NAMPA, Idaho. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (3-2) finished the Northwest Nazarene Thanksgiving Classic Saturday evening with a comeback victory over the Westmont College Warriors (1-4), winning 74-72.
 
Quoting Head Coach Brandon Rinta
"That was a big win for this team. Westmont is a good team and defended us really well. The fact that we only had 9 turnovers enabled us to win that game.
Adrian McIntyre is as good of a scoring guard as I've seen at this level. We rotated guys on him but struggled to slow him down. At least as a team we did a better job in the second half holding them to 39% from the floor as a team.
Jordan came up big for us offensively tonight. Especially some big buckets late when we lost the lead. It's good to see some of these guys starting to get in an offensive rhythm."
Notable Stats

• Jordan Clark led the Wildcats in points with 26 total, going 9-12 from the field and 3-5 in three-pointers.
• Clark also led in free throws, going 5-5.
• Maverick Sanders led the team in steals with three takeaways and rebounds with seven total boards.

First Half

• Central struck first getting an early 5-2 lead, but Westmont flipped the momentum quickly, going on a 12-0 run to lead 14-5.
• The 'Cats spent the first ten minutes slowly chipping away at the Warrior lead.
• Trailing 26-16, the Wildcats caught a stride and scored eight unanswered points to trail by two with 5:18 remaining in the first half.
• The Warriors kept a steady lead and finished the first half leading 38-32.

Second Half

• CWU scored four points in the first minute to cut the lead to 38-36.
• McIntyre hit a three-point shot to build the Warriors' lead to 41-36, but Cavin Holden responded with a three-pointer to keep the lead to two points.
• Both teams missed their next several chances, but Clark was able to flip the script, dropping a three-pointer to take a 42-41 lead.
• The teams traded the lead for the next 6:12 until the score was tied at 54-54.
• Central then caught a stride and went on a 13-4 run to lead 67-58.
• Westmont responded with 11 straight points to take a 69-67 lead. Sanders would tie it back up with two free throws to make it 69-69.
• Two layups from Clark gave the 'Cats a 73-69 lead, but McIntyre made a layup and was fouled. He made the and-one to trail 73-72.
• Eli Williams hit a free throw to give the Wildcats a 74-72 lead.
• Westmont missed their last three shots as time expired as the Crimson and Black escaped with a narrow victory.

Up Next
The 'Cats head to San Diego, Calif next for the PLNU Tournament as they take on Vanguard University on Friday, Nov 29. Tip-off from Golden Gymnasium is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.