ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (9-6, 2-5 GNAC) routed the University of Alaska Anchorage (10-6, 4-3 GNAC), 84-50.
 
Five different Wildcats scored in double figures as the Crimson and Black shot 48.3 percent from the floor, including knocking down 56 percent of their shots in the second half. 
 
"I thought our energy was really good coming out of the gate," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "That's as well as we have been able to sustain that for 40 minutes all year.  It was a big step for our team, I give a lot of credit to Amari Stafford and Marqus Gilson, they played extremely hard tonight and made things happen.  They were good on defense and were efficient offensively.  It was a really efficient game for the team.  We did a great job of taking care of the basketball.  More than anything, our energy and focus on defense were at another level.  We had five guys in double digits, that's the way we like it.  When you shoot it as well as we did tonight, it spaces the floor a little better and we took advantage of that."
 
Central opened the contest on an 8-0 run with a pair of treys from Davon Bolton.  Anchorage's first basket came nearly two minutes into the opening stanza.  The Seawolves moved quickly to shorten the Wildcats' early advantage, cutting the lead to 10-8.  Anchorage kept the game within five until the Wildcats went on another 8-0 run, going up 23-10.  David Riley put a stop to Anchorage's scoreless streak with a layup.
 
The Wildcats kept their double-digit lead for the remainder of the half.  Anchorage cut the deficit down to 10 a pair of times, but the Seawolves did not force the Wildcats back to a single-digit lead in the first half. 
 
Tariq Woody, Davon Bolton, and Amari Stafford each had six points after 20 minutes of play.  The Crimson and Black shot 42.4 percent from the floor, including a 43.8 mark from beyond the arc.  Central was also perfect at the charity stripe in the opening stanza, knocking down all four of their free throws.  The Wildcats held Anchorage to a shooting percentage of just 32.4 percent and forced five turnovers, three off of steals.
 
Bolton opened the second half the same way he did the first, draining a three after a jumper in the paint from Anchorage's Deandre Osuigwe.  Central expanded the lead to 17 with a layup from Marqus Gilson and a pair of free throws from Amari Stafford, just two minutes into the half. 
 
After the Seawolves knocked the Wildcats' advantage down to 13 at 47-34, Gilson knocked down a layup before a three from Stafford on the 'Cats next possession.
 
Midway through the second half, Micah Pollard gave the Wildcats their first 20-point lead of the game with a jumper at 58-37.  After a missed three from Anchorage, Jeryn Lucas extended the lead to 23 with a jumper of his own.  Central hit a 30-point lead with 3:00 left on the clock on a layup from Woody. 
 
Anchorage scored just one point under the 3:00 mark, a free throw from Osuigwe.  His free throw briefly dropped the Wildcats' lead to 29, but a three from Lucas pushed Central's lead back to 32.  A pair of free throws from Woody capped the scoring, putting the Crimson and Black ahead, 84-50.
 
Central made 10 threes and finished 18-for-23 at the charity stripe.  They scored 11 second chance points, nine fast break points, 34 points in the paint, 10 points off turnovers, and the reserves chipped in 39 points.  Anchorage, meanwhile, scored only 15 points off the bench and 20 points in the paint.  The Wildcats led for an impressive 39:47, leaving only 13 seconds of 0-0 basketball.
 
The Wildcats are back in action on Saturday (Jan. 18) as they host the University of Alaska Fairbanks in a GNAC matchup.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.