BURNABY, Canada. – Isaiah Banks scored 14 points to lead Central Washington men's basketball past Simon Fraser 72-65 on Saturday night.

QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
"The fact that this team was able to come up here and get this road sweep and take a four-game win streak into the second half of league play says a lot about them. We showed a lot of heart tonight to be able to win this game while not playing our best."

Rinta adds, "Isaiah, Matt, and Brock anchored us making big plays all weekend. Colby, Noah, Landis, and Mitch were big for us off the bench tonight. We were turning it over too much in the first half, but in the second half we tightened down and only had one turnover."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats started hot with a 7-0 run highlighted by a dunk from Matt Poquette. The first half produced plenty of action resulting in six lead changes. Landis Spivey hit a jumper, capping off an 11-2 run that put the 'Cats up 26-18 with 7:23 to play.

CWU built up a ten-point lead, 34-24 with 90 seconds left in the first half, but a three from Jovan Rai helped the Red Leafs close the half on a 7-0 run. As a result, the Wildcats took a 34-31 advantage into the locker room.

In the second half, Simon Fraser went on a 6-0 run to take the lead, 42-40. Noah Pepper drilled a momentum-shifting three, giving the 'Cats a two-point advantage. With over five minutes to play, a layup from Samaad Hector and two Matt Poquette free throws gave CWU a two-possession advantage, 63-57.

In the last two minutes, the 'Cats defense forced a turnover that Camron McNeil took the other way, drew a foul, and converted both from the line. Simon Fraser had a chance in the final minutes, but missed shots hurt them as Central grabbed key rebounds and converted from the line to take the 72-65 victory.

For the Wildcats, Banks scored 14 points, Poquette added 13, and McNeil rounded out double-digit scorers with 10. Samaad Hector hauled in 6 boards and Brock dished out 11 assists.

The Wildcats shot 51.8% from the field, made three from beyond the arc, and went 11-18 from the charity stripe.

For Simon Fraser, Immanuel Oludele scored 18 points and hauled in five boards. David Penney contributed 13 points on 6-15 from the field.

SFU went 44.4% from the field, made six threes, and went 3-5 from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT
The team returns to Ellensburg next week where they host their first games back in Nicholson Pavilion. The Wildcats face Seattle Pacific (13-5, 8-1 GNAC) Thursday, January 26^th at 7:30 pm and Montana State Billings (14-5, 8-1 GNAC) Saturday, January 28^th at 6:15 p.m.