ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team takes on Simon Fraser University to open up the second half of play.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, January 30
Vs Simon Fraser
7:00 p.m.
Ellensburg, WA
 
QUOTABLE
"Simon Fraser has as much experience as anyone in the league with their whole starting lineup back this year," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "Rebounding is going to be important with their big fron line."
 
SCOUTING SIMON FRASER
Simon Fraser enters the week with a 12-7 record overall, but are sitting at .500 in GNAC play with a mark of 5-5.  They are 2-3 in away contests. 
 
In their last outing, Simon Fraser fell to Seattle Pacific University, 98-64.  Wilfried Balata led SFU with 24 points, shooting 61.5 percent from the floor.  Simon trailed 57-28 after the first half.  They played a much closer second half, 40-37 in favor of SPU, but Simon Fraser did not overcome the deficit.
 
Jasdeep Singh leads Simon Fraser's scoring efforts, averaging 16.7 points per game.  Balata sits in second at 15.3 points per game.  Othniel Spence (12.6) and Michael Provenzano (11.9) round out the double-digit scorers for Simon Fraser.  SFU is averaging 79.53 points per game and allowing just 75.26.  In GNAC games, Simon Fraser's offenses slows a bit, down to 75.10 points per game.  They are allowing an even 76 points per game in conference contests.
 
LAST TIME OUT
CWU fell to Western Oregon University, 83-66.
 
The Wildcats stormed out to a 12-2 lead in the opening four minutes of play, but the Wolves chipped away at Central's lead before taking the lead with just under five minutes to play in the first half, 24-23, on a layup from Jaylyn Richardson. 
 
A layup from Davon Bolton on the Wildcats' next possession gave CWU a brief 25-24 advantage, but Riley Hamilton hit a jumper for Western Oregon shortly thereafter, nabbing a 26-25 lead.  The Wolves ended the first half on an 11-4 run, staking out an eight-point lead at halftime, 37-29.
 
Ninety seconds into the second stanza, the Wolves edged their advantage to double digits with a layup from John Morrill-Keeler at 42-31.  Jumpers from Kevin Baker and Xavier Smith, as well as a trey from Smith, cut Western Oregon's advantage to seven just 60 seconds later.  After a missed jumper from the Wolves, Amari Stafford drained a three to pull Central Washington within four, 42-38.
 
With 15:35 to play in regulation, Western Oregon had once again gained a 10-point lead.  A pair of free throws from Dalven Brushier made it 48-38.  A jumper from Baker cut the deficit to eight, but the Wolves responded with a three from Richardson for an 11-point advantage.
 
Western Oregon's lead hung around 10, until back-to-back treys from the Wolves gave them a 63-49 lead.  They hit a 20-point lead with 6:18 remaining and did not look back. 
 
 
CWU v SFU
Central Washington and Simon Fraser met earlier in the first half of conference play. Simon Fraser claimed a 75-57 victory over the Wildcats.  Baker led Central with 13 points, while Smith recorded 11.

Simon Fraser opened on a 12-4, but baskets from Matt Poquette and Jeryn Lucas, as well as a pair of free throws from Smith, cut the Clan's early lead to just 14-11.  The Clan then outscored the Wildcats 8-2 over the next 1o points, pushing their advantage to 22-13.  They reached their first double-digit lead of the night on their next basket, 24-13.

Central cut the deficit to five, but Simon Fraser pushed it back to nine with just under four minutes to play in the first half.  A layup from Bolton, followed by a three from Smith, cut the Clan's advantage to just four.  Baker followed with a layup of his own and the Wildcats were back within two, 32-30.  A free throw from SFU's Matt Kiatipis made it 33-30, before a try from Baker leveled the score at 33 all.

Both Simon Fraser and Central Washington missed on their final possession of the half, but the Clan knocked down one free throw with 30 seconds left to go ahead 34-33 at the half.

Four minutes into the second half, the game was still tightly contested.  The Wildcats worked back from the deficit, tying the game at 39-39.  Simon Fraser went on a 10-0 run, put the Clan ahead 49-39 with 12:41 left in regulation.  

A layup from Marqus Gilson put an end to the Wildcats' offensive drought.  On the Clan's next possession, Tariq Woody forced a turnover and Gilson buried another layup.  Woody wasn't done, however, as he blocked the next shot taken by Michael Provenzano.  Lucas recovered the rebound and drained a trey, pulling CWU within three at 49-46.  Micah Pollard picked up the defensive board, after another miss from Provenzano, and found Gilson on a fast break for the layup.  The Wildcats pulled back to a one-point contest, 49-48.

Immediately after Central's run to make it a one-point game, Simon Fraser rattled off 15 unanswered points for a 64-48 advantage with 6:02 to play.  Central cut the deficit to a dozen, but did not find a way to force overtime.