ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team used a 22-3 run in the first half to build a double-digit lead and would never look back defeating rival Western Washington 82-60 Saturday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action inside Nicholson Pavilion.

After a slow-starting contest for both sides, a 3-point play by Xavier Smith tied the game at 10-10 with 12:23 remaining, jump-starting the 22-3 run that proved to be the decisive factor in the 22-point Wildcat victory.

WWU dropped to 13-7 overall with its third loss in the last four games, all on the road, and are now tied for 2^nd place in the GNAC standings with Northwest Nazarene at 8-4. Central recorded the weekend sweep also beating Simon Fraser on Thursday to improve to 12-8 overall and 5-7 in conference play. 

Smith led the Wildcats with a game-high 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and was 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Jeryn Lucas (12 points, 5 rebounds) and Marqus Gilson (10 points, 5 rebounds) also reached double-digits in scoring for CWU.

The Vikings had four players reach double-figures in scoring, led by 13 points from senior forwardTrevor Jasinsky. Sophomore guard/forward Jalen Green scored in double-digits for the 17^th time (out of 20 games) with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting (2-for-2 3FG). Senior forward Cameron Retherford (11 points, 6 rebounds) and senior center Logan Schilder (10 points, 7 rebounds) rounded out WWU's top performers. 

WWU was out-rebounded 35-29 and shot 41.5% from the field (22-for-53, 3-for-17 3FG). CWU scored 23 points off the Vikings 14 turnovers and shot 48.3% from the floor (29-for-60, 10-for-23 3FG).

Western was forced to use its seventh different starting lineup in 20 games due to injuries, with senior guard Siaan Rojas again not available. This was the third consecutive game with a different starting five. 

WWU (13-7, 8-4 GNAC) returns home next week to host the Alaska schools in Carver Gym, with Alaska Fairbanks visiting Bellingham on Thursday and Alaska Anchorage on Saturday. Both games tip-off at 7:00 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym. WWU is 9-2 in Carver Gym this season and 4-5 away from Bellingham.

WWU split the season series with CWU with each team winning at home. WWU defeated CWU 80-69 on Jan. 2 in Carver Gym. The Vikings have still won 6 of the last 8 in the series, but had a 3-game winning streak snapped tonight. Wester leads the series 19-6 over the last 25 games, but CWU holds the all-time series lead 157-104.

Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings through the games played on Saturday, with the Vikings remaining in a tie for 2^nd place in the conference with an 8-4 record.

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. WWU is the 12th winningest Division II program with its 1,507 victories.