Dec. 2, 2005
Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Forward Brett Weisner (So., Spokane/Shadle Park) came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points as nationally ranked Western Washington University matched its largest point total since 1989-90, defeating Puget Sound Christian College, 133-56, on Friday in a non-conference men's basketball contest on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
The Vikings, ranked No.8 in this week's NABC Division II Coaches Poll, improved to 5-1 with their fourth consecutive victory. They tied the school record, set twice previously, by scoring 100 or more points in three consecutive games.
Puget Sound Christian, which fell to 5-8, was led by guard Chris Reichert, who had 16 points, 11 of them in the first half. Guard Ashley Robinson added 15 points for the Anchors.
Western never trailed, but led by just four, 13-9, five minutes into the game as Puget Sound Christian ran off six consecutive points. But the Vikings then scored 13 straight points in a two-minute span to take a 26-9 lead, and never looked back, also having 15-0 and 12-0 runs in the period, leading 70-22, at halftime.
Guard Ryan Diggs (Sr., Victorville, CA/Silverado) had 18 points for Western. Center Tyler MacMullen (Sr., Mukilteo/Kamiak) had 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots and hit 7-of-8 shots from the field. Forward Grant Dykstra (Sr., Everson/Lynden Christian) added 15 points and five assists, and forward Tyler Amaya (Sr., Mount Vernon) had 10 points and seven rebounds.
All 13 Western players scored as the Vikings shot 55.8 percent (53-of-95) from the field. Western had a 73-17 edge in rebounds, with reserve center David Brittinen (Fr., Hoquiam) having a game-high 11. The 73 rebounds were the most for the Vikings since the 1970-71 season.
Puget Sound Christian, which suited just six players, shot 27.0 percent (17-of-63) from the field.
Dykstra moved into seventh place in school history in career scoring with 1,353 points. Diggs has 1,306 points and is just four short of entering the career top 10.
The Vikings broke six Great Northwest Athletic Conference records, including those for points, rebounds and victory margin (77).
Western completes its five-game home stand Monday, Dec. 12 (7 p.m.), playing host to Eastern Oregon University.
Western men's basketball scores in bunches
MARK VINSON, THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Brett Weisner had always dreamed of a game like this.
Running the floor, shooting 3-pointers, even a dunk for good measure.
Christmas came a few weeks early for Weisner on Friday night, when he scored a career-high 23 points in just 22 minutes as the Western Washington University men's basketball team rolled past overmatched Puget Sound Christian 133-56 before a crowd of 890 at Haggen Court at Carver Gym.
"I was in a good position to do well," said Weisner, who scored 13 points in a 27-8 first-half run that removed any drama whatsoever.
Weisner's fastbreak layup with 11:12 remaining gave the Vikings (5-1) a 101-36 lead and it looked for a while that the school record of 141 points in a game - set in 1989 - might fall. The 133 points are the most since then and the fourth-most in the program's 102-year history.
"We didn't know," of the record, Weisner said.
WWU coach Brad Jackson likewise dismissed the lost shot at history. "If those things come, they come," said Jackson, who was in his third season at the school when WWU beat Northwest College 141-52 in 1989.
The game seemed something like a practice at times, with the Vikings shooting 68 percent in the first half and finishing with a 73-17 rebounding advantage.
Center Tyler MacMullen dominated the small Anchors inside on his way to 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in 18 minutes.
The Vikings scored in every way imaginable: in the paint (82 points), on the fast break (29), off turnovers (31), from 3-point range (33) and on offensive rebounds (36).
Weisner was one five Vikings in double figures and one of five to set career scoring highs. All 13 players scored for WWU, which topped the century mark for the third straight game. David Brittinen had a careeer-high 11 rebounds.
"It was an opportunity to get in a lot of guys in who work extremely hard in practice," Jackson said.
The Anchors (5-8), on the other hand, dressed just six players. Chris Reichert led with 16 points.
The Vikings take a 10-day break for final exams before returning to floor to face Eastern Oregon in a non-conference game on Dec. 12.
HIGH-SCORING VIKINGS
The highest scoring games in Western Washington University men's basketball history:
1989: WWU 141, Northwest College 52
1987: WWU 137, Sheldon Jackson (Ak.) 79
1989: WWU 134, Northwest 48
1990: WWU 133, Alaska Southeast 63
2005: WWU 133, Puget Sound Chr. 56
1988: WWU 133, Trinity Western 72
