BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University junior Trevor Jasinsky hit three consecutive three-pointers down the stretch as the Vikings ended a 75-68 victory over No. 19 nationally-ranked Saint Martin's scoring 10 consecutive points to knock off the first-place Saints in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action Saturday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 8-6 overall and evened its mark in GNAC play at 2-2. Saint Martin's suffered just its second loss of the season and had its eight-game winning streak snapped to drop to 10-2 on the season and took its first loss in conference play at 3-1. 

 

WWU trailed Saint Martin's 66-59 with 5:08 remaining in the game, but went on a 16-2 run and held the Saints without a field goal the rest of the game to secure the victory.

 

Jasinsky (Camas, WA) recorded a monster 25-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead all players in scoring. The junior scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half, including 11 over the final 4:16. Prior to draining three consecutive 3-pointers, starting at the 2:07 mark to tie the game at 68-68, Jasinsky was 0-for-5 from 3-point range. Jasinsky has now recorded a conference-best eight 20-point games and is averaging 19.7 points per game (24.0 ppg in 4 GNAC games).

 

Junior forward Cameron Retherford (Portland, OR/Benson/Portland CC) tied his season high with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting, scoring 12 points in the second half.

 

Freshman Jalen Green (Renton, WA/Lindbergh) recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while making his third career start.

 

The Saints had four players reach double-figures in scoring, led by 16 points each from EJ Boyce (4-for-9 FG) and Chandler Redix (7-for-14 FG).  

 

"We felt like we had a lot of momentum early in the season, and had a tough trip to Hawai'i, but I am really proud of how the guys stuck with it and got a big win tonight. We fought through some tough shooting in the first half, and the second half was a great confidence booster for the guys. I thought Trevor Jasinsky was excellent down the stretch, putting the team on his back with those three straight three-pointers," said head coach Tony Dominguez.   

 

Following  dunk by SMU's Tavian Henderson at the 5:08 mark, the Vikings trailed the Saints by seven points at 66-59. Jalen Green hit a pair of free throws to spark the Vikings to a 16-2 run to finish the game. Green hit a pair of free throws at the 3:44 mark to cut the deficit to 67-65, and after a SMU free throw, Trevor Jasinsky started his shooting barrage with the first of his three consecutive 3-pointers at the 2:07 mark. WWU held Saint Martin's without a field goal over the final five minutes of the game.  

 

After shooting 31.0 percent in the first half (9-for-29), the Vikings caught fire in the second half shooting at a 50-percent clip connecting on 13-of-26 shots. The strong second-half shooting performance lifted the Vikings to a 40.0-percent mark for the game (22-for-55).  

 

The Vikings dominated the boards out-rebounding the Saints 48-26, including a 15-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. For the season the Vikings are the top rebounding team in the conference averaging 40.1 rebounds per game (Concordia is 2^nd at 37.2 rebounds/game).  

 

WWU continued its solid free throw shooting by connecting on 24-of-26 free throws vs. the Saints. Trevor Jasinsky was 10-for-10 from the free throw line and freshman Jalen Green was 7-for-8. WWU leads the GNAC with a season free throw percentage of 79.0 (218-for-276).

 

The Vikings opened the second half on a 7-0 run in the first two minutes to take a four-point lead at 37-33. After starting the second half slow, Saint Martin's heated up going on a 16-2 run over a 3:36 stretch to take a 10-point lead at 49-39 with 12:56 remaining. WWU responded with a 13-5 run, including 8 straight points byCameron Retherford, to pull to within two points at 54-52 with 8:44 remaining

 

Despite shooting 31.0 percent in the first half, the Vikings rallied at the end of the first half to trail by just three points at 33-30. WWU was 9-for-29 from the field and 2-for-13 from 3-point range (15.4%), but hit all 10 of its free throw attempts to stay close with the Saints. SMU pulled away from a 9-9 tie by going on a 7-0 run to take a 16-9 lead and used an 8-2 run that ended at the 5:18 mark to take a 28-21 lead. Western made it a one possession game going into the half by going on a 9-5 run. Trevor Jasinsky led the Vikings with 8 points, led by 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Luke Lovelady added 6 points on 3-for-5 shooting and Leif Anderson chipped in 5 points on 2-for-5 shooting. Saint Martin's started shot 44.4% in the first half (12-for-27), including 6-for-14 from 3-point range. Chandler Redix led all players with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting (2-for-4 3FG).

 

 

 

 

The Vikings return to the road next week with a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests. WWU opens the week on Thursday, Jan. 10, at Northwest Nazarene (8-2, 3-1 GNAC) in Nampa, Idaho, with tip-off set for 7:30 pm MT/6:30 pm PT. The Vikings will then head to Ellensburg for the annual rivalry game vs. Central Washington (7-5, 1-3) on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 pm inside Nicholson Pavilion. Both games from the road can be followed live online via webcast and statistical updates at GNAC.tv.

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings with all games completed on Saturday:

 

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 1,487 victories and a .591 winning percentage in program history.

 

-- @WWUHoops --