ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington men's basketball (18-9, 11-7 GNAC) opens the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament against Seattle Pacific (17-14, 10-8 GNAC) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in the friendly confines of Nicholson Pavilion.
For Thursday and Friday's early afternoon sessions, a daily parking pass will be needed if you are planning to attend as CWU Parking Enforcement enforces parking in the Nicholson Arena parking lot until 4:30 p.m. There is a kiosk in the Nicholson Arena parking lot to purchase a pass in person if desired.
You can purchase a daily parking pass for $6
HERE
To view a full campus parking map click
HERE
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, March 7
7:30 p.m.
(4 Seed) Central Washington vs. (5 Seed) Seattle Pacific
Nicholson Arena
Ellensburg, Washington
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QUOTING HEAD COACH BRANDON RINTA
"Playoffs are always an exciting time. It is going to be a fun environment in Nicholson Pavilion all weekend. Our first round matchup is going to be a tough test vs SPU. They have the longest win streak in the conference at four coming off, beating the conference Champs Montana State Billings and sweeping the Alaska trip. They are #1 in the conference in Offensive FG% and Defensive FG%."
LAST WEEK
The Wildcats finished the season strong, picking up two wins to close out regular season play. The 'Cats upset #21 Saint Martin's 92-86 on Thursday and then sent the Seniors out with a 97-81 victory over Western Oregon on Saturday.
Jello Lloyd led the 'Cats upset bid scoring 20 points, but it was a group effort as four other Wildcats scored in double figures. The story of the upset was Central Washington's hot shooting in the second half. The Wildcats shot 70.83% from the floor, made six threes, and went 17-24 from the free-throw line.
In their final regular season home game in Nicholson, Seniors,
Anjaylo Lloyd,
Camron McNeil, and
Samaad Hector had fantastic nights to help the Wildcats earn the 97-81 win. Hector led the way, scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Lloyd put up 12 points and made one from beyond the arc. McNeil added 11 points, including back-to-back threes that halted Western Oregon's momentum in the first half.
LAST MATCHUP
Seattle Pacific triumphed 77-75 over Central Washington in Royal Brougham Pavilion on February 1st. Shaw Anderson led the Falcons comeback scoring a season-high 33 points and shot 13-25 from the field. In the loss, three Wildcats scored in double figures,
Samaad Hector (16 points),
Anjaylo Lloyd (12 points), and
Jordan Clark (11 points).
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The Falcons are the hottest team in the GNAC right now and enter the tournament on a four-game winning streak. Their most significant win over the past two weeks came at home on February fourth, when they beat Montana State Billings 91-80.
SPU has three players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Shaw Anderson who is scoring 21 points per game. Julian Moran is putting up 11.8 points per game and Owen Moriarty is not far behind him with 10.6 points per game.
Three other Falcons are scoring at least nine points per game. Kyle Luttinen is the best outside shooter for Seattle Pacific and has made 72 threes this season. Sophomore forward Trace Evans contributes 9.3 points per game and leads the team on the glass hauling in 5.5 rebounds per contest.
Maui Sze is the main facilitator for SPU and leads the team with 84 assists this season. On the defensive side of the ball, the Falcons have four players with 12 or more blocks and three players who finished the regular season with at least 20 steals.
UP NEXT
The winner of the first-round matchup advances to play top seeded Montana State Billings in the semifinals on Friday night at 7:30.
