Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Senior guard Kyle Impero recorded a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds, but his potential go-ahead shot with less than 15 seconds remaining rimmed out in a 73-68 loss to Central Washington Thursday night in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball game at Whatcom Pavilion.

The Vikings (14-12, 8-9) dropped their fifth consecutive game to fall below the .500 mark in GNAC play at 8-9. Four of the five defeats during the losing streak have been by 5-or-fewer points. Central improves to 16-6 overall and 11-6 in conference play. The Wildcats snapped an 8-game losing streak in Bellingham, notching their first road win vs. the Vikings since Feb. 23, 2008.

"We had a chance, but obviously came up short," said head coach Tony Dominguez. "We've been on the good end of a lot of these games (with Central), it just didn't go our way tonight."

Western trailed by 10 points early in the second half at 43-33, but went on an impressive 10-0 run to pull even at 43-43. From there the game went back-and-forth down to the wire. The Vikings held a 60-59 lead with 6:43 remaining on three consecutive baskets by Trey Drechsel (RS Fr., Woodinville, WA/Cedar Park Christian). After the go-ahead layup, Drechsel was called for a technical foul call that led to a pair of made free throws and a 61-60 CWU lead.

Down by one point 69-68, Impero pulled up from the left wing for a mid-range jumper that went in-and-out. After a pair of CWU free throws, the Vikings last chance was cut short as Impero stepped on the sideline with 9-seconds remaining.

Impero (Everson, WA/Nooksack Valley/Whatcom CC) recorded his third career double-double (second this season) with a career-high 15 rebounds.

Sophomore Brad Wallace (Lacey, WA/River Ridge/North Idaho) scored a career-high 19 points in his first start of the season, with 11 of his points coming in the second half. Drechsel added 10 points in 35 minutes.

Central was led by a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) from Joseph Stroud (7-for-12 from the field) and 12 points from Naim Ladd.

The Vikings opened the game scoring the first seven points, but Central answered with a 19-9 run to take a 21-18 lead at the 8:02 mark. The Wildcats extended their lead to a five-point halftime advantage at 34-29. Impero nearly totaled a double-double in the first half with 9 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Jeffrey Parker (Richmond, CA/Salesian) also totaled 9 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field.

Eight CWU players scored points, led by 8 from Stroud. Both teams fell short of their high-paced offense in the first half, with the Vikings shooting 31.4% (11-for-35) and Wildcats 39.5% (15-for-38).

The Vikings return to action Saturday against Northwest Nazarene at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon (7:30 pm).

Notable: WWU was 6-for-16 from the free throw line...six seniors were honored before their final game in Bellingham: Blake Bowen, Kyle Impero, Mac Johnson, Harris Javier, Ricardo Maxwell and Colby Mitchell.