ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team plays a pair of games against Saint Martin's University this weekend.
GAME INFORMATION
Friday, February 26
7:00 PM
vs Saint Marin's
Nicholson Pavilion
Ellensburg, WA
LIVE STATS |
WATCH
Saturday, February 27
6:00 PM
at Saint Martin's
Lacey, WA
LIVE STATS |
WATCH
QUOTABLE
"I think we learned a lot about ourselves this past weekend playing a couple games," CWU Head Coach
Brandon Rinta said. "My hope is that we can use that to take a step this weekend. We are continuing to work to get in better game shape so we can sustain the effort and focus it takes to be more consistent through back to back games. Saint Martin's has already played in nine games and are a much improved team this year. It will be a good test for us."
SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN'S
The Saints enter the week with a record of 1-8. Their lone win came on February 12, in an 80-66 affair at Seattle Pacific.
Saint Martin's played a pair of games last week at Northwest Nazarene. The Saints fell 92-86 in game one and 71-53 in game two.
Alex Schumacher leads the Saints' offense, averaging 14.7 points per game. He is shooting 38.5 percent from the floor and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. Schumaker is tied for the team lead in threes made with 17. Behind Schumaker sits Tyke Thompson at 11.7 points per game, Demonte Malloy (10.8), and Ty Velasquez (10.1) round out the Saints top scorers. As a unit, the Saints average 70.78 points, while allowing 82.33.
Defensively, Thompson leads the rebounding efforts. He hauls in 6.2 boards per game, including 46 of his 102 rebounds coming on offense. Marky Adams is second in rebounding, retrieving 4.7 per game, and leads Saint Martin's with 16 blocks.
LAST TIME OUT
David Thompson led the Crimson and Black on Friday night with 29 points and found himself atop the leader board for CWU again last Saturday with 20 points.
Xavier Smith finished just behind with 19. Smith also recorded five rebounds, while Thompson led the 'Cats in assists with four.
In their home opener, last Friday, the Wildcats shot 61.3 percent from the floor in the first, outpacing Seattle Pacific's 44 percent. Poquette recorded 12 points in the first 20 minutes, while Thompson notched 11. They were both plus-12 in the period.
Marqus Gilson recorded the highest plus-minus in the first at plus-15. The Wildcats specialized in the paint in the first with 32 of their points coming inside the key. The seesaw battled continued through the second half as the lead exchanged hands every few possessions with neither team able to build a sturdy advantage. Seattle Pacific gained a four-point advantage with 3:14 left in regulation, 76-80. A pair of free throws with just nine seconds left in regulation sealed the Falcons' victory, 86-82.
On Saturday, Seattle Pacific opened the scoring and held the lead for most of the first three minute of play until a pair of free throws from Thompson tied the game at 8-8. A fastbreak layup from Smith gave the Wildcats a 10-8 advantage for their first lead of the game with 16:49 left in the first. The Falcons quickly regained the lead with a three from Zack Paulsen and opened a 12-2 run.
A layup from
Micah Pollard ended the run, but the Falcons responded with a trey from Chris Penner taking a 26-14 lead. Buckets from
Matt Poquette,
Gilson, and Smith, as well as a free throw sprinkled in, cut SPU's advantage to five. The Falcons quickly extended their lead back to double digits, 34-23, with 6:28 left in the first half.
Central held the deficit near 10 until the final minute of the first half when a three from SPU's Harry Cavell gave the Falcons a 49-35 lead with 53 seconds remaining. Poquette knocked down a free throw for the half's final point, bringing the score to 49-36 at the buzzer.
The second half opened with a three from
Lewis Pope, bringing the deficit to 49-39. Seattle Pacific responded with a flurry of scoring, taking a 15-point advantage at 56-41.
With 13:59 left in regulation a three from Pope put the Falcons' lead in single digits, 58-49. A layup from Gilson pulled the Wildcats even closer, just seven points behind. A five-point run from the Falcons reinstated their double-digit lead, 63-51.
The Falcons lead expanded through the remainder of the second, culminating in a 92-74 victory.
COVID DISCLAIMER
Per Washington state, Kittitas County Health Board, and the GNAC spectators will not be allowed at events. Schedules are subject to change at any time pending decisions from the health board and other local and regional authorities.
