LACEY, St. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team survived a nail-biter of a game after defeating Montana State Billings 101-100 in double-overtime Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament, advancing the Wildcats to their second-consecutive conference championship game as they face the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Saturday evening.

Quoting Head Coach Brandon Rinta
"It's never a dull moment when CWU and MSUB play. We have had more games like that with them over the last seven years than any other GNAC team. Credit to them for the fight they showed last night and tonight. Mitch came up with the biggest game of his career when we needed him most today. He dominated so many areas. As a team we did a great job of taking care of the basketball and limiting their offensive rebounds. We had our chances to win it in regulation and the first overtime. I am so proud of how this team stuck together and found a way to win it in that second overtime."

Notable Stats

• Mitch Brizee had a career-game, leading the Wildcats in scoring with 25 points, and rebounds with 17, including nine offensive boards, recording his third double-double of the season.
• The 'Cats had five players who scored in the double-digits, including Brizee, Jordan Clark (22), Maverick Sanders (18), Cavin Holden (14), and Bradley Swillie (10).
• Holden led the team in assists with seven total.

First Half

• The Yellowjackets came out quick to start the game, getting to a 12-6 lead early on.
• The Wildcats came back to take the 20-19 lead with 10:04 left in the half.
• The teams spent the next five minutes trading points and the lead.
• Central caught a stride and scored eight-straight points to lead 39-31.
• MSUB fought back and chipped away at the lead as CWU responded and closed out the half with a 46-39 lead.

Second Half

• The 'Cats started the second half with a strong momentum as they turned a seven-point lead into a 15-point lead in the first five minutes of the half.
• The 'Jackets continued to fight and cut the lead down to 10 with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
• Central hit a surge and answered with seven points to make it 77-60 with 7:04 remaining.
• MSUB found a rhythm and responded with a 16-6 run to cut the lead down to seven with 3:02 left.
• CWU got four more points, but the Yellowjackets answered with 10 straight points to make it an 87-86 game with 12 seconds remaining.
• Clark hit a free throw to make it 88-86, but Kael Robinson was fouled with two seconds to go.
• Robinson hit both free throws and Holden got the ball at mid-court and heaved a last chance shot that fell short as the game would require extra frames to determine a winner.

First Overtime

• Both teams struggled to find a basket in the first two minutes of overtime, with only Holden and Brendon Johnson getting a mid-range shot for each team.
• Central got four free throws from Brizee and Clark to make it a 94-90 game.
• Robinson would show up again for the 'Jackets as he hit a layup to cut the lead to two with 2:07 remaining.
• For the next two minutes, neither team could make a basket as the Wildcats held the narrow lead.
• Then holding for the final shot, Robinson delivered again with a layup to tie it at 94-94 with two seconds left.
• Holden would get another long shot chance but missed, as we headed for a second overtime.

Second Overtime

• Clark opened the scoring with a three-pointer with 4:03 left to make it 97-94.
• Robinson again put MSUB within striking distance with a layup to trail by one.
• Again, the shots went cold for both teams as the Wildcats looked to use up as much time as possible.
• Then with 18 seconds left, Sanders was fouled and went to the free throw line and hit both to make it a three-point game.
• Johnson answered with a jump shot to make it a 99-98 game.
• Clark would be fouled next, and he responded by hitting both of his free throws.
• Robinson, who scored 30 points in the game, had one final chance with a put-back to make it 101-100, but Central reacted to the inbound quickly, getting the ball to Holden to make time expire before MSUB could foul again, as the Wildcats survived an instant classic to make a triumphant return to the GNAC title game against the Seattle Pacific Falcons.

 
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME INFORMATION
SATURDAY, 3/8/25, 5:00 P.M. vs SEATTLE PACIFIC
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ABOUT THE FALCONS
Seattle Pacific's postseason path has been a decisive one. The Falcons entered the first day of the GNAC tournament with momentum already built as they didn't take long to get the jump on sixth-seeded Alaska Fairbanks, leading the Nanooks by 14 points by the half and exploding for 46 points in the second half to obliterate UAF 81-47 to set up Friday's semifinal matchup against the waiting second-seeded Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks.

Both teams fought strong in the first half with NNU taking a two-point lead into halftime. The Nighthawks built on the lead for the first few minutes of the second half, leading by seven points. Then, the Falcons came alive and scored eight unanswered points to take the one-point lead. The teams fought over the lead for the next few minutes before SPU hit a three-pointer to make it 55-53 with 8:51 remaining and the Falcons never looked back, building on the lead and ultimately defeating NNU 73-68 to make the GNAC title between the Wildcats and Falcons for Saturday, March 8 at 5:00 p.m.

The Falcons were led by Mason Landdeck, who scored 24 points in the win. Julian Mora recorded 15 points behind Landdeck. Jaxon Nap led in rebounds with 11 total boards. Landdeck and Nap both led the team in assists with six each.