LANGLEY, B.C. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (2-1) saw its first defeat this season at the hands of St. Edwards (3-0), falling to the Hilltoppers 47-68 on the final day of the CCA DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic.
 
Quoting Head Coach Brandon Rinta
"St. Edwards is a really good team and found a way to put together three solid performances this weekend. We aren't at a place defensively where we can shoot 26 percent from the floor and turn it over that many times and expect to win. We showed some good things this weekend but still have to improve in some areas."
 
Notable Stats

• The Wildcats were outshot 76-61 with St. Edwards going 36.8 percent from the field against Central's 26.2 percent.
• Turnovers were a big section of the game with CWU committing 16 versus SEU's eight. The Hilltoppers capitalized heavily on turnovers–scoring 28 total points off of them.
• Chae Haynes led the 'Cats in scoring with 10 points, followed by Jalen Childs with eight.
• Haynes nearly recorded a double-double as well with nine total rebounds. Haynes also led in blocks with two.
• Jamari Harris showed a presence on the defense–recording two steals.

 
First Half

• The scoring opened when Ryder Bradley of St. Edwards was fouled by Haynes and hit two free throws to give SEU the early 2-0 lead.
• Haynes responded with a layup to tie the game up.
• The Hilltoppers hit a pair of layups before Demetrus Johnson II hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to one, but Blake Nielsen got another layup to build the lead back to three.
• Scoring went cold for about two minutes before Nielsen hit a three-pointer to make it a six-point lead.
• Calvin Sisk got a layup for CWU, but Bradley hit another three-pointer for the Hilltoppers to make it a 14-7 lead.
• The teams continued to trade scoring chances as SEU held a steady lead over Central.
• Then, St. Edwards got a six-point run to make it a 22-9 score.
• The Hilltoppers continued to find ways to build their lead as they closed out the first half with a layup from Conor Mcmanus to lead 42-19 into halftime.

 
Second Half

• Central came out of halftime strong–scoring six-straight points to open the second half.
• SEU responded with a layup, but Bradley Swillie answered right back–sinking a jump shot to try and keep the momentum going.
• However, St. Edwards would pick up some momentum of its own and started building a larger lead.
• Scoring then went cold for a few minutes before Bradley hit a layup to break the drought for the Hilltoppers with 11:01 remaining.
• Haynes got a couple free throws to fall, and SEU responded with another layup to lead 59-31.
• Central caught some steam and started to chip away at the lead, but St. Edwards found its rhythm again and kept the score steady as time winded down and the Hilltoppers came away with the 68-47 victory.

 
Up Next
The Wildcats' road trip will continue in two weeks, when they head to Seaside, Calif. for the West Region Crossover–taking on Menlo College on Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m., and then Cal State Monterey Bay on Nov. 15 at 5:00 p.m. Both games will take place at The Kelp Bed on the campus of CSUMB.