ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (19-7, 13-3 GNAC) heads out on one final road trip for the 2024-25 season, as the Wildcats head to Bellingham, Wash. to take on their rivals, the Western Washington Vikings (18-8, 10-6 GNAC) on Thursday, Feb 27, and then head across the border to pay a visit to the Red Leafs of Simon Fraser (9-17, 5-11 GNAC) on Saturday, Mar 1 in Burnaby, British Columbia.
 
GAME INFORMATION
THURSDAY, 2/27/25 at WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
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SATURDAY, 3/1/25 at SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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PREVIOUSLY FOR THE 'CATS
Central continued its successes this past weekend after defeating Western Oregon 89-69 on Thursday, Feb 20, and then marking an exclamation on the season in front of an ecstatic Nicholson Arena crowd with its 87-70 victory over Saint Martin's on Saturday, Feb 22, as the 'Cats clinched a share of the GNAC title on Senior Night honoring CWU's lone senior, Mitch Brizee. CWU only needs one more win to lock up sole possession of the GNAC regular season title.
 
The Wildcats were led by Garrett Anderson, who recorded 44 points over the weekend. Strong play from Brizee for his final set of appearances in Nicholson as he led the team in rebounds with 13 total boards. Cavin Holden and Maverick Sanders were key in takeaways with Holden recording four steals and Sanders recording five. There was no shortage of scoring from Central over the weekend with seven Wildcats scoring double-digits, including Anderson (44), Sanders (29), Holden (27), Jordan Clark (26), Brizee (20), Bradley Swillie (15), and Calvin Sisk (12).


ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Western started its conference slate in a rough position. After losing to Northwest Nazarene and the Wildcats in the first week of GNAC play, the Vikings lost three more games for a 0-5 conference start. Following that, however, WWU took off on a sprint, winning seven straight to turn its season around. The Vikings dropped a game against Seattle Pacific on Feb 8 but have answered with three more wins to enter this week at 10-6 in-conference.
 
The Vikings are led by Will Wilson, who has scored 408 points this season. Garrett Levesque excels at recovering the ball, leading in both rebounds with 167 and steals with 43. Grant Kepley moves the ball efficiently with 104 total assists. Trevor White is strong at guarding the hoop, recording a team-leading 29 blocks.
 
The Wildcats take on their rival Vikings on Thursday, Feb 27 in Bellingham, Wash. Tip-off from Carver Gym is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE RED LEAFS
Simon Fraser has seen a tough season. The Red Leafs have an overall record of 9-17 and a conference record of 5-11. SFU spent most of the season in ninth place but found some success in a pair of victories over Saint Martin's and Western Oregon, jumping to eighth place in the conference standings.
 
The Red Leafs have a strong leader in three of their statistics. Irish Coquia leads in scoring with 423 points, assists with 125, and steals with 39 takeaways. Luke Howard is strong under the hoop, leading in rebounds with 137 total boards. Matthys Van Bylandt rounds out the statistical leaders, guarding the hoop with 26 total blocks.
 
The Wildcats face the Red Leafs on Saturday, Mar 1 to close out the 2024-25 regular season in Burnaby, British Columbia. Tip-off from West Gym is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.