ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University men's basketball closed the regular season with a 91-75 Senior Day victory over Seattle Pacific University.
David Thompson led the Wildcats (15-8, 9-7 GNAC) with 24 points, while
Xavier Smith tallied 18. Both
Marqus Gilson and
Matt Poquette finished with 15 points.
Amari Stafford rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. Gilson and Stafford recorded a team-high seven assists each.
"It was nice to come out and hit some shots," CWU Head Coach
Brandon Rinta said. "We got in a rhythm offensively and then it became back and forth a bit. It was pretty obvious Moffitt was going to get it going early, he had a great night. I thought all five of our starters stepped up big for us. Each of them [stepped up] at different times. Marqus came up big in the second half, Matt came up with some big buckets, X was steady all night, DT [Thompson] came up big in the second half, and Amari shot it well tonight.
The Falcons shot better than 50 percent from the field in the first half, but struggled from long range. They knocked down just three of their 10 attempts from behind the arc. Seattle Pacific also held an 18-14 edge in rebounding in the opening 20 minutes, including a 5-2 margin in offensive rebounds. Central converted a clip of 48.3 percent and knocked down six of their 10 attempts from deep.
The lead changed hands seven times in the first half. The Wildcats led for 17:26 and were leading up until a driving layup from Divant'e Moffitt put the Falcons ahead 36-35. Zack Paulsen added the final bucket, sending SPU into halftime with a 38-35 lead.
After exchanging buckets in the opening minutes, Central took a 21-15 lead on a three from
Xavier Smith. The 'Cats lead extended and waned over the half until Moffitt's bucket put SPU ahead.
Seattle Pacific's lead quickly disappeared in the second stanza. Moffitt scored the first two buckets of the half, opening an eight-point 43-35 lead. Smith knocked down a step back jumper, before
Marqus Gilson converted a layup and knocked down a free throw for the three-point play. A three from
David Thompson tied the game at 43-43, before
Matt Poquette's layup gave the 'Cats a 45-43 lead as part of a 12-0 CWU run. A pair of free throws from Harry Cavell finally broke the Falcons scoreless streak.
Central then went on a 7-0 run, consisting of four points from Gilson and a three from
Amari Stafford.
Eight and a half minutes into the second half, Central held a 60-54 advantage. A three-point play from Moffitt cut the 'Cats lead to three, 60-57. Baskets from Poquette and Stafford re-established a six-point advantage for CWU. The Wildcats reached their first double digit lead with a layup from Thompson with six minutes remaining.
Trading baskets, the Wildcats' lead hovered near 10 until consecutive scoring possessions pulled the advantage down to six, 77-71.
"We were able to get a lead and get some hands on the ball and crowd them a bit more," Rinta added.
A wide-open three from Thompson with 2:31 remaining put the 'Cats ahead by nine, 82-73, before a layup from Poquette extended the lead to 11.
"It felt really good to get a quality win together in their last game on this court over one of the best teams in the region," Rinta noted.
Central Washington heads to the GNAC Championship, where the opening field is split between Lacey, Washington and Seattle, Washington. Once the PRS from the GNAC office is finalized, the Wildcats' opponent and seeding will be announced.
