ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Camron McNeil scored 21 points leading the Wildcats to the 73-66 home victory against Seattle Pacific on Saturday night.

QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
We had some really good stretches of defense tonight. It was good to see us come up with big stops when we needed them. Cam and Jello carried us offensively. It was especially good to see Cam get in rhythm."

Rinta added, "Samaad was huge rebounding wise tonight with 14. Nine points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three blocks is an impressive stat line."

NOTABLE STATS

• McNeil led the 'Cats scoring 21 points. He shot 8-12 from the floor and hauled in five rebounds.
• Anjaylo Lloyd put up 16 points and hit two from beyond the arc, Bradley Swillie added 11 points, and Samaad Hector had 9 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks, and three assists.
• Shaw Anderson led the Falcons scoring 25 points.
• The free throw line was a factor. Central Washington made 19 from the charity stripe compared to Seattle Pacific's nine.

FIRST HALF

• Seth Dawson made a layup to put Central Washington on the scoreboard. Seattle Pacific found success from deep, making two threes and grabbing the early 11-6 lead.
• Lloyd drove hard to the tin and made a layup to cut the deficit to two. On the next possession, Swillie banked it home from the low block to tie the game at 14.
• Central Washington went on a 10-2 run highlighted by Jello's three, which snapped the crimson and blacks cold streak from beyond the arc.
• Maverick Sanders hit a triple and a few possessions later McNeil followed suit to give the 'Cats the 34-24 lead.
• Seattle Pacific responded late in the half. The Falcons went on an 8-0 run and Shaw Anderson's three cut into the deficit. At the break, Central Washington led 35-32.

SECOND HALF

• Lloyd got open for a three and buried it. On the next possession, Hector got fouled and converted from the line to extend Central Washington's lead to seven. The Falcon's responded with back-to-back threes from Shaw Anderson and Kyle Luttinen.
• Mitch Brizee threaded a beautiful pass to Cavin Holden on a great cut to the basket. Holden's layup put the 'Cats ahead 53-49.
• The game was close down the stretch, but Central Washington capitalized on three key plays to secure the victory. First, Samaad Hector had a huge block down low. Then, McNeil drained a clutch jumper from the baseline to extend the 'Cats lead to five with just under three minutes remaining. Finally, with 46 seconds left, Holden missed a three, but Hector tipped the ball out to Bradley Swillie. The extra possession forced the Falcons to foul, and the Wildcats made their free throws to take the 73-66 victory.

UP NEXT

• Central Washington heads to The Last Frontier for a pair of GNAC contests against Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks next Thursday and Saturday.