ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team overcame a slow start and had four players reach double-figures in scoring that led the Vikings to a 73-65 victory over in-state rival Central Washington Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action in Nicholson Pavilion.

WWU fell behind 8-0 to start the game, but rallied to take a 34-31 halftime lead, and build a double-digit lead in the second half before ending with the eight-point victory over the Wildcats.

The Vikings improved to 9-7 overall and evened its conference record at 3-3. CWU had its two-game win streak snapped falling to 8-6 overall and 2-4 in GNAC play.

"It was a great team victory. It's always fun to win in Ellensburg," said WWU head coach Tony Dominguez. "We had some good ball movement and played smart. Central has been playing well as of late and I was pleased to see our effort after a tough loss Thursday night. We are always looking to grow as a team and this was a good one." 

Junior forward Trevor Jasinsky (Camas, WA) led the Vikings with 15 points, shooting 5-for-15 from the field and was 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Jasinsky added a game-high 8 rebounds.

Junior guard Tucker Eenigenburg (Bakersfield, CA/Bakersfield College) had the hot hand shooting, connecting on 4-of-7 shots and was 3-for-5 from 3-point range while scoring 13 points. Freshman Jalen Green (Renton, WA/Lindbergh) had a 12-point, 6 rebound performance and redshirt junior guard Leif Anderson (Bellingham, WA/Sehome) contributed 10 points and a career-high 5 assists.

The Wildcats were led by a game-high 18 points from Matt Poquette, who hit 6 of his 13 shots in 26 minutes of action. Jackson Price (14 points) and Gamaun Boykin (11 points) also reached double-digits in scoring.

The Vikings shot 41.8% from the floor for the game (28-for-67), including 48.4 percent in the second half (15-for-31)…WWU was out-rebounded 42-37, but had held a 9-3 edge in steals…Western was 11-for-28 form 3-point range (39.3%), including 6-for-15 (40.0%) in the second half.

Leading by three points at the half 34-31, the Vikings came out of the break on fire, scoring the first 7 points to take a 10-point lead at 41-31. Central climbed back into the game going on an 11-5 run to pull to within 2 points at the 13:23 mark in the second half. WWU answered with an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 8 points at 54-46. While leading 56-50, the Vikings all but put the game away with three consecutive 3-pointers, two byTucker Eenigenburg, to take their largest lead of the game at 14 points at 65-51.

The Vikings got off to a slow start, allowing the Wildcats to score the first 8 points of the game and trailed 10-2. But WWU went on a furious 16-4 run to gain a 4-point lead at 18-14. From there a back-and-forth affair ensued with four lead changes down the stretch. WWU extended its lead to 6 points at 34-28 following 5 consecutive points by Tucker Eenigenburg in the last minute of the half. CWU hit a last-second 3-pointer to pull to within 3 points at 34-31 heading into the break. Jalen Green (3-for-8 FG) and Trevor Jasinsky (2-for-7 FG) lead WWU, which shot 36.1 percent in the half (13-for-36, 5-for-13 3FG). CWU was led by 7 points from Jackson Price (3-for-3 FG), with the Wildcats shooting 46.7 percent in the half (14-for-30, 3-for-6 3FG).

WWU is 17-5 over the last 22 games in the series dating back to the 2009-10 season. CWU leads the all-time series 156-102.

The Vikings face a quick turnaround hosting Simon Fraser (7-7, 1-5 GNAC) on Tuesday in Carver Gym, with tip-off set for 7 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym. WWU will then take on Montana State Billings on Thursday in Carver Gym to complete a stretch of four games in eight days. Tuesday's game begins a stretch of four consecutive home games, and six of the next eight in Carver Gym. All GNAC games, home and road, will stream live and feature live statistical updates at GNAC.tv, with home games also streamed live on YouTube.

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings with all games completed on Saturday. WWU is tied for 5th place at 3-3 in GNAC play, with four teams tied for first at 5-1:

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. 

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 1,488 victories and a .591 winning percentage in program history. 

-- @WWUHoops --