SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (22-10) saw its season end in the second round of the NCAA West Regional, falling to Cal State Dominguez Hills (27-5) by a score of 65-77 Saturday evening at the Golden Gymnasium in San Diego, Calif.
 
Quoting Head Coach Brandon Rinta
"That was the best team we have played all year. That's what you expect in the second round of the National Tournament though. In order to beat them, we needed to keep them off the offensive glass and we did not do that tonight. We didn't help ourselves by having our worst FT shooting performance of the year as well.
It was an honor to coach this group of young men this season. They had a very special blend of competitiveness and character. That is rare to find at this level of basketball.
We are going to miss Mitch and what he brings. He is what we refer to as an 'everyday guy'. He shows up every day with a great attitude and has been the ultimate team player. Very proud of the leadership he displayed in his Senior season. The program is in a better spot now than when he stepped into it, and he had a lot to do with that."
 
Notable Stats

• Cavin Holden led the 'Cats in scoring with 16 points.
• CWU had four players recorded double-digits in scoring, including Holden, Mitch Brizee (14), Bradley Swillie (11), and Garrett Anderson (10).
• Brizee and Swillie shared the lead in rebounds with six boards each.
• Holden also led in assists with six total.
• Swillie led the team in steals with four takeaways.

First Half

• Both teams started the game battling and exchanging the lead, keeping the score within two points for the first five minutes.
• The Toros got the first edge of the game, getting a five-point lead with 14:36 left in the half.
• CSUDH held the lead until 10:34 remaining when Calvin Sisk hit a layup to tie the game at 18-18.
• The teams returned to a closely battled game as neither gave an inch for a while.
• Then with 6:14 left, Dominguez Hills hit another stride and spent the next three minutes building a 12-point lead.
• Central flipped the momentum though, scoring 11 unanswered points to close the half trailing 35-36.

Second Half

• CSU Dominguez Hills took back the momentum to start the second half, scoring nine points and holding a seven-point lead.
• Brizee hit a layup to make it 40-45, but then the teams went cold as neither team hit a shot for almost two minutes.
• The Toros hit a layup and restarted their drive as they built the lead to eight points with 10:25 remaining.
• Dominguez Hills kept the pressure up and started to build a strong lead, getting to 69-51 with 4:43 left in the game.
• Central cut the lead down to 12 points with 3:13 remaining, but the Toros began to lock in a steady flow of scoring and finished the game with a 12-point lead, as Cal State Dominguez Hills concluded Central Washington's 2024-25 season with a 77-65 victory.

 
Your Wildcats
Congratulations to the Central Washington Wildcats men's basketball team for an amazing season, culminating in the school's first regular season crown since 2011. The coaches and players have had a remarkable season that will be remembered for years to come. Until next season, Go Cats!