Nov. 19, 2011
Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Guard John Allen (Jr., Brier/Mountlake Terrace) scored a game-high 19 points as Western Washington University slipped past Dominican University of California, 74-69, in a non-conference men's basketball game Saturday at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.
It was the third straight victory for the Vikings, who improved to 5-1. Forward Zach Henifin (Sr., Bellingham) added 13 points for WWU.
Dominican, which fell to 0-5, was led by the 12 points and seven rebounds of reserve center Jacob Noisat. Guard Mark Lewis and forward Derek Ober each had 11 points.
The Vikings, who held a 40-34 lead at halftime, scored just five points in the first eight minutes of the second half, allowing the Penguins to take a 48-45 lead on an Ober three-pointer with 12:06 to play.
Dominican was still up, 54-52, with a little over nine minutes left, but the Vikings took the lead for good, 56-54, on a Paul Jones (Jr., Kent/Kent-Meridian) jumper with 8:26 remaining.
The gap never exceeded eight points the rest of the way, and the Penguins had a chance to tie late, but Myles Carrillo's open three-pointer with 14 seconds left hit the front of the rim and kicked off.
WWU's Dane Thorpe (So., Bellingham/Sehome) grabbed the rebound and then hit two free throws with nine seconds left for the final margin.
Guard Rico Wilkins (Jr., Dallas, TX/DeSoto) had 12 points off the bench for WWU, and center Chris Mitchell (Jr., Everson/Nooksack Valley) added 10.
Forward Rory Blanche (Sr., Ashland, OR) had eight points and a game-high seven rebounds, but had his streak of double-figure scoring games was snapped at 23.
It was Western's second victory of the season over Dominican. The Vikings defeated the Penguins, 74-61, in their season opener at the West Coast Disney Classic on Nov. 4.
WWU entertains nationally No.3-ranked Brigham Young University-Hawaii on Monday (7 p.m.), Nov. 21.
