ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (19-7, 13-3 GNAC) closed out the final home stand of the 2024-25 season with an exclamation point after beating Saint Martin's University (19-10, 8-8 GNAC) 87-70 on Senior Night, honoring Mitch Brizee, the Wildcats' lone senior, with a share of the GNAC regular season title.
 
Quoting Head Coach Brandon Rinta
"You could tell our team was locked in tonight with how they played in the first half. That was as good of a first half as we have had all season. Our ability to move the ball and create for each other was fun to watch this weekend. Jordan and Cavin lead that charge again combining for 13 assists and only 3 TOs. Those two along with Maverick and Garrett were big from the three-point line tonight connecting on 14 threes. It was a fitting end to Mitch's last game here in Nicholson Pavilion. He has done so much for this program over the last four years. He has been a rock for us."

Notable Stats

• The Wildcats were led by Cavin Holden, who scored 22 points in the win. Holden also led in steals with three takeaways.
• Brizee was strong under the hoop, leading the team with seven rebounds, including four offensive boards.
• Jordan Clark moved the ball well as he led the 'Cats with eight assists.
• Central had five players who recorded double-digits in points including Holden, Maverick Sanders (18), Clark (14), Brizee (12), and Garrett Anderson (10).

First Half

• CWU started off the game with a strong statement, scoring nine straight points to open the contest.
• Saint Martin's finally got on the board and made a good attempt at closing the gap.
• The Wildcats, however, didn't lose their momentum as they continued to keep the Saints out of reach while also extending their lead.
• The first half presented a shooting gallery from the Crimson and Black as the 'Cats headed into halftime with a commanding 54-33 lead.

Second Half

• The second half began slowly for Central as Saint Martin's found a rhythm and began cutting into the lead.
• In the first 10 minutes of the half, the Saints proceeded to go on a 22-10 run and cut the Wildcats' lead down to eight with 9:27 remaining.
• CWU began to find its pace and hit six unanswered points to make it a 76-62 lead with 6:40 left.
• SMU continued to chip away at the lead with four points, but the 'Cats answered with a pair of three-pointers from Sanders and Clark, and then Clark hit a layup to make it an 18-point lead with 2:43 remaining.
• The Saints began to run out of steam as fewer shots connected, as Clark would hit a final dagger in the form of one more three-pointer with 34 seconds left and the Crimson and Black closed out the game, winning 87-70.

Up Next
The Wildcats head on their final road trip of the regular season, starting with a visit to their rivals, the Western Washington Vikings, on Thursday, Feb 27, and then closing out the regular season north of the border, taking on Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia on Saturday, Mar 1.