Oct. 30, 2015
Box Score
ANAHEIM, Calif. - The No. 15 Western Washington University Men's Basketball team opened the 2015-16 season with a 95-84 win over the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Friday afternoon at the Conference Commissioner's Association Division II Tip-Off Classic in Anaheim, Calif.
The Vikings (1-0) were led by 27 points and 8 assists from senior point guard Ricardo Maxwell (Cincinnati, OH/Withrow/Edmonds CC). Junior forward Jeffrey Parker (Richmond, CA/Salesian) added 23 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 50% from the field (8-for-16).
"This was a nice way to start the season and play the way we like to play," said fourth-year head coach Tony Dominguez. "We have faced some adversity early in the season with some injuries and being off campus, so this was a confidence booster."
Western shot 50.0% from behind the three-point line (11-of-22), including 5 three-pointers from Brett Kingma (RS So./Mill Creek, WA/Jackson/Oregon) in his Vikings debut. Maxwell contributed a trio of three-pointers and senior Kyle Impero (Everson, WA/Nooksack Valley/Whatcom CC) was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Impero was the fourth Viking to finish with double-digits in scoring with 14 points.
"Pretty balanced effort from our guys and Ricardo (Maxwell) did a nice job directing the team from the point," said Dominguez. "He controlled the tempo in the second half and we didn't panic. Our guys should feel good about how they played."
The Mountain Lions (0-1) were led by 25 points from senior forward Alex Welsh and 21 points from senior guard Kendall Godley. UCCS advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament last season and were ranked as high as No. 2 in the country in 2014-15.
Western trailed 37-36 at the end of the first half with each team shooting 46.9% from the field (15-for-32). Parker and Godley each led their team with 11 first-half points.
The Vikings built a small lead to open the second half and led 54-51 at the 11:07 mark before going 13-4 run. Back-to-back three-pointers by Maxwell and Kingma started the run and helped swing the momentum to WWU.
Maxwell scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half and Kingma was 3-for-5 from behind the three-point line.
"Brett did a not job on shot selection and was able to learn from the exhibition game, and that was important," added Dominguez.
The Vikings continue play in the Disney Tip-Off Classic with two more games this weekend, tomorrow vs. Upper Iowa (11:15 am) and Sunday vs. 9th-ranked Minnesota State Moorhead (6:15 pm). Tomorrow's game vs. Upper Iowa will be carried live on KPUG AM 1170.
-- www.WWUVikings.com -
Viking Jam:
The annual basketball kickoff party Viking Jam for both the men's and women's basketball teams will be held Thursday, November 5th at 7 pm on MAC Gym Court in the Campus Recreation Center on the WWU campus. An entertaining night of slam dunks, 3-point shooting and fan interaction is planned for both the Men's and Women's Vikings squads.
Plan Ahead for Tickets:
The Vikings will play a majority of their home games this season on the Whatcom Community College Campus due to the state-of-the-art renovation of the Carver Academic Facility and historic Carver Gym on the WWU campus. Students with a Viking Territory Pass are encouraged to redeem their pass for each game at the WWU Box Office located in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center (PAC). Student pass redemption will only be available at WCC if tickets are available. All fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance by calling the WWU Box Office (360-650-BLUE). We cannot guarantee tickets will be available for purchase at the door on game days.
