BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Xavier Smith scored a career-high 32 points, but the Central Washington University (11-4, 5-3 GNAC) men's basketball fell to Western Washington University (10-6, 3-3 GANC) in the final moments, 90-88.
Jalen Green sank the Vikings' final bucket with 1.3 seconds left in regulation, giving Western Washington the home win.
"That was a tough ending to a hard fought game,"CWU Head Coach
Brandon Rinta said. "Our guys never let up, no matter how the momentum shifted back and forth. Xavier carried us offensively the whole night and Matt and Marqus came up with some big plays as well."
Smith finished 11-for-17 from the field, 2-for-4 from deep, and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. He tacked on five rebounds and four assists. Smith led the 'Cats in points, rebounds, and assists. Also scoring in double digits were
Matt Poquette (14),
Marqus Gilson (13), and
David Thompson (10).
The first half was dictated by scoring runs. Central opened with a 10-2 run, eventually staking out a 12-point lead. Later in the first, the Vikings cut the Wildcats' lead to one, 33-32, with an 8-0 run. Western took its first lead with 3:40 left in the first, 42-41, thanks to an 11-2 stretch.
At the half, Central went to the locker room leading 49-47 after scoring the last six points in the first. After 20 minutes of play, Smith had recorded 16 points. Thompson scored all 10 of his points in the first stanza.
An early 6-0 run in the second half gave the Wildcats a slim two-point 57-55 advantage. The Vikings countered with a 7-0 run for a 62-57 advantage. After a pair of free throws from Smith, back-to-back layups from Gilson allowed the Wildcats to hold a 63-62 lead.
Western quickly put themselves back ahead, 72-69, but were then held scoreless for two minutes while the Crimson and Black pulled ahead with five points from
Amari Stafford.
With just four minutes to play, Smith knocked down a pair of free throws to cut Western's lead to 82-79. In the final three minutes of play, Central outscored Western 9-8. Green scored five of the Viks' final eight points, including the game-winning bucket.
The lead changed hands numerous times in the final moments, including a three from the corner for Central, putting the 'Cats ahead 84-83 with 1:40 to play.
A last second attempt from center court from Central did not connect, sealing Western's victory.
Both squads shot over 50-percent from the floor with CWU taking a 52.5-50.0 edge in shooting. Western connected on nine threes to Central's six. The Wildcats outperformed the Vikings at the free throw line, finishing 18-for-21.
The Wildcats return home for two contests next week. They open with Saint Martin's on Tuesday (Feb. 1) at 7:00 p.m., before taking on Northwest Nazarene on Thursday (Feb. 3) at 6:00 p.m.
