ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington Men's Basketball fell 66-71 in a hard-fought battle against Saint Martin's. Saint Martin's capitalized on good shooting early, shooting 40% from the field and converting five first-half three-pointers, to claim the victory.
QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
"I was really impressed with our defense tonight. They are a talented offensive team, and we were able to hold them to under 40% from the floor. It was missed free throws that hurt us more than anything tonight."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Shakeem Alcindor drained a jumper to start the game. After that, the Wildcats went on a 6-2 run. Thompson Tyke and Christian Haffner hit back-to-back threes for the Saints. With 1:56 left in the half, the Saints took a 21-31 lead. Isaiah Banks cashed in a layup to end the half, cutting the Saints lead to 8 heading into the break. Central Washington was ice-cold from the field and beyond the arc in the first half. They shot 27.8% on 10-36 from the field. The Wildcats converted 2-13 from the three-point line. The Saints went 11-27 from the field shooting 40% and drained five from beyond the arc.
The Crimson and Black clawed back in the second half, a jumper from banks and a trey by Camron McNeil kickstarted the offense. The Saints were up for the challenge answering each basket. Matt Poquette and Samaad Hector hit back-to-back jumpers. A layup from McNeil and a jumper by Freddy Brown III cut the deficit to three, 41-44 with 9:15 remaining. Brock Gilbert's free throw gave Central the 45-44 lead with 8:39 left. Jaden Nielsen-Skinner held off the 'Cats comeback down the stretch hitting a three and a few possessions later, a jump shot making it a two-possession game. The Wildcats fouled late to extend the game.
Free throws were a factor in this game. CWU went 9-16 from the line while Saint Martin's shot 19-23 including ten free throws down the stretch to secure the 66-71 victory. Nielsen-Skinner and Kyle Greeley led the Saints scoring 13 points. McNeil and Hector led the scoring efforts in the loss with 14 and 13 respectively. Hector got a double-double adding 10 rebounds to go with his 13 points. Brock Gilbert and Isaiah Banks each scored 10 points.
UP NEXT
Central Washington shifts from GNAC play to non-conference games starting with Evergreen State Saturday, December 10th, at Ellensburg High School. Tip-off will be at 6:00 P.M.
