BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (5-6, 0-2 GNAC) finds itself in a tough situation after dropping its fourth-straight contest to the Western Washington Vikings (4-6, 1-1 GNAC) Saturday evening to drop to 0-2 in GNAC play.
 
Quoting Head Coach Brandon Rinta
"Our effort was where it needed to be to give ourselves a chance to win on the road. We locked into what we needed to do in the first half but got away from it during a five-minute stretch in the second half that allowed them to go on a run. That and our inability to capitalize on our 35 free throw attempts was the difference."
 
Notable Stats

• The Wildcats shot .576 from the field in the first half but couldn't continue the same success in the second half—going 13-33 for .394.
• The charity line wasn't forgiving to Central, as they went 21-35 for a .600 free-throw percentage
• Bradley Swillie led the 'Cats, offensively, scoring 23 points, followed by Chae Haynes with 18, and Jordan Clark with 17.
• Haynes continued to perform well off the glass with 10 rebounds, while recording CWU's lone block in the contest.
• Eli Williams led in passing—recording four assists, while also leading in steals with two takeaways.

 
First Half

• Both teams battled for their first five points in the game—burning off four minutes on the clock.
• Jalen Childs got a big three-pointer to give Central an 8-5 lead, but that was answered right back from Malachi Miller to tie it back up at 8-8.
• Western then went on a four-point run to take the lead.
• The Wildcats fought to keep the lead within reach, but the Vikings continued to find answers to hang onto the lead as time got down to under nine minutes left in the half.
• Then, with 8:44, Childs got a jump shot to fall as the 'Cats tied the game at 25-25.
• The teams traded scoring chances with CWU trailing by one before Jamari Harris hit a three-pointer to take a 30-28 lead with 7:37 remaining.
• The lead continued to be traded back-and-forth with neither team giving the other a chance at making a run as time continued to tick down.
• Then, while trailing 35-37, Clark hit a three-pointer to give Central a one-point lead.
• Both teams had chances to score, but the Wildcats continued to hold the lead as the score rose to 52-46 going into halftime.

 
Second Half

• WWU didn't waste any time to start the second half—going on an 8-2 run to tie the game 54-54.
• The teams then battled for points as the 'Cats got themselves back into a six-point lead with 14:17 remaining.
• Childs got a layup to give CWU the 66-58 lead, but then the Vikings found a rhythm—going on a 9-0 run to take a one-point lead.
• Garrett Marrs got a free throw to tie it up at 67-67.
• Western got another run, this time scoring seven unanswered points.
• The Wildcats responded with a 4-2 run to try and keep the score within five points, but the Vikings answered with a big three-pointer and a dunk to take an 81-71 lead with 4:27 left in the game.
• Central fought to cut down the lead and got the lead down to five with 0:04 left in the half, and Garrett Marrs got a three-pointer to cut the lead to two, but there was no time left to make another play as the comeback fell short 95-97.

 
Up Next
The Wildcats finish off 2025 with a pair of home contests starting on Saturday, Dec. 13, when the Crimson and Black take on the Evergreen State Geoducks at 4:00 p.m., and then hosting the Northwest Eagles on Monday, Dec. 15, at 7:00 p.m.