LACEY, Wash. – Central Washington men's basketball never trailed in their 77-75 upset of Saint Martin's on Thursday night. The Wildcats win secures them a spot in the GNAC tournament.

QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
"We knew it was going to take a high-level effort and performance to beat Saint Martin's tonight and that's exactly what these guys delivered. Our defense on the three-point line was the difference. We did a great job of limiting them to eight made threes tonight."

Rinta added, "Brock and Ice came up with big three's late then Matt came up with two big buckets and two big free throws to take back the lead. Cam had it going all night and there was no bigger shot than the last one for the win."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Wildcats took an early 13-5 advantage and Mitch Brizee was all over the glass for the 'Cats corralling 5 boards and creating second-chance opportunities.
• Colby Gennett and Camron McNeil hit back-to-back treys to put the Wildcats up 21-14.
• Saint Martin's responded as Tyke Thompson hit a turnaround jumper that cut the deficit to four.
• The 'Cats closed the half on a 9-4 run to take the 37-28 lead into the locker room.
• The Crimson and Black shot 50% from the floor while the Saints only shot 33%. In the first half, Central Washington capitalized scoring 16 points in the paint.
• Two minutes into the second half, Brock Gilbert nailed a long-range three from the elbow to keep the 'Cats lead at 11. The Saints answered with a 12-0 run bringing the deficit to 47-48.
• McNeil checked back into the game and immediately hit two jumpers extending Central Washington's lead to six with 10:30 remaining.
• The Saints kept fighting down seven with just over three minutes to play, converted a layup and two free throws cutting the margin to just three.
• Isaiah Banks lived up to his nickname, hitting an icy three that put CWU up two possessions.
• The Saints responded with an 8-0 run punctuated by Kyle Greeley's baseline jumper that tied the game at 75.
• 18 seconds remained as Camron McNeil dribbled the ball up the court. With six seconds left McNeil drove down the left side of the lane through two defenders and banked it in to complete the upset.

NOTABLE STATS

• Camron McNeil led all scorers with 25 points. Matt Poquette put up 15 points to go with six rebounds. Mitch Brizee made a difference in the first half, dominating the glass and giving the Wildcats second chance opportunities. Brizee ended the night with eight rebounds and six points.
• The Wildcats shot 51.7% from the field and Saint Martin's shot 42.6%. Additionally, CWU won the defensive board battle 24-21.
• For Saint Martin's, Branden Bunn led with 16 points, Jaden Nielsen-Skinner scored 15, and Kyle Greeley chipped in 10.

UP NEXT

• The Wildcats travel to Monmouth, Oregon for their final regular season game against Western Oregon on Saturday at 4:15 p.m.