ARCATA, Calif. – The Western Washington University men's basketball program continued its early-season success with an 81-58 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday in the opening game of the West Region Crossover Classic in Lumberjack Arena.
The 23-point victory improved the Vikings to 3-1 on the season and gave 12th-year head coach Tony Dominguez his 200th career victory. Dominguez has been associated with Western basketball for nearly 30 years, but is in his 11th season as head coach recording a 200-104 record for a .658 winning percentage.
Junior guard Kai Johnson led WWU's balanced offensive attack that featured four players scoring in double digits. Johnson scored a game-high 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting, nearing a double-double with nine rebounds and adding two steals and a pair of assists.
Redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine poured in 14 points, going 9-for-9 from the free throw line, and sophomore forward BJ Kolly contributed 13 points. Senior forward Jonathan Ned rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Junior Nic Welp also hauled in eight rebounds.
The Vikings combined to shoot .481 for the game from the field (26-for-54), connected on 12 of 22 three-pointer attempts (.545) and were 17-for-21 from the free throw line. WWU never trailed in the game to earn the wire-to-wire victory in the season opener for Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Toros were paced by 14 points from Andre Ball and 10 from Jeremy Dent-Smith. WWU's defense limited Dominguez Hills to just 24-for-66 shooting (.364).
The Vikings (3-1) close out play in the West Region Crossover Saturday night against tournament host Cal Poly Humboldt (0-1) with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 pm. WWU's home opener is scheduled for Tuesday (Nov. 14) hosting Hawai'i Pacific with tip-off scheduled for 7 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Cal State Dominguez Hills:
|
COMPARISON
|
WWU
|
CSUDH
|
|
Points
|
81
|
58
|
|
Field Goal Pct.
|
.481 (26-54)
|
.364 (24-66)
|
|
3 Point FG Pct.
|
.545 (12-22)
|
.005 (1-20)
|
|
Free Throw Pct.
|
.810 (17-21)
|
.600 (9-15)
|
|
Rebounds
|
37
|
34
|
|
Offensive Rebounds
|
2
|
7
|
|
Assists
|
10
|
6
|
|
Turnovers
|
14
|
11
|
|
Steals
|
6
|
6
|
|
Blocked Shots
|
1
|
1
|
|
Time Led
|
38:33
|
0:00
|
|
Points off Turnovers
|
15
|
6
|
|
Points in the Paint
|
18
|
40
|
|
Bench Points
|
24
|
22
|
|
Fouls
|
20
|
20
|
|
Biggest Lead
|
27
|
0
|
|
Lead Changes: 0 Times Tied: 0
|
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:
|
RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall
|
3-1
|
|
GNAC
|
0-0
|
|
Non-Conference
|
3-1
|
|
Streak
|
W1
|
|
Home
|
0-0
|
|
Away
|
0-0
|
|
Neutral
|
3-1
|
|
vs. Ranked Teams
|
0-0
|
|
Leading at Half
|
3-0
|
|
Trailing at Half
|
0-1
|
|
Tied at Half
|
0-0
|
|
Overtime
|
0-0
|
|
BY UNIFORM
|
|
White
|
3-0
|
|
Black
|
0-0
|
|
Navy
|
0-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
0-0
|
One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 12 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 five years (and seven of 10) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is amongst the top 15 winningest Division II programs with its 1,546 all-time victories.
