HONOLULU – The Western Washington University men's basketball team suffered a narrow 105-98 defeat in overtime against Emmanuel College (GA) Sunday during the second day of the Hoops in Hawai'i Holiday Classic at the Hawai'i Convention Center.

Senior guard Daniel Hornbuckle hit a game-tying three-pointer with just over 10 seconds remaining in regulation to push the game to overtime, but the Vikings were unable to carry the momentum into the extra period being out-scored by the Lions 16-9 over the final five minutes.

The Vikings (7-3) led by as many as 14 points midway through the first half, but back-and-forth second half featured eight lead changes and 13 tie scores. 

Emmanuel (6-5) went on a 12-3 run to start the overtime period and held off a late charge by WWU for the seven-point victory. 

Kelvin Jones entered the game ranked No. 2 in NCAA II averaging 25.3 points per game and showed his scoring prowess with a game-high 41 points on 10-for-19 shooting. Jones scored nearly half of his points from the free throw line, going 20-for-22. The Lions went to the free throw line 38 times in the game (32-for-38), compared to the 27 for the Vikings.

WWU featured four players scoring in double digits, led by 25 points from junior guard D'Angelo Minnis (7-for-12 FG, 5-for-7 3FG) and 20 points each from Hornbuckle and junior forward Jonathan Ned (8 rebounds). The Vikings shot 47.0-percent from the field (31-for-66) and were 13-for-32 (.406) from three-point range. Redshirt freshman forward BJ Kolly finished with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds before fouling with two minutes remaining in the second half. 

The Vikings raced out to a 13-3 lead and led by as many as 14 points 25-11 with just under 13 minutes remaining in the first half. The Lions chipped away at the deficit and did not hold a lead until Jones hit a pair of free throws with less than five seconds left in the half to give his team a 45-44 lead. Ned had 12 points and four rebounds at the break to lead the Vikings.

The Vikings (7-3, 1-0 GNAC) closes out play Monday in the Hoops in Hawai'i Holiday Classic taking on Hawai'i Pacific at 3:15 pm PT/1:15 pm HT. WWU will then return to GNAC play closing out the calendar year with road games at Western Oregon (12/29, 7 pm) and Saint Martin's (12/31, 5:15 pm). The complete 2022-23 WWU men's basketball schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Emmanuel College:

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2022-23 season:

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2022-23 season following the 105-98 overtime loss to Emmanuel College:

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 1,535 all-time victories. Head coach Tony Dominguez is in his 10th season and 11th year as the Vikings head coach (28th overall at WWU) and is listed in the top 20 amongst active NCAA Division II head coaches with a .670 winning percentage (189-93).