Men's Basketball | 11/15/2018 10:00:00 AM

BELLINGHAM, Wash – The nationally-ranked Western Washington University men's basketball team continues its non-conference schedule with a pair of games at the SFU Showdown on Friday and Saturday in West Gym on the Simon Fraser University campus in Burnaby, BC.

The Vikings opened the season going 1-1 at the CCAA/GNAC Challenge last weekend in La Jolla, California, defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills 84-78 in the season opener and then falling to nationally-ranked and tournament host UC San Diego 97-92 on the Tritons home court.

WWU will play Minnesota State Moorhead (3-0) on Friday and Humboldt State (1-0) on Saturday, with both games tipping off at 5 pm. A live webcast and statistical updates will be available for both games with links available at GNAC.tv.

Junior forward Trevor Jasinsky was selected as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the opening week of the 2018-19 season…the 6-7 forward out of Camas High School scored 55 points in WWU's opening two games of the 2018-19 season…he averaged 27.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game, while playing 75 of 80 minutes in the two games…also selected to the five-player CCAA/GNAC Challenge All-Tournament Team…scored a career-high 32 points in the season-opening 84-78 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills (8-15 FG, 3-7 3FG, 13-13 FT), including 10 of the Vikings final 12 points in the 6-point victory…he backed that performance up with a 23-point, 5-rebound, 8-assist effort vs. UC San Diego.

Through the first two games of the season, the Vikings are shooting 45.6% from the field (57-for-125) and 38.7% from 3-point range (24-for-62)…connected on 74.5% of free throws (38-for-51)…Trevor Jasinsky leads the team averaging 27.5 points per game…four Vikings are averaging double-figure scoring, with Micah Winn (14.5), Cameron Retherford (12.5) and Siaan Rojas (10.5) joining Jasinsky…Rojas is WWU's leading rebounder averaging 9.0 boards per game…here is a look at where WWU ranks in the GNAC and in NCAA Division II.

WWU's first home games on WECU Court in Carver Gym will be next weekend (Nov. 23 and Nov. 24) when the Vikings host Canadian schools Capilano and Langara College in Bellingham…the Vikings will play just three non-conference home games before opening the 10-game GNAC home slate Jan. 3 hosting Seattle Pacific…WWU is 556-165 (.771) all-time in Carver Gym, including a 11-5 record last season…the complete season schedule with links to webcasts and live stats can be found at WWUVikings.com/MBB.

The Vikings opened the season ranked No. 14 in the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Preseason Division II Poll…the WWU men's basketball program has received a national preseason ranking in the coaches poll in six of the last seven seasons, and appeared in 101 regular-season polls since the 1999-2000 season…in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll, the Vikings are ranked No. 20 in the nation and No. 6 in the West Region…both polls are listed on the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball website.

The Vikings feature a new-look team for 2018-19, with five letterwinners returning from last year's team that finished 21-8 overall and 16-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference…junior forward Trevor Jasinsky (Camas, WA) and senior guard Siaan Rojas (Concord, CA/Santa Rosa JC) were both named to the GNAC Preseason All-Conference team as unanimous selections…Jasinsky is WWU's top returning scorer after averaging 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, while Rojas was WWU's sixth man last season, playing in all 29 games (one start), contributing 8.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game…senior co-captain guard Tyler Payne (Long Beach, CA/La Mirada/Cerritos College) appeared in 15 games as a backup point guard last season…senior 7-foot senior center Logan Schilder (Bellingham, WA/Whatcom CC) averaged 7.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 28 games last season, but is expected to utilize his redshirt season in 2018-19.

A host of exciting newcomers dot the Vikings 15-player roster…redshirt junior guards Leif Anderson (Bellingham, WA/Sehome), Micah Winn (Los Angeles, CA/Crenshaw/Cerritos College) and Elijah Cotton-Welch (Tacoma, WA/Wilson/Lower Columbia College), redshirt freshman guard RJ Secrest (Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap), junior college transfer forward Cameron Retherford (Portland, OR/Benson/Portland CC), sophomore forward transfer Luke Lovelady (Tacoma, WA/Life Christian/Point Loma), true freshman forwardJalen Green (F/G, Renton, WA/Lindbergh) and junior transfer guard Tucker Eenigenburg (Bakersfield, CA/Stockdale/Bakersfield College) are all new to the program and saw significant minutes during the preseason exhibition games…junior college transfer forward KJ Bosco (Portland, OR/Benson/Portland CC) did not see action in the preseason…true freshman point guard D'Angelo Minnis (Covington, WA/Kentwood) is a redshirt candidate for the 2018-19 season.

WWU will serve as the host for the 2019 GNAC Championships, with the top six teams in both the men's and women's conference standings at the end of the season qualifying for the tournament that will be held March 7-9 on WECU Court in Carver Gym. 

The Vikings are No. 4 in the annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Men's Basketball Poll, receiving 83 points in the vote of the conference's 11 head coaches…trails preseason favorite Saint Martin's (118 points), second-place Seattle Pacific (105 points) and third-place Western Oregon (94 points)...WWU opens the conference season Nov. 29 at Concordia in Portland.

The Vikings together another impressive season in 2017-18 finishing with a 21-8 overall record and a second-place finish in the GNAC at 16-4…WWU led the conference in scoring at 83.4 points per game, ranked 4th in NCAA Division II with 6.0 blocks per game and 13th nationally with a .774 free-throw percentage…marked the sixth 20-win season over the last seven seasons.

Head coach Tony Dominguez enters his seventh season at the helm of the program, and 24^th overall at WWU, leading the Vikings to a 133-51 record (.723)…over the last two seasons, WWU has combined for a 46-14 record and carries a streak of 11 consecutive winning seasons into the 2018-19 campaign…he is assisted by David Dunham (third season), 

Fans can follow the men's basketball team online at WWUVikings.com/MBB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball).

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 10 seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons, including a 25-6 record in 2016-17 where it won the GNAC regular season and conference championships title, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships as the No. 3 seed in the West Region. The program recently completed its 116^th season posting a 21-8 record in 2017-18, and have combined for 1,479 victories and a .591 winning percentage in program history.

-- @WWUHoops --