March 10, 2017

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - An 11-0 run by Chico State to end the first half proved to be the costly difference as the No. 3 seed Western Washington University men's basketball team was upset by No. 6 seed Chico State 96-83 Friday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II West Regional played at RIMAC Arena on the UC San Diego campus.

The Vikings led by as many as 6 points midway through the first period, but a prolonged 25-8 run by Chico State to end the first half proved to be too much to overcome. After trailing by a season-high 11 points at halftime, WWU faced a deficit of double-digits for most of the second half to have its season come to an early end. The Vikings finished 25-6 overall and won both the regular-season and tournament titles in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Chico State improves to 24-7 on the season and will advance to the semifinals of the West Regional where they will Hawai'i Pacific tomorrow at 5 pm. Hawai'i Pacific beat Sonoma State 73-61 in the other quarterfinal game in the first session of the NCAA II West Regional.

Western's lone seniors, guard Taylor Stafford (Chicago, IL/Evansville) and Jeffrey Parker (Richmond, CA/Salesian) led the Vikings in scoring with 24 and 16 points, respectively. Junior forward Deandre Dickson (Easton, CA/Bakersfield College) had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in 18 minutes off the bench. Sophomore center Logan Schilder (Bellingham, WA/Whatcom CC) recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Schilder also had a game high 3 blocked shots.

"We just were not clicking on all cylinders today, and that is frustrating as a coach," said head coach Tony Dominguez, the GNAC Coach of the Year. "Chico State did a great job and were very physical. We just didn't play the way we have all year. It just wasn't our day. We got in some foul trouble and that played into their big run at the end of the first half and that was tough to overcome."

Parker capped his illustrious career as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,867 points, the 7th-most by a player in GNAC history. He also finished 2nd in WWU history 277 career 3-pointers, two short of the WWU record of 279.

"Western as a phenomenal experience...a place I'll remember where I put in a lot of hard work," said Parker. "I feel like I gave this program, the school, all the students and my teammates everything that I had both mentally and physically. I was challenged at every level at Western, I've just grown so much as a man and appreciate it."

Chico State junior forward Isaiah Ellis led the Wildcats with 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Entering the season with only 21 3-pointers, Ellis was 4-for-4 in the game from beyond the arc (all in the first half). Jalen McFerren (16 points), Marvin Timothy (12 points), Michael Bethea Jr. (11 points) and Nate Ambrosini (11 points) rounded out the five Wildcats to reach double-figures in scoring. Overall the Wildcats shot 42.9% from the field (27-for-63), but were 13-for-26 (50.0%) from 3-point range.

The Vikings were held below their season average shooting percentage (49.5% entering the game) at 44.6% for the game (29-for-65) and were just 6-for-24 (25.0%) from 3-point range. After opening the game 5-for-6 from 3-point range in the first 10:30 of the game, WWU went just 1-for-18 the rest of the game from long distance. WWU also went 19-for-28 (67.9%) from the free throw line, well below the season average of 78.8% entering the game.

The Vikings were dealt their biggest halftime deficit of the season at 11 points (47-36), with Chico State going on an 11-0 run to end the half. WWU held a 6-point lead at 28-22 with 9:34 remaining, but the Wildcats went on a 25-8 run over the remainder of the half. With the game tied 36-36 with 3:08 remaining, the Wildcats ended the half going on an 11-0 run. Parker (8 points) and Dickson (7 points) lead the Vikings. Ellis led Chico State with 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting, going 4-for-4 from 3-point range.

Chico State grew its lead to as many as 16 points in the second half, and led by double-digits for all but a few possessions. Stafford scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half, going 6-for-9 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free throw line.

Game Notes: The Vikings finished the season 25-6, tied for the 8th-most wins in a season in program history...the NCAA appearance was the eighth for the program since joining the Division II level in 1998-99...marks only the second time in 8 trips to the tournament to not win an NCAA contest (also 2008-09)...WWU had three players foul out (Hommes, Dickson, Jasinsky) for the first time this season (previous high was two players at Alaska Anchorage)...Taylor Stafford finished the season averaging 22.8 points per game, the 2nd-best single-season scoring average in program history (Mike Franza, 25.6, 1972-73)...Stafford set the single-season points mark in WWU history with 706 points...Jeffrey Parker finished his career with 1,867 points, the most in WWU history and 7th-most in GNAC history...WWU finished the season averaging 88.1 points per game, 7th-best in program history...also had the 7th-best field goal percentage (49.3) and the 6th-best 3-point field goal percentage (40.1%/282-for-703)...most 3-point field goals made in program history (old record was 275 in 2005-06)...free throw percentage of 78.3% (564-for-720) is 3rd-best dating back to the 1986-87 season.