BILLINGS, Mont. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team fought back from a double-digit deficit, but fell just short in a 94-90 loss Saturday evening in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action in Alterowitz Gym.

WWU trailed by as many as 17 points midway through the first half, but battled back to trail by just four points at the half. The Vikings faced another double-digit deficit in the second half, but climbed back to within one possession and had a chance to tie the game with 8-seconds remaining.

The loss, Western's fifth in the last six games, moves the Vikings to 12-13 overall and 6-9 in GNAC play.

Playing its final home game of the season on Senior Night, MSUB shot 48.4% from the field (30-for-62) and were 13-for-29 from 3-point range to improve to 13-11 overall and 8-8 in GNAC play.

Already playing without two starters due to injury, the Vikings also had to deal with foul trouble vs. the Yellowjackets with starting point guard Tyler Payne and starting forward KJ Bosco both fouling out while playing limited minutes.

Junior forward Cameron Retherford stepped up scoring a career-high 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting, also going 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Junior guard Micah Winn added 19 points off the bench, going 7-for-16 from the field and 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Junior guard Leif Anderson added 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting (3-for-4 3FG) and junior forward Trevor Jasinsky scored 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Jasinsky is now 6 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his career.

MSUB had five player reach double-figures in scoring, led by 20-point games from Zack Rollins (22 points), Brendan Howard (20 points) and Tyler Green (20 points). Green was 6-for-12 from the field and 4-for-8 from 3-point range, while Rollins was 7-for-15 shooting and 5-for-11 from 3-point range.

The Vikings and Yellowjackets played a close second half, with both teams locked in a high-scoring pace scoring 49 points each. Twice the Vikings cut the deficit to two points, early in the half at 47-45 and 60-58. After the Vikings pulled to within two points at 60-58, MSUB went on a 10-2 run to extend its least to 10 points and later led by as many as 12 points in the second half. WWU climbed back to within one possession at 83-80 after a 10-2 run, but Zack Rollins hit back-to-back 3-pointers to help 'Jackets pull away slightly. Leif Anderson and Micah Winn hit a pair of late 3-pointers, but a game-tying attempt on a 3-pointer by Trevor Jasinsky wouldn't fall to help seal the 4-point MSUB victory. Anderson scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, while Jasinsky had 10 points.

The Vikings found themselves in a 17-point hole trailing 31-14 at the 8:06 mark in the first half. The Yellowjackets built their lead going on a 27-10 run, pulling away from a 4-4 tie. The run included a 17-1 spurt in which MSUB scored 14 consecutive points. WWU whittled away at the deficit, and ended the first half on a 13-5 run to pull to within four points at 45-41 heading into the half. Micah Winn hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to trim the deficit to four points, giving him 10 points in the half. Cameron Retherford led all players with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting. MSUB had three players in double-figure scoring in the half, led by 12 points apiece from Zack Rollins and Brendan Howard. The 'Jackets shot 51.6% (16-for-31), compared to 40.0% (12-for-30) by the Vikings.

The Vikings return to the road next week with their annual Alaskan road trip, beginning with Alaska Anchorage on Thursday (Feb. 21) at 7 pm AKT/8 pm PT. WWU will then take on Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday (Feb. 23) at 2 pm AKT/3 pm PT. Both games will stream live via GNAC.tv.

MSUB recorded back-to-back wins and a season sweep of the Vikings for the first time in program history…MSUB defeated WWU 81-72 in overtime on Jan. 17 in Carver Gym…WWU still leads the all-time series 23-8, including a 10-5 mark in Alterowitz Gym on the MSUB campus.

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through Saturday's games:

Here are the scores from the four additional GNAC games played across the conference footprint 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. Tickets are now on sale for the GNAC Basketball Championships via GNACHoopTickets.com.

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 1,491 victories and a .590 winning percentage in program history. 

-- @WWUHoops --