BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University sophomore Jalen Green had a career night with a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double to lead the Vikings to a seventh consecutive victory in a 82-66 triumph over Concordia on Thursday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
The Vikings improved to 11-4 overall and remained in 2nd place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 6-1 league record. WWU has won seven consecutive games and nine of their last 10 games. Concordia dropped to 2-13 overall and 1-6 in GNAC play.
The Vikings overcame some adversity during the week to record the 16-point victory over the Cavaliers, with the WWU campus closed three out of the last four days due to a winter storm that hit Whatcom County. The Vikings were limited to one practice prior to Thursday's game vs. Concordia.
But WWU responded with a seventh consecutive victory led by the double-double from Green and a 16-point, 8-rebound performance from senior guard Siaan Rojas. Senior forward Cameron Retherford added 11 points and a career-high 4 blocked shots and redshirt freshman guard D'Angelo Minnis tallied 11 points.
Green recorded career-highs in both points (24) and rebounds (13) to record his third career double-double, his first of 2019-20. The sophomore was 7-for-11 from the field and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. He also had 3 assists, 3 blocked shots and one steal.
WWU recorded a season-high 11 blocked shots, increasing its league-leading mark to 5.1 blocks per game.
Concordia was led by a game-high 25 points form junior guard Hunter Sweet, who was 9-for-16 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Caleb Larson added 10 points on 3-for-10 shooting and was 2-for-4 from 3-point range. First-year head coach Rodrick Rhodes was ejected from the contest after receiving his second technical foul early in the second half.
The Vikings shot 42.6% from the field (20-for-47) and were 39-for-50 from the free throw line. The 50 free throw attempts are the most by a WWU team in a GNAC contest. WWU's defense limited Concordia to a 29.4% mark from the floor (20-for-68) and 8-for-31 (25.8%) from 3-point range.
WWU (11-4, 6-1 GNAC) remains at home to host Western Oregon (9-3, 3-3 GNAC) on Saturday, with tip-off at 7 pm in Carver Gym.
SERIES HISTORY VS. CONCORDIA
WWU leads the all-time series vs. the Cavaliers 9-2, including a 7-2 record in GNAC play since 2015-16. Teams split games last season with each earning a road victory. The Vikings have won six of the last seven over the last three seasons.
Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings through the games played on Thursday:
|
MEN'S BASKETBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
7-0
|
1.000
|
11-4
|
.733
|
3-3
|
8-0
|
0-1
|
Won 11
|
|
2.
|
Western Washington
|
6-1
|
.857
|
11-4
|
.733
|
8-2
|
3-1
|
0-1
|
Won 7
|
|
3.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
4-3
|
.571
|
11-7
|
.611
|
7-3
|
2-2
|
2-2
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
4-3
|
.571
|
5-10
|
.333
|
3-1
|
1-2
|
1-7
|
Lost 2
|
|
5.
|
Western Oregon
|
3-3
|
.500
|
9-3
|
.750
|
5-1
|
1-2
|
3-0
|
Lost 1
|
|
|
Simon Fraser
|
3-3
|
.500
|
10-5
|
.667
|
5-1
|
0-2
|
5-2
|
Lost 2
|
|
7.
|
Montana State Billings
|
3-4
|
.429
|
8-7
|
.533
|
4-1
|
2-5
|
2-1
|
Won 2
|
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
3-4
|
.429
|
6-6
|
.500
|
4-3
|
2-3
|
0-0
|
Won 2
|
|
9.
|
Central Washington
|
2-5
|
.286
|
9-6
|
.600
|
6-3
|
1-3
|
2-0
|
Won 1
|
|
10.
|
Saint Martin's
|
2-6
|
.250
|
4-13
|
.235
|
2-6
|
2-3
|
0-4
|
Lost 9
|
|
11.
|
Concordia
|
1-6
|
.143
|
2-13
|
.133
|
2-3
|
0-5
|
0-5
|
Lost 1
|
|
Thursday's GNAC Games
home team listed in bold
|
|
Western Washington 82, Concordia 66
Northwest Nazarene 83, Alaska Fairbanks 75
Montana State Billings 96, Saint Martin's 67
Central Washington 84, Alaska Anchorage 50
|
Fans can follow the men's basketball team online at WWUVikings.com/MBB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball). You can also get game updates by following the @WWUAthletics Twitter.
One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 11 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 20-win seasons in two of the last three years, 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. WWU is the 12th winningest Division II program with its 1,505 victories.
