ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington men's basketball played shut down defense and earned the 88-60 victory over Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday night.
Maverick Sanders had a career-high 26 points in the win. He shot 10-17 from the floor, made two from beyond the arc, and hit four from the charity stripe.
Freshman
Maverick Sanders talked about his career night. "It was so fun to play in such a great atmosphere tonight. It felt great to put up a career high and show what I am capable of and for the coaches to put trust in me."
QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
"That was a really good defensive effort tonight. Especially in the second half, holding them to 35% from the field. The biggest key was holding them to seven offensive rebounds. Everybody did a great job of working together to rebound. Samaad came up with a handful of key ones ending up with 10 on the night."
Rinta added, "Maverick was in a great rhythm offensively. He is capable of a night like that where he is scoring it inside, outside, and getting to the free throw line. Both Maverick and Jordan were steady and efficient tonight on the offensive end."
NOTABLE STATS
- Jordan Clark scored 16 points, Bradley Swillie put up 12, and Cavin Holden added 11.
- Trey Anderson led the Nanooks, scoring 13 points. Four players scored 11 points for Alaska Fairbanks.
- The 'Cats shot 63% from the floor in the second half and held Alaska Fairbanks to 34% from the field.
- On the defensive end, the 'Cats caused 18 Nanook turnovers and capitalized turning those mistakes into 24 points.
- The crimson and black scored 18 fast break points.
FIRST HALF
- The opening seven minutes were full of back-and-forth action. The Cats strung together quality possessions. Samaad Hector hit a hook shot and on the next trip down the floor Cavin Holden laid one in to put Central Washington up 13-12.
- Jaycson Bereal Jr. made a jumper for Alaska Fairbanks that tied the game at 17. Central Washington answered Bereal's jumper with a 10-2 run that put the crimson and black up by six.
- Maverick Sanders controlled the last seven minutes of the half. Sanders closed the half with eight straight points, including one crisp three pointer. At the break, Central Washington had a 41-30 lead.
SECOND HALF
- The Wildcats started the second half strong and extended their lead to 15 in the first three minutes.
- Cavin Holden drained a three that put the 'Cats up by 20, 69-49 with 8:06 left.
- Maverick Sanders made a layup with 4:19 remaining, which tied his previous career high, 24 points, he scored against Walla Walla. On the next possession, Sanders knocked down a jumper, which gave him 26 points and a new career high.
- Cavin Holden brought the crowd to their feet with a late dunk. Central Washington got the 88-60 victory and notched its 10th home win of the season.
UP NEXT
- The Wildcats (14-7, 7-5 GNAC) remain in the friendly confines of Nicholson Arena for Saturday's game at 6:15 p.m. against Alaska Anchorage (15-7, 5-6 GNAC).
