LANGLEY, B.C. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (1-0) got the 2025-26 season started on a good note, defeating Cal State San Bernardino (0-1) in the first match of the CCA DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic. This was Central's first victory over the Coyotes since 2016.
 
Quoting Head Coach Brandon Rinta
"That was a great opening win for this team. We showed some growth in some key areas to pull out a back-and-forth game. It's looking like this team has the ability to get to the free throw line. That was big for us today. Jordan came up with some big plays for us, and Brad and Chae were big for us rebounding."
 
Notable Stats

• Jordan Clark led the offense with 24 total points, followed by Chae Haynes with 16 and Demetrus Johnson II with 12. Clark also went 9-15 for a .600 percentage from the field
• Bradley Swillie led the team in rebounds with 10 boards, while Haynes followed with eight.
• Garrett Marrs had a strong debut on defense–recording two steals, while Johnson II record one.
• Clark, Haynes, Johnson II, and Eli Williams each contributed one assist during the game.
• The victory breaks a seven-game losing streak to CSUSB.

 
First Half

• Neither team could get on the board for almost two minutes until Michael Ojo opened the scoring with a dunk.
• Central built a small lead and continued to work through the first 10 minutes of the half to hold a 14-9 lead.
• San Bernardino came back and tied the game at 21-21 as both teams battled for the lead.
• The Coyotes then took the lead and held the narrow lead coming into halftime with the score at 33-31

 
Second Half

• CSUSB opened the second half with a 4-2 run to make it a 37-33 lead.
• The Coyotes continued to build their lead for the next five minutes as Central tried to chip away at the margin.
• The Wildcats then found their opportunities and cut the lead down and then overtook CSUSB 45-44.
• The lead wouldn't last long, though, as the Coyotes hit a three-pointer to take the lead back and they built on that lead to 52-46.
• The Crimson and Black defense locked in and held San Bernardino's offense off the board as the Wildcats battled back and score six unanswered points to retake the lead at 54-52 with 7:14 remaining.
• Chae Hayne hit a pair of free throws to build the lead to four points with 6:04 left.
• CSUSB got a free throw, but Clark answered with a jump shot to make it a five-point lead with 3:40 remaining.
• The Coyotes responded with four points to make it a one-point game with 2:28 left, but Clark hit another jumper to give the 'Cats a three-point lead.
• With 2:15 left in the game, the Wildcats found their points through free throws as CSUSB tried to chip away at the lead, as CWU held it at 64-59.
• Clark then found a quick two points with :44 remaining, but the Coyotes found two of their own to make it 66-61 with :28 left in the game.
• Eli Williams then got a free throw to fall and the 'Cats played good defense to force a miss as Swillie got the rebound and was fouled. Swillie hit both free throws to make 69-61.
• CSUSB had another chance but failed to get the shot to drop as Clark got the rebound, foul, and both free throws to fall.
• The Coyotes got a layup to fall but with :12 remaining, the damage was too much as Central held on to the ball for the final seconds to tick off as the Crimson and Black earned its first victory of the season.

Up Next
The Tip-Off Classic continues this weekend as the Wildcats take on RV Central Oklahoma on Saturday. Tip-off from the Langley Events Centre is set for 3:30 p.m.