ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team clinched a season sweep over rival Central Washington with a 97-86 road victory over the Wildcats Tuesday evening in GNAC play inside Nicholson Pavilion.

The Vikings were clicking on all cylinders in the 11-point victory over CWU, shooting 54.1% for the game (40-for-74) and doubling up the Wildcats with a 46-23 advantage in rebounds.

WWU improved to 12-8 on the season and evened its conference mark with its first true road win of the season. The Vikings return home to the friendly confines of Carver Gym taking their 10-2 home record into three consecutive games on WECU Court beginning against Western Oregon Thursday evening. CWU dropped to 12-6 overall and 6-5 in GNAC play, suffering just its second home loss of the season (6-2).

In a battle of the top two scoring teams in the conference, it was the Vikings that caught fire early, held off an early second-half CWU run and then poured it on late for the decisive victory. WWU led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but Central cut into the deficit with a half-spanning 14-2 run to pull to within two points at 46-44 with 18:38 remaining. A key three-pointer by D'Angelo Minnis swung the momentum back to WWU and the Vikings never looked back leading the remainder of the way.

WWU's balanced offensive effort featured four players scoring in double-figures, led by 26 points from Minnis on 10-for-18 shooting (19 in the second half). Junior guard/forward Jalen Green returned to the starting lineup after missing two games with a knee injury putting up a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. 

Junior guard Daniel Hornbuckle continued his consistent season with 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting and senior forward Luke Lovelady neared a double-double with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Junior shooting guard Lucas Holden hit a trio of second-half three-pointers and senior guard RJ Secrest added six points and 10 rebounds.

CWU was led by 19 points from Xavier Smith and 17 points from David Thompson. The Wildcats shot 50.0% from the field (34-for-68) and were 9-for-19 from 3-point range.

The Vikings led by as many as 17 points at 31-14, going on a 21-3 run after trailing 11-10 at the 14:56 mark. WWU maintained a double-digit lead throughout the half until CWU went on a 7-0 spurt over the final minute to cut the Western lead to seven points at 44-37 at the half. The Vikings shot 51.4% in the first 20 minutes (19-for-37) and out-rebounded the Wildcats 26-11 (7-1 offensive rebounds). Jalen Green had 10 points and eight rebounds, with Daniel Hornbuckle adding 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting. CWU was led by 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting by Xavier Smith.

CWU came out of the halftime break extending its run to 14-2 to cut the lead to two points at 46-44, but D'Angelo Minnis hit a 3-pointer to stall the momentum and the Wildcats would not get closer than three points the rest of the way. Four three-pointers over a three-minutes stretch for the Vikings, including a pair by Lucas Holden, put the Vikings up 76-62 with just under 10 minutes remaining. A dunk by Dakota Ayala with 5:14 remaining capped a 9-0 run to put the Vikings up 20 virtually sealing the game. Minnis scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, going 8-for-12 from the field. The Vikings were 21-for-37 from the field (56.8%) and were 7-for-11 from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes.

Makeup from originally scheduled game on December 30 that was postponed due to health and safety protocols within the WWU program…Jalen Green returned to the starting lineup after missing both games last weekend in Alaska with a knee injury…in two games vs. CWU this season Green recorded a pair of double-doubles going for 46 points and 24 rebounds…over his last four games D'Angelo Minnis has combined for 104 points (26.0 ppg)…the +25 rebound margin (46-23) was the largest in a GNAC game for the Vikings since holding a 50-25 (+25) advantage over Concordia early in the 2017-18 season.

CWU opened the second half on a 7-2 run to pull to within two points at 46-44 with 18:40 remaining. After a WWU timeout, D'Angelo Minnis hit a 3-pointer to put the Vikings back up 49-44. The Vikings gradually extended the lead, capped by 14-point run that featured four three-pointers to take a 76-62 lead (9:31 remaining).

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and CWU from Tuesday's game:

The Vikings earned the series sweep over the Wildcats also winning 90-88 on January 29 in Carver Gym…second season sweep in the last three years for WWU over CWU (last in 2018-19)…Western has won eight of the last 10 games in the rivalry series dating back to the 2016-17 season…CWU leads the all-time series 157-106, which dates back to the first meeting in 1908, but WWU holds a 33-16 advantage since WWU moved to NCAA Division II (1998-99 season)…WWU is now 6-5 in its last 11 trips to Nicholson Pavilion in Ellensburg.

While the regular-season conference champion and seeing for the GNAC tournament will be decided on a new points system, here is an updated look at the league standings following Tuesday's game. View the conference schedule, scores, stats and updated standings at GNACSports.com.

Following a three-game road trip to Alaska and Ellensburg, the Vikings (12-8, 5-5 GNAC) return to the friendly confines of Carver Gym for the final three home games of the season. WWU hosts Western Oregon (Thursday, 2/10), Saint Martin's (Saturday, 2/12) and Montana State Billings (Monday, 2/14) with all games featuring a 7 pm tip-off. Saturday will be Senior Night for the Vikings with Dakota Ayala, Luke Lovelady and RJ Secrest honored prior to the game. Tickets for all home games are available in advance at wwuvikings.com/MBB_Tickets and  live webcast and statistical updates will be available for all three games with direct links at wwuvikings.com/Live.

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 1,526 all-time victories.