SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Marqus Gilson tallied 19 points in the second half as the Central Washington University men's basketball team held off Westminster College,80-68.
Gilson finished with 28 points while shooting 11-for-17 from the floor. He added six free throws to his offensive numbers. Defensively, he tied for the team lead in rebounds with six. Gilson also notched one assist and one block. He also led the Wildcats with 32 minutes played.
Micah Pollard (19), Xavier Smith (11), and David Thompson (10) all recorded 10 or more points.
After leading for all but the first five minutes of the game the Wildcats (2-1) found their lead dwindling midway through the second half. Five minutes into the second half, Gilson went to the line after drawing a foul on a layup for a three-point play. His free throw gave the 'Cats a 10-point advantage, 48-38.
The Griffins (1-3) responded by going on a 13-0 run, taking the lead with 10:24 to play, 51-48. Westminster was 6-for-10 from the field in the run. They made just one shot fro beyond the arc and did not go to the free throw line. Yusuf Mohamed scored the last two buckets in the run before Gilson ended the scoring drought with a layup. Gilson converted another layup on the Wildcats' next possession, flipping the back to CWU at 52-51.
Brayden Johnson briefly gave the Griffins another one-point edge, but Smith responded with a three to put the Crimson and Black back on top. A three from Thompson made it 58-53, before Matt Kitzman responded with a trey of his own. With 7:02 remaining, Pollard knocked down a shot from deep, making it 61-56 in favor of CWU.
Mohamed and Kitzman were the only two Westminster players to score in the double digits. Mohamed finished with 23 points, while Kitzman tallied 11.
After a layup from Westminster's Reme Torbert, Amari Stafford drained a shot from range to give the 'Cats a bit of breathing room with a six-point lead. Four made free throws from the Griffins made it a two-point game with just under four minutes left in regulation.
Pollard picked up a pair of jumpers in 45 seconds, outscoring Westminster 4-1 in the span. Smith added a jumper of his own 20 seconds later, after Yusuf went back to the line and made just one free throw, putting Central ahead 70-64.
In the final 2:10, the Crimson and Black outscored Westminster 10-2. They were a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe in the final 130 seconds. The Wildcats did not miss a shot in the final four minutes of play, going 5-for-5 from the field plus the aforementioned six free throws.
"That was as gutsy of a win as I have been a part of in a while," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said. "For this team to find a way to win after what we've been through in the last 10 days says a lot. Especially with the way we had to take back the lead after they went up three in the second half. Marqus and Micah came up big for us tonight."
Central shot 57.1 percent in the second stanza, including a 4-for-8 mark beyond the arc.
The Wildcats led for 82.1 percent of the game, allowing the Griffins just 5:16 of game time in the lead. Central won the rebounding battle, 38-34, including a 9-7 margin in offensive boards. The 'Cats reserves scored 26 points, outscoring the Griffins' bench by five. The Wildcats were near perfect at the free throw line, finishing 12-for-14.
Central held Westminster to a 2-for-12 mark from beyond the arc in the second half. The Griffins shot 40.3 percent for the contest, but just 18.2 percent from deep.
The Wildcats take on Fort Lewis tomorrow (Nov. 27) at 4:00 p.m. in Salt Lake City.
