ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (5-4) kicks off GNACtion this week as the Wildcats travel up to Burnaby, B.C., to take on Simon Fraser (3-5) on Thursday, Dec. 4 and then will head down to Bellingham, Wash., for a rivalry matchup against Western Washington (3-5) on Saturday, Dec. 6.
GAME INFORMATION
THURSDAY, 12/4/2025 at SIMON FRASER
WATCH
LIVE STATS
TICKETS
HISTORY
SATURDAY, 12/6/2025 at WESTERN WASHINGTON
WATCH
LIVE STATS
TICKETS
HISTORY
PREVIOUSLY FOR THE 'CATS
The Wildcats are coming off a two-game slide after falling to No.4 Point Loma on Friday Nov. 28 and then Vanguard on Saturday Nov. 29 in the SPU Thanksgiving Classic. Point Loma took hold of the game early on and never let go of a strong lead to beat Central 94-78. Then on Saturday, The 'Cats battled Vanguard strongly–keeping the score within 10 points in the second half. The teams were tied with under a minute remaining when Vanguard hit a three-pointer to take 65-62 lead. The Wildcats had two chances to hit game-tying threes from Swillie and Clark but those missed. Getting the offensive rebound on the final play gave Central one last chance and Clark got the shot off as time expired, but the shot was off the mark as Vanguard took the victory.
The Crimson and Black were led on the court by
Eli Williams, who scored 32 total points in the Thanksgiving Classic, while also going 11-14 for .786 from the field and 7-9 from behind the arc for a .778 three-point percentage. Williams also led in takeaways–sharing the lead with
Garrett Marrs with three steals each. Clark ran the offense–recording seven total assists along with 18 points.
Chae Haynes dominated the glass in the classic–logging 19 total rebounds, including seven offensive board, while
Calvin Sisk guarded the net with three blocks.
ABOUT THE RED LEAFS
Simon Fraser had a rough start to its season after going 3-5 in its nonconference slate. The Red Leafs dropped their first three contests in the Canadian Tip-Off Classic before rebounding with a victory over Langara College 105-66. However, the good times didn't last as the Leafs fell to the University of British Columbia the following day 54-66. SFU then headed to Monmouth, Ore., and split its time there losing to Westmont 64-83, but then beating Westminster 79-70 the next day. The Leafs followed it up with another victory the next week over the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs 87-84 to enter this week at 3-5.
The Red Leafs are led by Mikyle Malabuyoc, who has scored 94 points, recorded 34 assists, and went 30-59 for .508 from the field, including 17-31 beyond the arc for an average of .548. Malabuyoc also leads in steals alongside Matthys Van Bylandt with six takeaways each. Roko Maric guards the net with six blocks, while Zach Stone covers under the hoop–recording 47 total rebounds for an average of 5.9 per game.
The Wildcats and Red Leafs hit the court on Thursday, Dec. 4. Tip-off from the West Gym in Burnaby is set for 7:00 p.m.
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Western Washington's season saw the Vikings have a tough start–going 0-2 before finding victory over Central Oklahoma 69-63. The Viks continued to have a hot run–defeating both Cal Poly Humboldt 83-71 and San Francisco State 87-62. However, The Vikings' flame extinguished on a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii–falling to Chaminade 98-107 and Hawai'i Pacific 71-86. WWU then fell to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs 81-85 the following weekend to enter this week on a three-game slide.
The Vikings are led, offensively, by Aidan Rice, who's scored 137 points, while going 45-88 from the field for .511, including 22-49 for .449 from beyond the arc. Rice also leads in passing with 25 assists, while Nehemiah Pollard leads under the hoop with 46 rebounds including 14 offensive boards for an average of 5.8 per game. Defensively, Garrett Levesque leads in steals with 14 total, while he and Trevor White lead at the net with nine blocks each.
The 'Cats take on the Vikings on Saturday, Dec. 6. Tip-off from Carver Gym is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
