was Davon Bolton for the Wildcats who scored six early points thanks to a pair of made three pointers.
 
The Wildcats found themselves trailing by four with 11:56 to go in the half, 18-14. The Wolves shot the ball well to start the first 10 minutes of play going 7-12 from the floor. The Wildcats were 40% from the floor on 6-15 shooting but were just 2-8 from deep.
 
Bolton had eight for the Crimson and Black, while Smith paced the Coyotes with 11. Coming out of the media timeout, CWU ripped off nine straight points to hold a 23-18 edge with just under eight minutes to play in the half. Playing a solid role in the run was Jeryn Lucas who scored five of the nine points to help CWU retake the lead.
 
Paced slowed the remaining seven minutes of action in the first half. The Wildcats led 30-25 with just over 3:30 to play in the half. The final 3:30 became a bit of a track meet with the teams combining for 18 points. The Coyotes managed to just outscore the Wildcats 11-7 and the score was 37-36, CWU, going into the break.
 
The Coyotes got into a rhythm to start the second half and outscored CWU 12-2 in the first four minutes of play to lead 42-39. 3-6 shooting to start the second half helped the visitors retake the lead and get up by three.
 
Both teams continued to trade shots, but the Coyotes managed to stay in front for the majority. The Wildcats trailed 46-45 with 11:50 to play in the game before the Coyotes extended it to a 48-45 lead. Lucas was once again the answer for CWU as he hit a long three ball with 11:08 to play and tied the game at 48-all.
 
The Wildcats got the lead back at the 9:31 mark when Marqus Gilson drew contact for a foul and hit a pair of free throws make it a 50-48 game.  A jumper from San Bernardino's Jordan Mitchell levelled the score at 50-50 just 16 seconds later.
 
From there, the Coyotes extended their lead to nine with 5:07 to play in regulation. A three from Bolton cut the deficit to 65-59.  The Coyotes lead never eclipsed double digits for the remainder of the contest.  They hung on for an 80-71 victory.
 
Bolton and Lucas each recorded a team-high 18 points, while Smith chipped in 10.  The Wildcats scored 20 points in the paint, 16 points off of turnovers, and the bench picked up 22 points.
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Friday (Nov. 14) as they head to the Fairfield Inn Tournament in Nampa, Idaho.