LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Central Washington men's basketball used an indescribable first half to vault them past Cal State Dominguez Hills 110-90 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In the opening 20 minutes, Central Washington made 14 threes, shot 63.6 percent (21-33) from the field, and made 5-6 from the free-throw line. Jordan Clark led the 'Cats offense scoring 18 points and nailed a game-high four threes.
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
 
"That was the most unbelievable shooting performance I've ever seen in the first half. To be up 25 in the first half against a team as good as Dominguez Hills in the National Tournament speaks to the level of energy and excitement this team had going in. They did a good job of managing the clock and making plays at the end of the shot clock in the second half."
 
NOTABLE STATS
 

• The Wildcats went 17-27, 63 percent from beyond the arc compared to the Toros 8-20, 40 percent.
• Six Wildcats scored in double figures led by Jordan Clark and Colby Gennett who both had 18 points on the night. 
• Samaad Hector and Camron McNeil each tallied 15 points, Bradley Swillie put up 13, and Seth Dawson added 11.
• Jeremy Dent-Smith led the Toros in the loss and scored a game-high 25 points.
• The 'Cats not only scored from the outside but got in the paint, drew contact, and were rewarded with trips to the free-throw line. Central Washington went 33-40 from the charity stripe, while Cal State Dominguez Hills made 10-15.

 
FIRST HALF
 

• Central Washington had by far their best half of the season, making 14 threes, shot 63.6 percent (21-33) from the field, and made 5-6 from the free-throw line.
• Alex Garcia threw down a dunk in the opening minutes that tied it a seven. This was the last time the Toros would be close in the half.
• Central Washington hit five threes in a row to spark a 17-4 run and take the 26-11 lead. The triples kept coming for the crimson and black as Hector and McNeil nailed back-to-back treys and extended CWU's lead to 18.
• Jordan Clark caught fire for the 'Cats. Clark hit four threes in the half and two jumpers on his way to 16 points in the opening 20 minutes. Jordan's pull up jumper put the exclamation mark on the 'Cats insane half.
• At the end of the first half Central Washington led by 25, 61-36.

 
SECOND HALF
 

• Cal State Dominguez Hills fought back to start the half as CCAA Player of The Year, Jeremy Dent-Smith made a layup that started a 13-4 run for the Toros and cut the deficit to 16.
• The Wildcats hot shooting from deep continued in the second half when Cavin Holden knocked one down and then Seth Dawson followed suit, pushing Central Washington's lead to 22, 75-53 with 12:27 remaining.
• Garcia made a layup for Cal State Dominguez Hills that cut it to 15 with just over six minutes to go.
• The Wildcats made their late game free throws and tacked on a pair of layups to secure the 110-90 victory, their first NCAA Tournament win since 2001.

 
UP NEXT
 

• The Wildcats advance to the next round of the West Regionals and will face the eight seed, Azusa Pacific tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Azusa Pacific advanced after upsetting top seeded Cal State LA 60-59 in the first round.