ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team (7-7, 1-2 GNAC) used a huge first half to get its first win in conference play this season, defeating Northwest Nazarene (8-4, 2-1 GNAC) 75-63 on Saturday evening to begin the second half of the 2025-26 season.
 
Notable Stats

• Calvin Sisk earned player of the game after a phenomenal performance recording 18 points, eight rebounds, and seven blocks, while also shooting .800 on 10 shots from the field.
• Jordan Clark led the Wildcats, offensively, with 22 points, while recording five rebounds, and four assists.
• Bradley Swillie recorded 11 points, while leading the team with five assists and sharing a team-leading two steals alongside Clark, Eli Williams, and Xavier Kamalu-Vargas.
• Kamalu-Vargas, previously an assistant coach for the Wildcats earlier this season, rejoined the squad for his final year of eligibility and immediately made an impact, recording four rebounds, four assist, two steals, and four points.

 
First Half

• Central opened the game with a big statement, going on an 11-2 run before NNU could answer.
• The 'Cats kept the pressure on, soon taking a double-digit lead.
• The Nighthawks fought to cut down the lead, but CWU continued to find ways to score and kept the lead well out of reach.
• Clark used the last 2:03 in the half to put on a scoring-clinic, recording nine points to give the Crimson and Black a 44-22 lead going into halftime.

 
Second Half

• Northwest Nazarene opened the second half with a rush that saw the Nighthawks cut the lead down to 11 points with 12:15 remaining.
• The Wildcats found ways to answer the push and kept a steady feed of points to keep the lead comfortable.
• The Nighthawks fought hard to close the margin, but the shots continued to go in CWU's direction as well as the time expired with the Crimson and Black taking the decisive 75-63 victory to open 2026 on the right note.

 
Up Next
The Wildcats' home stand continues next week as they host the Alaskan schools starting on Thursday, Jan. 8 against the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks. Tip-off from Nicholson Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the CWU women's basketball game against Simon Fraser.