ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington Men's Basketball closes out 2023 with home games against Cal State San Marcos and Evergreen State College. The Wildcats play Cal State San Marcos on Sunday at 4 p.m. and then square off against Evergreen State on Tuesday at 2 p.m. Sunday's game is Dollar Night presented by CWU Dining Services. General admission tickets and select concession items are only a dollar.

QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
"These final two games leading into break and conference play are important to the rhythm of our team. San Marcos has made the last two national tournaments and just beat the #10 team in the country Chico State. They are a very good west region team." 

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Cal State San Marcos (3-5, 2-2 CCAA) upset #10 Chico State 61-53 at home last Saturday. Camren Pierce led the charge in the Cougars, upset scoring 22 points. Edwyn Collins notched 15 points, Mike Pope put up 11, and Charlie Henderson had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Cal State San Marcos (CSUSM) strung together two wins and vaulted to seventh in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference standings. The Cougars average 69 points a game and shoot 41% from the field. Their primary scorer is Charlie Henderson. He is averaging 13.1 points a game and leads CSUSM on the glass, hauling in 7.3 rebounds per contest. Henderson is the main rim protector at 6'8" and is second in the conference, averaging 1.3 blocks a game. Pierce averages 11.9 points per game and leads the team with 28 assists.

Mike Pope and Jack Schultz have combined for 24 threes in eight games. Schultz is also active on the glass with 4.3 boards per game and Collins Edwyn averages 5.5 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING THE GEODUCKS
On Friday, December 8^th Evergreen State men's basketball announced Cameron Swanson as their new head coach. Swanson has over 5 years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently at Highline College in Seattle. The Geoducks 1-7, 0-3 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play will look to rally around Cameron as they jump into the bulk of their season.

Evergreen State averages 67.4 points per game and is led by Jayden Upshaw. Jayden averages 10.7 points per game and is shooting 40% from the floor. Upshaw facilitates the offense and leads the team with 17 assists. Elijah McLaughlin (9.7), Tyler Williford (8.7), and Michael Mubarak (8.0) all average at least eight points per game.

Williford, a 6'6" forward is the Geoducks best rebounder. He has 44 rebounds in six games and averages 7.3 per contest.   

LAST TIME OUT
Central Washington 6-3, 1-1 in GNAC play, thumped Walla Walla 102-54 in an entertaining home victory last Saturday. Maverick Sanders led the 'Cats, scoring 24 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Anjaylo Lloyd tallied 20 points, Bradley Swillie added 14 and Cavin Holden had ten.

The Wildcats played lights out on both ends of the floor for forty minutes. CWU made 11 threes and went 15-17 from the charity stripe. On Defense, the Cats held Walla Walla to 19 points in the first half and under 30% from the floor for the night.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats play Evergreen State on Tuesday, December 19^th at 2:00 p.m. to close out 2023. The crimson and black ring in the New Year hosting a GNAC matchup against Montana State Billings on January 4^th at 7:30 p.m.