MOSES LAKE, WASH. – Central Washington men's basketball beat Alaska Fairbanks 78-66 on Saturday night at Big Bend Community College. The Wildcats used a dominant first half with 7 threes and tenacious defense to propel them to the victory.
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
"It won't show up in the stat sheet, but Isaiah Banks sparked us with his defensive energy in the first half. That was as good of 20 minutes of defense as we've played. Alaska Fairbanks is a good team and battled back in the second half."

Rinta added, "I thought our guys did a good job of sticking together and finding a way to get the momentum back in those last 7 minutes. Brock, Colby, and Cam came up with some big plays for us all night."
 
WHAT HAPPENED
The 'Cats dominated the first twenty minutes to take a 41-23 halftime lead. Isaiah Banks and Samaad Hector got the Wildcats rolling early with two layups and a three building a 12-4 advantage. The Wildcats went on a 13-0 run which included two threes from Colby Gennett and a slam from Matt Poquette extending the lead to 28-6 with 9:18 remaining in the half. The Nanooks responded with a 7-0 run, but a three from Brock Gilbert ended the half and gave the 'Cats an eighteen-point advantage going into the break.

The Wildcats shot 53.6% from the field, made 7 from beyond the arc, and scored 13 points off turnovers. While, the Nanooks went 23.1% from the floor, making three from deep, and converting 8 from the free throw line.

Banks opened the 2^nd half with a block for Central and both teams traded baskets for the next three minutes. Colby Gennett drained one from beyond the arc making it 47-30 with 16:45 left to go. The Nanooks fought back two free throws punctuated an 8-0 run cutting the deficit to seven. Another layup from Fairbanks made it 51-47 with 11:53 remaining. A 6-0 run from CWU and two clutch threes from Gilbert and Spivey helped the Wildcats regain their double-digit lead. Central played smart down the stretch to claim their first conference victory.

The Wildcats shot 49% from the field, made 11 from beyond the arc, and added 15 free throws. CWU scored 21 points off turnovers and dished out 16 assists.

Brock Gilbert led the 'Cats putting up a season-high 18 points to go with 8 assists. Gilbert went 5-7 from the field nailing three from behind the arc. Additionally, McNeil scored 16, Gennett had 12, and Hector contributed 10.

In the loss, Abdullahi Mohamed scored 19 points, Bryan Nguyen put up 14, and Tyler Mrus posted 13.
 
UP NEXT  
The Wildcats (5-10, 1-5 GNAC) will use this momentum going into a three-game road trip. The 'Cats face Northwest Nazarene (6-8, 3-3 GNAC) on January 14^th at 6:00 p.m. and rivals Western Washington (9-6, 2-3 GNAC) on January 19^th at 7:00 p.m. CWU will then travel to Simon Fraser (5-10, 0-5 GNAC) on Saturday, January 21^st where tipoff will be 7:00 p.m.