BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team opened its four-game preseason schedule with the annual Blue-White Scrimmage Sunday afternoon on WECU Court in Carver Gym.
 
The Vikings split their active 15-player roster into two teams, with the white squad beating the blue squad 104-95.
 
Redshirt freshman BJ Kolly led all players scoring 28 points on 12-for-17 shooting to lead the White team to the nine-point victory. Kolly, a product of Mariner High School in Everett, also added six rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.
 
Freshman guard Tijan Saine contributed 23 points and three assists and redshirt sophomore forward Isaac Morrow had 18 points (7-for-8 FG) and eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Nic Welp recorded a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double on 6-for-11 shooting. Junior guard D'Angelo Minnis had six assists.
 
The blue squad nearly overcame an 11-point halftime deficit, out-scoring the white squad 46-44 in the second half. Senior guard Daniel Hornbuckle led the blue team with 23 points on 7-for-15 shooting (4-for-9 3FG) and sophomore guard Kai Johnson filled the stat sheet with 22 points (10-for-15 FG), seven assists and three steals. Junior Jonathan Ned recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, also leading players with three blocked shots.
 
The Vikings play their first exhibition game Wednesday hosting Lincoln University at 7 pm in Carver Gym. Lincoln is led by NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton as its head coach.
 
The complete 2022-23 WWU men's basketball schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/22-23_MBB.   WWU hosts the first of three exhibition games on Wednesday (Oct. 26) hosting the Gary Payton-led Lincoln University Oaklanders at 7 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym. Advance tickets are available online at wwuvikings.com/Tickets or at the Carver Gym Box Office starting at 6 pm on Wednesday.   Fans wishing to purchase season tickets for the 2022-23 season can call the WWU Box Office at (360) 650-6103 to reserve their seats for the upcoming season.
  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 2012 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 1,528 all-time victories.