ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (7-3) recorded a 78-68 victory over Linfield College (6-1).
 
"I think Linfield is a really good team, I've played a lot of teams from that conference over the years and I'm curious to see how they do this year," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "They are a very veteran team and execute really well.  They gave us a really good test.  It was back and forth there for a while, I thought we may be able to grab some breathing room but they always closed the gap and usually took the lead. I give our guys credit for buckling down in the last five minutes and getting big stops.  Jeryn [Lucas] was big tonight, he came up with a lot of big baskets and we needed all of them."
 
Central Washington trailed 4-0 for the first three and a half minutes, before Gamaun Boykin cracked open the Wildcats' offense.  He knocked down a jumper in the paint for Central's first points of the evening.  A steal from Matt Poquette gave way to a layup from Kevin Baker, levelling the score at 4-4.
 
The Wildcats took their first lead of the contest on a three from Jeryn Lucas, 9-7, with 13:35 to play in the opening stanza.  Lucas scored 10 consecutive points for the Wildcats, not only claiming the lead, but extending it to six at 13-7.  Xavier Smith ended Lucas' run with a layup, but Linfield had tied the game at 16-16, before Smith gave CWU a slim 18-16 advantage.
 
Momentum seesawed for much of the first half as neither team could pull away.  With 7:28 remaining in the first half, the score stood level at 21-21.  Three minutes later, Central squeezed out a one-point lead, 27-26.  Trailing by one, with 2:06 to play in the half, Grant Gibb went to the line shooting three for Linfield.  He knocked two all three of his free throws, putting Linfield ahead 31-29.  Zellie Hudson tied it up for Central on their next possession, before Kevin Baker knocked down a jumper for a 33-31 lead.  Linfield tied it again with 59 seconds before halftime with a pair of free throws from Will Burghardt.  Lucas gave Central a 36-33 lead heading into half with a trey on the Crimson and Black's final possession of the half.
 
After 20 minutes of play, Lucas led the Wildcats with 13 points.  Baker closed out the first half with 10.  Central shot 53.6 percent from the floor, while Linfield managed just a paltry 33.3 percent.  Despite making just a third of their shots, Linfield kept it close by shooting a perfect 11-for-11 at the charity stripe.  Central Washington made its only free throw attempt of the half, keeping both sides perfect at the foul line.
 
Two minutes into the second half, Linfield brought the score even once more at 38-38.  Boykin then hit a wide-open three for a 41-38 advantage.  A jumper from Lucas extended the lead to five, before a jumper from Linfield's Dempsey Roggenbuck negated Lucas' basket.  Roggenbuck knocked down another shot on Linfield's next possession, making it a one-point affair.  Central Washington went back up by three when Davon Bolton cut underneath the basket and sashayed past a defender before picking up the bucket. 
 
Not to be outdone, Gibb brought the score back to even for Linfield with 13:39 to play.  The ensuing possession for Linfield gave way to another bucket from Roggenbuck, putting Linfield ahead 47-45.  They extended their lead to four with a jumper from Matt Berger with 12:17 to play.
 
A jumper from Micah Pollard made it 49-47 and Central kept it within a one possession game until Lucas levelled the score with a trey, with 10:28 remaining, 53-53.  A jumper from Bolton 27 seconds later put CWU up 55-53.
 
Linfield tied the contest just once more.  A jumper from Aaron Baune brought Linfield within two, before Austin Hilton tied the game at 57 with a layup.  Baune hit a three on Linfield's next possession for a 60-57 lead.  Linfield's lead didn't last long as Bolton knocked down a trey on the next possession for Central.  After picking up a defensive rebound, Smith raced down court for a fast break layup and a 62-60 lead.  The Crimson and Black never looked back from there, capturing a 78-68 victory.
 
Lucas finished with 30 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals.  He was a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe and 6-for-10 from beyond the three-point line.  Central Washington recorded 31 rebounds and finished with a 49.2 shooting percentage.  The Crimson and Black finished with 32 points in the paint and 25 points off of turnovers.  The bench chipped in 34 points. 
 
Central Washington is back in action on Thursday (Jan. 2) when they travel to Bellingham for a rivalry matchup against Western Washington.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.