ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University men's basketball dropped a tough game Thursday at home in a 71-61 loss to Western Oregon. The loss snaps a four-game home win streak for CWU.
 
It was a tale of two halves for the Wildcats (15-10, 8-9 GNAC) who shot the 46.9% in the first half and went 7-16 in from deep but were held to 30% in the second half. They shot just 21.4% from three-point range on 3-14 made shots.
 
The Wolves (17-6, 11-6 GNAC) shot over 40% in both halves to grab the road win. They had a 38-28 edge in points in the paint. The bench production was tied at 15 apiece but 45.2% overall shooting from the Wolves while holding CWU to 38.7% made the difference.
 
"Western Oregon is a really good team," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said. "They've got one of best back courts in the conference, they are really good at shooting, and they are really good at turning people over. I thought that if he held them to under eight three's and we committed less than 12 turnovers that that would do it for us."
 
Like they have done for much of the second half of conference play, the Wildcats offense got out to quick start. The Wolves kept pace though, setting up what was a fast-paced game all night. The Wolves managed to lead 11-8 in the first four minutes of play.
 
Despite trailing early, CWU responded after the first media timeout scoring 14 unanswered and holding the Wolves to six. The 22-17 with 11:53 to play in the half lead helped piece together a strong final 11 minutes of play as the Wildcats held the lead into halftime.
 
Davon Bolton was the force early on for the Wildcats scoring eight points in the first eight minutes. He reached 12 by the 7:55 mark of the first half and helped the Wildcats hold a 30-22 lead at the point.
 
Both teams continued to trade shots as the first stanza carried on. The Wildcats maintained composure and led 38-29 with 2:20 to play in the half. The Wolves kept the Crimson and Black within striking distance but never managed to retake lead in the final 12 minutes of the half.
 
The Wildcats eventually took a 40-31 lead into the break. Both teams shot over 40% for the half but CWU had the edge overall and from deep. WOU went 13-30 for 43.3% overall but was just 2-10 (20%) from deep. CWU was 15-32 overall for 46.9% and was a scorching 7-16 from deep for 43.8%.
 
The first four minutes of the second half completely belonged to WOU who pieced together a 12-4 run and cut the Wildcats lead to just one, 44-43. The Wolves shot 5-6 to start the frame, while CWU was just 2-5.
 
Despite the early surge from the Wolves, they never managed to grab the lead. The Wildcats pushed their lead back to five, 50-45, with 11:17 to play in regulation. WOU then went on a 7-0 run to grab their first lead since early in the first half, 52-50.
 
Bolton tied the game at 52-all with just under eight minutes to play in the game, but the offense for the Wildcats went cold the rest of the game scoring just nine points the rest of the way. The Wolves however, used the tempo and pace to their advantage and scored 19 in that span.
 
Central looked to claw its way back into the game after trailing by seven, 59-52, with just over five minutes to play. A pair of triples from Xavier Smith and Jeryn Lucas helped cut the deficit to three, 61-58, but it was not enough.
 
The Wolves closed out the final 4:04 of play on a 10-3 run to secure the win in Nicholson Pavilion. The Wildcats final three points came on a Bolton three ball but WOU walked away with the win and snapped CWU's four-game home win streak.
 
Bolton finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-17 shooting overall and 4-10 from three-point range. Smith was the only other double figure scorer with 11 points. Marqus Gilson led the way in rebounding with 10 boards and chipped in four points.
 
"We needed to take care of the basketball; we did that. We needed to limit their three-pointers; we did that," Coach Rinta said. "Unfortunately, we were just uncharacteristic offensively. We need to get back to playing together. I have faith in these guys. They're going to re-focus and we'll play better and as a team on Saturday."
 
The Wildcats close out the home portion of the 2019-20 schedule on Saturday, Feb. 22. They face Concordia (Ore.). CWU will honor its three seniors prior to the 7:15 p.m. tip-off against the Cavaliers.