BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team opened a new decade with an 11-point win over rival Central Washington, 80-69, Thursday night in front of 1,185 fans at WECU Court in Carver Gym.
The Vikings improved to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action with the double-digit victory over the Wildcats (7-4, 0-3 GNAC). WWU has won five of its last six games, including a current three-game winning streak.
Senior forward Trevor Jasinsky led all players with 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting, connecting on 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Jasinsky scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half, helping stretch the lead to as many as 21 points midway through the half. The senior added 3 steals and 2 blocked shots to go with 5 rebounds.
Sophomore guard RJ Secrest tallied his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, going 3-for-5 from the field and perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
Senior guard Siaan Rojas added 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots to fill up the stat sheet.
WWU showed why they are one of the top 15 shot blocking teams in the nation, recorded a season-high 10 blocked shots. Senior center Logan Schilder had 4 blocks to give him 118 in his career moving into 6th place in WWU history.
"This was a fun game. I thought the team did a nice job after the break once we got past that early part of the game," said WWU head coach Tony Dominguez. "We buckled down and we played some pretty good defense, and did a good job defending their key guys tonight."
The Vikings overcame a slow start trailing 10-1 at the 15:28 mark in the first half, but used a quick 9-0 run to pull even. A driving layup by Jasinsky at the 9:37 mark gave the Vikings a 15-13 lead and they would lead the remainder of the game.
Overall WWU shot 44.1% (26-for-59) and were 12-for-26 (46.2%) from 3-point range. Western limited the Wildcats to a 39.1% shooting percentage (25-for-64) and 3-for-12 from 3-point range.
The Wildcats had three players reach double-figures in scoring, led by 18 points from Davon Bolton on 5-for-10 shooting. Micah Pollard (11 points, 4-for-6 FG) and Matt Poquette (10 points, 3-for-7 FG) also scored in double-digits.
Here are some facts and figures from the 80-69 victory over CWU:
· Trevor Jasinsky led all scorers with 20 points, his fifth 20-point performance of the season.
· Jasinsky moved into 16th place in WWU history for points scored with 1,265, passing Shelton Diggs (1,251) and Richard Woodworth (1,262).
· WWU reached double-digits in blocked shots (10) for the first time since recording 12 blocks in the 2017-18 season opener vs. Notre Dame de Namur.
· Logan Schilder tied his season high with 4 blocked shots and now has 20 blocks this season to tie Jalen Green for the team lead.
· Schilder move into 6th place in WWU history with 118 career blocked shots.
· RJ Secrest recorded his first career double-double, scoring 13 points on a career-high 10 rebounds…he just missed his career-high in points (14 at SFU, 12/3/19) and doubled his previous high in rebounds (5, 2x).
WWU (7-4, 2-1 GNAC) continues its homestand hosting Northwest Nazarene on Saturday at 7 pm in Carver Gym. The game can be followed via live webcast at GNAC.tv.
The Vikings have won six of their last seven games in the rivalry series vs. the Wildcats, including a current three-game winning streak. WWU has now won 11 consecutive games vs. the Wildcats in Carver Gym and 12-1 in home games vs. CWU since the 2008-09 season. Tonight's win gives the Vikings a 19-5 record in the last 24 games in the series. The Wildcats maintain the all-time lead in the series 156-104.
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 1,501 victories.
