ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Jeryn Lucas scored 28 points as the Central Washington University men's basketball team snapped Northwest Nazarene University's seven-game winning streak, claiming a 64-59 victory in Nicholson Pavilion.
 
"I thought that was a big-time gutsy win by our guys," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "It wasn't pretty.  Anytime you can shoot 36 or 37 percent from the floor and still win shows toughness.  Northwest Nazarene is a really good team.  They are a really good defensive team and I think they're one of the toughest teams in the west region right now.  This was a good win for us.  Davon and Jeryn came up big for us and were able to relieve some of the pressure NNU's defense put on us."
 
Things were slow to start for both squads as CWU led by just one, 6-5, in the first five minutes of play. Both teams had good looks in the early going but were unable to get a rhythm going by the first media timeout.
 
Missed shot opportunities plagued both squads as it was just a 13-13 tie with 9:03 to play in the first half. Both the Wildcats and Nighthawks looked to play at a high tempo pace, but they shot just a combined 12-33 in the first 11 minutes of action. CWU was 6-17 overall, while NNU was 6-16 from the floor.
 
The Nighthawks managed to grab a lead in the final five minutes of action. Not helping the Wildcats in the first half in any way was their three-point shooting. They were just 2-9 in the first half and went into halftime trailing by two, 30-28.
 
Helping NNU get into the locker room with the slim lead was late buckets in the final five minutes of play. CWU shot just 33.3% in the first half, while NNU was at 42.9% on 12-28 made shots. Both teams in nearly even in every major statistical category.
 
Lucas was the go-to man for the Wildcats in the first 20 minutes scoring 20 points off the bench. Despite the team struggling to make shots, he was 4-7 overall and 2-3 from three-point range.
 
The Nighthawks looked to keep some separation from the Wildcats in the start of the second half, but a persistent Wildcats team did not let that happen. A tough layup by Kevin Baker with just under 17 to play in the second tied the game at 34-34, setting up an exciting second half.
 
The game continued to go back-and-forth as time carried on. With just under eight minutes to play, CWU found itself in front 47-46. It extended to 50-46 at the 7:13 mark when Lucas in a contested three. The Nighthawks quickly answered with back-to-back shots in transition to tie the contest at 50-50.
 
Northwest Nazarene went on a 7-0 run, staking out a 57-52 lead after a pair of free throws from Lucas, with 3:29 left to play in regulation.  Undeterred, the Wildcats marched down the floor and found Lucas open for a mid-range jumper. A layup from Bezzant made it 59-54 in favor of the Nighthawks.  Davon Bolton knocked down a trey on the Wildcats' next possession, making it 59-57.  With 2:06 remaining, Lucas was sent to the line again.  He knocked down both of chances from the charity stripe, making it a brand-new game with just 126 seconds left. 
 
The Nighthawks took possession, but Poquette stole it away from Olamilekan Adetunji and ended up getting sent to the line.  He knocked down both of his free throws to put the Wildcats ahead 61-59.  Central added a trio of free throws over the last 30 seconds for the 64-59 victory. Northwest Nazarene failed to make a basket in the last 2:06.
 
Central Washington's reserves chipped in 35 points, 28 from Lucas.  The Wildcats scored 14 points in the paint, 11 points off turnovers, and had 10 second chance points. Poquette led Central in rebounding, hauling in seven boards.
 
The Crimson and Black are back in action on Thursday (Feb. 6) as they host Montana State Billings at 7:30 p.m.