BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Jalen Green hit a fall-away jump shot with just over one second remaining in the game to give the Western Washington University men's basketball team a 90-88 victory over rival Central Washington Saturday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
 
Green scored 17 of his career-high-tying 25 points in the second half, with 11 over the final six minutes of play to help lead the Vikings to the come-from-behind two-point victory. With the game tied 88-88 with just over 30 seconds remaining, Green took the ball near the top of the key with six seconds left, made two dribbles to his left, and hit a step-back jumper for the game winner. CWU had one last shot with 1.3 seconds on the clock, but a halfcourt shot went over the basket to send the Vikings to victory.
 
WWU trailed by as many as 12 points midway through the first half, but strung together several lengthy runs to hold a lead for the majority of the second half. The game featured nine tie scores and 11 total lead changes.
 
The victory improved Western to 10-6 overall and evened its Great Northwest Athletic Conference mark at 3-3. WWU is 9-2 at home this season and extended its Carver Gym winning streak over the Wildcats to 12 consecutive games. CWU had its three-game winning streak snapped (had won 7 of last 8) to drop to 11-4 overall and 5-3 in GNAC play.
 
Green added a game-high 12 rebounds for his fourth career double-double. The junior guard/forward was 12-for-17 shooting in his second consecutive 25-point performance.
 
Junior guard Daniel Hornbuckle contributed 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting with five 3-pointers and senior forward Luke Lovelady had 15 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Also reaching double-figures in scoring was junior guard Lucas Holden (10 points) and sophomore guard D'Angelo Minnis (10 points). Minnis dished out a season-high eight assists and also had two steals.
 
CWU was led by a game-high 32 points from senior guard Xavier Smith (11-for-17 FG) and 14 points by Matt Poquette.

M🏀 | JAAAALEN!!! WOWWW!!#WeAreVikings x #GoViks pic.twitter.com/CSEXnDRltf

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) January 30, 2022

  The Vikings (10-6, 3-3 GNAC) continue its current stretch of four consecutive home games hosting Alaska Anchorage Monday night at 7 pm in on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
  Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and CWU from Saturday's game:
 

COMPARISON	WWU	CWU
Points	90	88
Field Goal Pct.	.500 (33-66)	.525 (32-61)
3 Point FG Pct.	.450 (9-20)	.462 (6-13)
Free Throw Pct.	.714 (15-21)	.857 (18-21)
Rebounds	35	27
Offensive Rebounds	11	6
Assists	14	11
Turnovers	15	14
Steals	7	5
Blocked Shots	3	2
Time Led	14:58	19:55
Points off Turnovers	13	11
Points in the Paint	36	42
Bench Points	18	11

With the Vikings down 76-74 with six minutes remaining, WWU went on a 9-3 run with Jalen Green scoring seven of those points to take a four-point 83-79 lead. A 7-1 CWU run, capped by a 3-pointer from Amari Stafford put CWU up 84-83. Not to be outdone, Daniel Hornbuckle answered with a 3-pointer to put the Vikings up 86-84 with 1:16 remaining.

  The 90-88 victory marked WWU's second consecutive two-point win, and seventh overall game decided by two-or fewer points (4-3 record). The Vikings suffered back-to-back one-point losses to Cal Poly Humboldt and Cal State Dominguez Hills to open the season and a two-point 82-80 overtime loss to Simon Fraser. Western defeated Lindenwood 60-58 in Las Vegas, Alaska Fairbanks 94-92 on January 8 and Northwest Nazarene 83-81 on Thursday.
  The game featured 11 lead changes (nine in the second half) and nine tie scores (eight in the second half). Each team had a scoring run of at least 10 points in the game, with WWU going on a 11-0 spurt late in the first half and CWU scoring 10 consecutive points spanning the end of the first half and beginning of the second half.
  The Vikings trailed by as many as 12 points midway through the half at 31-19 with 11:06 remaining, as CWU started off hot from the field hitting 12 of its first 16 shots. WWU chipped away at the double-digit deficit going on an 11-2 run and pulled to within one point at 35-34 following a 15-4 spurt. Trailing 41-36, Daniel Hornbuckle hit three consecutive 3-pointers and WWU went on an 11-0 run to take a six-point lead at 47-41. The Wildcats ended the half on an 8-0 run over the final two minutes to take a 49-47 halftime lead.
 
Luke Lovelady led the Vikings with 15 points on 4-for-4 shooting (7-for-8 free throws) and Hornbuckle had 12 points on four 3-pointers. WWU shot 47.1% in the half (16-for-34) and were 6-for-12 from beyond the arc.
 
Xavier Smith led all players with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and David Thompson added 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting. The Wildcats finished the first 20 minutes 18-for-29 from the field (62.1%) and were 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
  Jalen Green scored 17 of his career-high-tying 25 points in the second half on 8-for-11 shooting, also grabbing six rebounds. WWU was 17-for-32 from the field over the final 20 minutes (.531) while out-scoring CWU 43-39. Xavier Smith matched his 16 points from the first half to finish with 32 points.
  WWU has now won seven of the last nine games in the rivalry series dating back to the 2016-17 season and has a 12-game winning streak over the Wildcats inside Carver Gym. The Vikings last loss to the Wildcats in Carver Gym was February 23, 2008. CWU maintains the all-time lead in the rivalry series 157-105, which dates back to the first meeting in 1908.
  Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings following play on Saturday, with the Vikings moving into a tie for sixth place at 3-3 in league play.
 

MEN'S BASKETBALL	CONF	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
Saint Martin's	6-2	.750	13-4	.765	8-1	4-3	1-0	Won 2
Central Washington	5-3	.625	11-4	.733	5-0	5-3	1-1	Lost 1
Alaska Anchorage	3-2	.600	8-4	.667	5-0	2-4	1-0	Lost 1
Montana State Billings	4-3	.571	8-9	.471	5-6	1-2	2-1	Won 1
Seattle Pacific	5-4	.556	12-8	.600	7-1	2-5	3-2	Won 2
Western Washington	3-3	.500	10-6	.625	9-2	0-2	1-2	Won 2
Simon Fraser	3-3	.500	8-6	.571	5-1	2-4	1-1	Lost 2
Northwest Nazarene	3-3	.500	5-6	.455	3-1	2-4	0-1	Lost 1
Western Oregon	2-5	.286	3-12	.200	2-2	1-7	0-3	Lost 6
Alaska Fairbanks	1-7	.125	4-10	.286	1-1	1-7	2-2	Lost 3
SATURDAY'S  GNAC SCHEDULE
at Western Washington 90, Central Washington 88 Saint Martin's 89, at Western Oregon 67 at Seattle Pacific 91, Alaska Anchorage 59 at Montana State Billings 73, Alaska Fairbanks 64 Northwest Nazarene at Simon Fraser (Postponed)

  The ever-changing 2021-22 WWU Men's Basketball Schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/21-22_MBB, complete with links to purchase tickets and live coverage links for webcast and live stats.

  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 three of the last four years (and seven of nine) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is the 12th winningest Division II program with its 1,524 all-time victories.