ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Feb. 14) – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (10-13, 4-11) defeated the University of Alaska Fairbanks (5-17, 2-13) 84-65 Thursday evening in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
Matt Poquette led the Crimson and Black with 17 points and three rebounds on 6-for-7 shooting and the Wildcats shot a blistering 52 percent for the game. Malik Montoya pitched in 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench and Gamaun Boykin added 14 points of his own.
 
"I was playing hard, trying to make the right plays and take care of the ball," Boykin said. "A couple of shots fell for me and I was just trying to find my teammates."
 
The Wildcat's stepped up defensively, forcing 11 Fairbanks turnovers and converting 19 points from them. The bench was also a factor, contributing 40 points, including ten from Jackson Price.
 
Poquette and Jeryn Lucas paced the home team early with 6 points each. Central assisted on six of their first seven made shots, leading to 63 percent shooting from the field and a 19-14 lead with 10:22 remaining in the half.
 
Alaska scored seven of the next 11 to narrow the Wildcat's lead to 23-21 just minutes later. Central countered with a 10-to-2 run of their own. The Nanooks shot one-for-six from the field, Zellie Hudson put in four points and the home team expanded their lead to 33-23 with 3:45 left in the half. 
 
The home team closed the final few minutes of the first period scoring 10 of final 17 points. Central buried two straight three pointers to bring their lead to its largest at 13 at the 3:11 mark.
 
Poquette led the Wildcats with eight first half points without missing a shot. The Crimson and Black forced nine Fairbanks turnovers, leading to 13 points, and took a 41-30 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
"I thought we struggled a bit rebounding in the first half," head coach Brandon Rinta said. "That was probably the biggest difference in the second half."
 
The Nanooks looked like a different team coming out of the break, running off the first seven points of the second period. The home team recovered and traded baskets for the following few minutes as their lead was trimmed to nine with 15:44 remaining in the contest.
 
From that point, the Crimson and Black put together an 11-to-3 run behind four forced turnovers and five points from Montoya to increase their lead to 60-43 with 11:25 left in regulation.
 
Over the next nine minutes, the home team would score 22 of the next 33 points to expand their lead to 27 with just over two minutes remaining. Overall, the Wildcats outscored the visitors 43-35 in the second period.
 
"Kluting, Glover, those guys are tough guards and they had their moments throughout the game," Rinta said. "But our guys worked together defensively enough as a team to be able to slow them down."
 
The Wildcats short home stand continues Saturday, Feb. 16 against University of Alaska Anchorage. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.