ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team hosts Western Oregon University for their penultimate home game on Thursday.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, February 20
Vs Western Oregon
7:30 p.m.
Nicholson Pavilion
Ellensburg, WA
 
QUOTABLE
"Western Oregon University is one of the top shooting teams in the conference," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "They have won six of their last seven and are ranked in the top ten in west region."
 
SCOUTING WESTERN OREGON
The Wolves held off Simon Fraser University, 76-64, in their last outing.  Western Oregon is currently 16-6 overall and 10-6 in GNAC play.  They have won their last three games.  In their last four road games, WOU holds a 3-1 record.  Prior to outlasting Simon Fraser, the Wolves conquered Western Washington in an 89-72 affair.
 
Western is averaging 87 points per game and holding their opposition to just 75.6 points per game, an 11.4-point differential.  They are also shooting 49.5 percent on the season from the field and 41.4 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Dalven Brushier leads the scoring, averaging 17.5 points per game.  He is shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Behind Brushier, Cameron Cranston sits in second with an average of 13.4 points per game.   Both Darius Lubom and Jaylyn Richardson are both putting up 12.9 points per game.  The final double-digit scorer, averaging 11.1 points per game, is Emanuel Gant.
 
 However, Gant has appeared in just 13 games, but has recorded the second most minutes off the bench for WOU.  He is also the leading rebounder by average, at 6.5 boards per game.  John Morrill-Keeler holds the team-high with 103 and an average of 4.7 rebounds per game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats fell in overtime, 70-68, against the University of Alaska Anchorage.
 
Xavier Smith wasted no time putting CWU on the board in the second.  Bolton found Smith open for a layup and Smith was fouled on the play.  He converted at the charity stripe to finish off the three-point play and slice the Seawolves' lead to seven, 36-29.

After trading buckets to bring the contest to 40-31, a pair of free throws from Oggie Pantovic extended Anchorage's advantage to double digits once more.  

Central responded quickly, as Boykin found Lucas opener for a mid-range jumper to shrink the deficit to nine again.  Another three-point play befell the Seawolves, this time Pollard sunk his layup and was fouled on the way up.  His free throw pushed Anchorage's lead to just six, 42-36.

A fast break layup from Boykin made it a four-point game, 42-38.  It was Pantovic who answered for Anchorage, he tallied a bucket in the paint.  Just 13 seconds later, Boykin rang the bell again, draining a shot from deep to make it 44-41.

The ensuing possession for Anchorage ended abruptly, when Pollard picked Tyrus Hosley's pocket.  On the way to the rim, Pollard was fouled by Karlberg.  The Tacoma native sank both, bringing the differential down to one.

Anchorage managed to find MacDonald underneath on their next possession, but MacDonald couldn't convert in the paint.  His rebound was collected by Matt Poquette, who found Gilson for a lead-exchanging layup, 45-44 in favor of CWU.

After the media timeout, the first basket came from Hosley with 10:11 to play.  The lead once again changed hands, but it did not last long.  One minute later, Kevin Baker knocked down his second trey of the contest to put the Crimson and Black ahead by two.  Boykin made it 48-45 with a free throw another 60 seconds later.

Aiming to extend their margin to a safe distance, Lucas picked up a trey and made it 56-46.  A missed shot from Anchorage caromed to Pollard, who found an open Lucas on a fast break for the layup.

The Crimson and Black established a 54-46 lead, their largest of the contest with 7:13 remaining in regulation.

It was Anchorage's turn to chip away at a deficit now.  Pantovic went to the line first, converting one.  Like Boykin in the first half, Pantovic's free throw kickstarted a burst of scoring for his side.

Bevens knocked down a jumper.  Karlberg added a layup and went to the line for an and-one.  He converted the three-point play, making it 54-51 with 5:10 to play.

A full 60 seconds passed without the scoreboard needing to add to either side.  When it was finally needed, it was thanks to a pair of free throws from MacDonald.  With the clock sitting at an even 4:00, the game was level at 54-54.

Central broke the stalemate with a pair of free throws from Baker.  He followed with a three after an empty possession from Anchorage.

Pantovic brought the score within one possession with a layup, 59-56, in favor of CWU.

Thirty seconds later, Boykin drew a foul from Pantovic and made the most of his time at the free throw line to put Central ahead by five.

The Seawolves' found Pantovic down low, where he drew a foul and another chance to bring the game within a possession.  Pantovic made both his free throws and made it a three-point game with 1:01 to play.  

A turnover gave Anchorage possession with 11 seconds remaining in regulation, as the Seawolves called a timeout.  Coming out of the timeout, Hosley sank a three to bring the game level at 61-61.  

Overtime was required in order to secure a winner.  Baker opened the scoring with a layup for a quick 63-61 lead in the first extra period.  Pantovic followed suit with a layup of his own for the Seawolves.  

Smith gave CWU a one-point lead with a free throw, but once again Pantovic mimicked the opposition for a 64-64 game.

The Wildcats' next possession culminated in a layup from Smith with 2:01 on the clock.  Hosley erased the slim advantage with a pair of free throws seconds later.

Anchorage then took their first lead with 51 seconds remaining, thanks to more work from Pantovic at the charity stripe, 68-66.

With just 32 seconds left, Baker found Pollard cutting on the baseline for a layup.  

Tied 68-68, the Seawolves used their final timeout with 23 seconds remaining.  They called Hosley's number again and he did not miss.  His shot fell through the net with just nine-tenths of a second remaining and as the shot clock expired.  The officials went to the table to review the release and confirmed Hosley released the shot prior to the expiration of the shot clock.  

Now trailing 70-68, the Wildcats had 1.2 seconds to level the score and force a second overtime period after the official review.  Even with an ambitious effort, the Wildcats exited the wild ride in Anchorage down 70-68.
 
GNAC TABLE UPDATE
Central Washington is currently in seventh place in the GNAC table with a conference record of 8-8.  The Wildcats are a game behind Alaska, who is 9-8.  Western Oregon is in second with a record of 10-6, while Seattle Pacific has already both a GNAC Championships berth and the regular season championship with a GNAC record of 15-1.
 
Concordia (2-14) and Saint Martin's (3-13) have both been eliminated from contention.