ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Marqus Gilson's 22 points paced Central Washington University men's basketball in their 93-70 victory over Northwest Nazarene University.
The Wildcats (12-5, 6-4 GNAC) dominated the first half, as they shot 21-for-36 and held the Nighthawks (5-7, 3-4 GNAC) to a 9-for-29 line from the field. Central connected on over half of their first half chances from deep, closing the 20-minute period with a 5-for-9 mark. Northwest Nazarene, meanwhile, managed just a 2-for-10 effort from deep. Central spent all but the first nine seconds of the game with the lead, taking their largest lead of the opening stanza with 4:29 on the clock – a 32-point margin, 46-14. The Wildcats recorded 13 assists in the first half.
Central finished 38-for-70 from the floor, scoring 54 points in the paint. They picked up 18 assists as a unit.
David Thompson and
Colby Gennett led the Crimson and Black with four assists each. Eight different Wildcats recorded at least one assist.
Head Coach
Brandon Rinta rolled through his roster and the 'Cats reserves came through, scoring 32 points. Every player who entered the game scored at least one bucket. Defensively, Central held NNU's reserves to zero points in the first 20 minutes.
"That first half was as good a 20 minutes as any we have had defensively," Rinta said. "I love the energy our guys came out with, how hard they played, and how they finished off rebounds. We've shown we are capable of stretches like that and it was good for us to take a step there."
In the opening 12 minutes, the Crimson and Black went on a 37-10 run. Gilson record 15 of his points in the opening 14:30.
The Nighthawks finally found a rhythm late in the first half, outscoring CWU 12-9 in the next seven minutes.
At the half, Central led 53-25. Alongside Gilson's 15 points, Thompson added 10.
Northwest Nazarene's momentum held for the first two minutes of the second half, they opened the back-end with a 10-0 run.
Xavier Smith ended the 'Cats scoreless streak.
NNU's shooting rebounded in the second half, finishing the half with a shooting percentage of 52.8. They still struggled from deep, however, going just 2-for-11 to finish 4-for-21. Central shot an even 50 percent from the floor to finish the contest with a shooting percentage of 54.3.
"Northwest Nazarene is a good team," Rinta added. "They have really good players and they came out a little bit angry in the second down like they were. They went on a quick 10-0 run like they're capable of. Our guys did a good job of regrouping, continuing to get the ball to the paint and the rim. I thought Marqus did a great job tonight, I thought David did a great job tonight, he and Colby both ended up with four assists. I love how we shared the ball to end up with 18 assists tonight.
Aside from Gilson's 22 points, three other Wildcats finished in double digits. Thompson recorded 19 points, while Poquette tallied 12, and
Colby Gennett finished with 11.
Central held the Nighthawks scoreless in the final 1:52 of play, securing the 93-70 victory.
"It's a tough stretch," Rinta noted. "We played Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, then Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday. These guys deserve this Saturday off before we turn around and do it all over again. I'm looking forward to getting a little rest here and three more home games next week."
The Crimson and Black have a full week ahead with three games at home. They open the week on Tuesday (Feb. 8) against rival Western Washington University. The reverse contest was decided by a Vikings' buzzer beater. Tip-off against the Viks is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
