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BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- The 17th-ranked and Great Northwest Athletic Conference regulars-season champion Western Washington University men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 90-66 victory over Saint Martin's on Saturday at a sold-out Whatcom Pavilion.

The Vikings celebrated Senior Night for Jeffrey Parker and Taylor Stafford, with the duo combining for 46 points in the 24-point victory over the Saints. WWU ends the regular season with a 23-5 record and a 17-3 mark in GNAC play to secure the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament starting next week in Lacey, Wash., at Marcus Pavilion. WWU will play on Friday in the 7:30 pm game against the winner of the Saint Martin's (No. 4 seed) and Concordia (No. 5 seed) game.

"This was a special night for our team, sending out these two players on Senior Night," said head coach Tony Dominguez. "They (Jeffrey Parker and Taylor Stafford) are special kids. For them to achieve what they have so far makes us very happy for them."

Parker (Richmond, CA/Salesian) scored his 21 points on 8-for-19 shooting, including 3-for-10 from 3-point range. He is now 20 points short of the all-time WWU scoring mark with 1,824 career points, inching closer to Grant Dykstra's current school record of 1,844 points. He is also seven 3-pointers shy of the school record of 279 set by Jared Stevenson.

"It means a lot to win the conference championship this season, especially as tough as this season has been after losing my mother," said Parker, who lost his mother the day before preseason practices started. "I love basketball and the passion I have for the game kept me going this season. I knew she would have wanted that. The team has been so supportive with me through thick and thin. I really appreciate that and try to give my best for them."

Stafford (Chicago, IL/Evansville) capped his regular-season with a game-high 25 points, his 17th 20-point game of the season. He was 8-for-16 from the floor and 8-for-10 from the free throw line. Stafford will head into the GNAC tournament with a team-high scoring average of 22.1 points per game.

Junior forward Deandre Dickson (Easton, CA/Bakersfield College) tallied his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. He also recorded a team-high 3 blocked shots.

Junior guard Brett Kingma (Mill Creek, WA/Jackson) added 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting, hitting a pair of 3-pointers.

Overall the Vikings shot 46.8% from the field (29-62) and were 10-for-23 from 3-point range (43.5%). WWU heads into the postseason leading the league in scoring (88.8 points/game), field goal percentage (49.7%), 3-point FG percentage (41.2%) and free throw percentage (78.6%).

WWU controlled the game from the beginning, holding a 15-point halftime lead at 42-27 and grew the lead to a game-high 24 points to end the game. WWU did not hold a lead less than double-digits from the 10-minute mark in the first half through the end of the game.

The Saints were led by 16 points apiece from 7-foot center Fred Jorg (7-12 FG) and guard Cole Preston (5-12 FG). Jorg added 5 rebounds and a game-high 4 blocked shots. SMU shot 40.0% from the field (24-60), but were just 4-for-15 from 3-point range (26.7%).

After Saint Martin's opened the game with the first four points, the Vikings wasted little time taking control of the game, pulling away from a 6-6 game going on a 24-8 run to take a 30-14 lead. WWU would lead by as many as 17 points at 42-25 before SMU brought the game to the halftime score of 42-27.

Stafford (13 points) and Parker (10 points) led the way, as Western connected on 43.8% of its shots (6-for-15 3-pointers). Dickson added 8 points and 4 rebounds on the way to his fourth double-double of the season. Jorg led the Saints with 10 points (4-7 FG) and Copp had 7 points on 3-for-7 shooting. Overall SMU was limited to a 30.0% field goal percentage (9-30) and was 2-for-9 from 3-point range.

The second half was much of the same, as Western came out of the break on an 8-0 and led by at least 15 points the entire half. Stafford scored 12 of his game-high 25 points on 4-for-8 shooting, and Parker added 11 points. The Vikings shot 50.0% (15-30) in the closing half, and were 4-for-8 from 3-point range.

Next Up: The Vikings will be the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Tournament that begins Thursday with the first round games at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey, Wash. (Saint Martin's host)...WWU will have a first-round bye and will face the winner of the No. 4 seed (Saint Martin's) vs. No. 5 seed (Concordia) at 7:30 pm on Friday, March 3...complete GNAC Men's Basketball Championship schedule is as follows:

Game Notes: WWU finished the regular season winning 14 of last 16 games...claimed sixth GNAC regular-season title (4th outright)...head into the postseason with a 6-game winning streak...Jeffrey Parker is 20 points shy of the WWU career scoring record with 1,824 points...remains 9th in GNAC history in career scoring and 3rd with 272 career 3-point field goals...Taylor Stafford has scored 618 points, tied for 4th-most in a single-season in WWU history...WWU improved to 5-1 this season when wearing the "Caroline Blue" alternate uniform...WWU is currently ranked No. 17 (NABC) and No. 3 in the NCAA II West Region...WWU's bench out-scored SMU 36-19, with a 16-4 margin in the first half.