Box Score BURNABY, B.C. — The Central Washington University men's basketball team completed the season sweep of Simon Fraser with a 92-65 victory.
After handing SFU (8-6, 3-3 GNAC) an 84-61 defeat in Ellensburg on Tuesday, the Wildcats (11-3, 5-2 GNAC) recorded their largest margin of victory of Simon Fraser since February 14, 2015, when the 'Cats toppled Simon Fraser with a 28-point deficit in Burnaby by a score of 112-84. Tonight's 27-point margin is the third largest margin of victory Central has recorded against their Canadian foe, the largest margin coming on January 22, 2011 with an 88-59 win in Ellensburg - a separation of 29 points.
"That was our best defensive performance of the year," CWU Head Coach
Brandon Rinta said. "It was fun to watch the guys lock in and defend that hard. Offensively,
David Thompson helped us get in a rhythm early. We did a great job of pushing it in transition and sharing the basketball."
Central allowed just one basket, a three-pointer, and a free throw in the opening 6:54. The three was the only scoring for Simon Fraser until Julian Roche made a single free throw at 13:04. Simon Fraser's second basket came at the 11:40 mark.
In the first 10 minutes, the Crimson and Black held SFU to six points before Simon Fraser's offense found a bit of a rhythm to tally seven points in the next 90 seconds.
Thompson led the Wildcats' offense with 22 points, while
Matt Poquette recorded 15. Thompson finished 9-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-3 from long range. In total, Central Washington finished with five players with 10-plus points.
Xavier Smith finished with 13 points, while
Micah Pollard scored a dozen off the bench, and
Marqus Gilson added 11. The 'Cats out rebounded Simon Fraser 38-29. CWU shot 60.7 percent from the floor and over 50-percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, Central kept Simon Fraser below 40-percent shooting for the second consecutive game. Nearly every Wildcat who appeared in the contest recorded at least one point and one rebound.
Simon Fraser's leading scorer was Jordan Lyons, who came off the bench and scored 13 points. Central's defense once again kept Roche in check for the majority of the contest, holding the forward to nine points and eight rebounds.
Central took a 48-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half of play, the Wildcats pushed their advantage as high as 30 points. With 5:30 left to play in regulation, Simon Fraser turned to its reserves for the remainder of the contest.
Central heads to Bellingham for a rivalry matchup with Western Washington University on Saturday, January 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm in Carver Gym. Per WWU's fan policy, masks and vaccination verification are required for all spectators aged five and up.
