ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (18-7, 12-3 GNAC) keeps the GNAC regular season title in its sights after defeating Western Oregon University (4-21, 1-14 GNAC) 89-69 Thursday night in the Nicholson Arena.

Quoting Head Coach Brandon Rinta
"That was one of our best passing games of the season. The guys did a great job of moving the ball and creating for each other with 28 assists. Jordan, Cavin, and Eli lead the charge combining for 18 assists with only 3 TO's. Garrett was in a great rhythm all night and his teammates did a good job of finding him."

Notable Stats

• Garrett Anderson scored his second-highest amount of points, leading the Wildcats with 34 points.
• Jordan Clark moved the ball well, leading the team with seven assists, as well as scoring 12 points.
• Maverick Sanders kept the Wolves from getting scoring chances with his team-leading three steals in addition to his 11 points.
• Calvin Sisk played strong in the paint, scoring 10 points and leading the 'Cats in rebounds with eight total boards.

First Half

• Both teams came out slowly for the first minute of the game before Anjay Cortez hit a pair of free throws to take the early 2-0 lead.
• Central answered with a layup from Anderson and three points from Sanders to take a 5-2 lead.
• Western Oregon then hit a surge, scoring 10 straight points to lead 12-5.
• The Wolves continued its momentum to make it a 20-10 game with 12:04 left in the half.
• Then, the Wildcats came alive, going on a 16-point streak to take a 26-20 lead and force WOU to take a timeout with 7:30 remaining in the first half.
• Western Oregon stopped the rush with a pull-up shot from Cortez, but CWU continued the momentum with five more points.
• The Wolves responded with five of their own to trail 27-31.
• Bradley Swillie then hit a three-pointer to make it 34-27.
• The 'Cats closed out the half with an 8-5 run to make it a 44-32 game at halftime.

Second Half

• There was no delay in scoring on either side to start the second half as both teams shot out of the gate with scoring chances as Central held a steady lead.
• Anderson continued to find the basket, scoring the first eight points for the Wildcats in the second half.
• Neither team cooled down as offensive chances were plentiful.
• With the offense working, CWU saw its lead hold strong as it slowly built upon it.
• Western Oregon fought hard and continued to score, but the margin was too large as the Crimson and Black closed out the game with a final score of 89-69.

 
Up Next
The Wildcats are back in the Nicholson Arena as they take on the Saint Martin's University Saints in the home finale of the season on Saturday, Feb 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.