Men's Basketball | 11/5/2018 12:20:00 PM

BELLINGHAM, Wash – The Western Washington University men's basketball team officially opens the 2018-19 season this weekend with a pair of games at the CCAA/GNAC Challenge in RIMAC Arena on the UC San Diego campus in La Jolla, California.

The Vikings open the season Friday playing Cal State Dominguez Hills with tip-off at 5:30 pm and then takes on the host Tritons at 7:30 pm on Saturday night. Both games will feature a live webcast and statistical updates with links available at WWUVikings.com/Live. Simon Fraser is also representing the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in the tournament.

WWU has been selected to finish fourth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll and enters the season ranked No. 14 in the NABC NCAA Division II Preseason Poll. UC San Diego is ranked No. 24 in the preseason national poll.

WWU continues its preseason road trip to start the season next week, crossing the border for the Madness on the Mountain hosted by Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC…the Vikings will play Minnesota State Moorhead on Friday, Nov. 16 and Humboldt State on Saturday, Nov. 17…both of WWU's games in the tournament will tip-off at 5 pm in West Gym on Burnaby Mountain.

In preparation for the 2018-19 season, the Vikings played three exhibition scrimmages…during the non-counting games,Micah Winn (20.3), Trevor Jasinsky (19.3), Siaan Rojas (15.0), Leif Anderson (13.3) and Jalen Green (10.0) averaged double-digits in points…Rojas was the leading rebounder with 8.0 boards per game, and Jasinsky recorded the most blocks (4) and assists (9).

Based primarily on last season's 21-8 record, the Vikings are listed No. 14 in the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Preseason Division II Poll…WWU is also listed No. 7 in the Division II Bulletin Preseason rankings…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.

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 forward Jalen 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. 

WWU's first home games on WECU Court in Carver Gym will be Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 when the Vikings host Canadian schools Capilano and Langara College to 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 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 --