SEATTLE, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team turned its potent offense up to another level Saturday in a 100-90 victory over Azusa Pacific University at the GNAC/PacWest Challenge in Royal Brougham Pavilion.
Western got back in the win column to improve to 5-3 on the season with five players reaching double figures in scoring. Senior forward Jonathan Ned tied for the game high with 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting, adding four steals and three rebounds. Junior guards Kai Johnson (6-for-11 FG) and Will Wilson (6-for-12 FG) each had 19 points and redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine contributed 16 points. Sophomore forward BJ Kolly rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
WWU led by as many as 17 points late in the second half, but APU rallied to trail by only four points with one minute remaining in the game after going on a 19-6 run. The Vikings held off the comeback sealing the game at the free throw line, where the team combined to go 31-for-40 from the charity stripe.
APU (1-3) was led by 20 points from guard Bryce Sloan (8-for-14 FG) and 17 points each from George Reidy and Ken West.
The Vikings (5-3) return home to play their next six games on WECU Court in Carver Gym, a stretch of home games that runs from November 25 through January 6. WWU hosts Douglas College next Saturday at 1 pm in a non-conference game starting at 1 pm. 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 APU:
|
COMPARISON
|
WWU
|
APU
|
|
Points
|
100
|
90
|
|
Field Goal Pct.
|
.483 (29-60)
|
.413 (31-75)
|
|
3 Point FG Pct.
|
.458 (11-24)
|
.318 (7-22)
|
|
Free Throw Pct.
|
.775 (31-40)
|
.778 (21-27)
|
|
Rebounds
|
32
|
51
|
|
Offensive Rebounds
|
5
|
20
|
|
Assists
|
14
|
7
|
|
Turnovers
|
12
|
19
|
|
Steals
|
12
|
8
|
|
Blocked Shots
|
6
|
1
|
|
Time Led
|
35:45
|
2:47
|
|
Points off Turnovers
|
28
|
18
|
|
Points in the Paint
|
28
|
38
|
|
Bench Points
|
13
|
25
|
|
Fouls
|
24
|
29
|
|
Biggest Lead
|
17
|
3
|
|
Lead Changes: 4 Times Tied: 2
|
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:
|
RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall
|
5-3
|
|
GNAC
|
0-0
|
|
Non-Conference
|
5-3
|
|
Streak
|
W1
|
|
Home
|
0-1
|
|
Away
|
1-0
|
|
Neutral
|
4-2
|
|
vs. Ranked Teams
|
0-0
|
|
Leading at Half
|
5-0
|
|
Trailing at Half
|
0-3
|
|
Tied at Half
|
0-0
|
|
Overtime
|
0-0
|
|
BY UNIFORM
|
|
White
|
4-2
|
|
Black
|
1-0
|
|
Navy
|
0-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
0-0
|
SERIES HISTORY VS. AZUSA PACIFIC
The Vikings avenged last season's 86-72 loss on the road with Saturday's victory in Seattle…WWU evened the season series at 3-3 all-time with the Cougars.
Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following Saturday's game vs. APU at the GNAC/PacWest Challenge with games played on the Seattle Pacific University campus inside Royal Brougham Pavilion:
|
Record: 5-3 GNAC: 0-0 Home: 0-1 Away: 1-0 Neutral: 4-2
|
|
Date
|
Opponent
|
|
Score
|
Top Scorer
|
Top Rebounder
|
|
11/3
|
vs. Daemen (Langley, BC)
|
W
|
83-72
|
Kolly (20)
|
Kolly/Wilson (6)
|
|
11/4
|
vs. St. Edward's (Langley, BC)
|
W
|
97-93
|
Johnson (22)
|
Welp (12)
|
|
11/5
|
vs. Hawai'i Hilo (Langley, BC)
|
L
|
93-82
|
Wilson (23)
|
Welp/Morrow (7)
|
|
11/10
|
vs. Cal St. Dom. Hills (Arcata, CA)
|
W
|
81-58
|
Johnson (22)
|
Johnson (9)
|
|
11/11
|
@Cal Poly Humboldt (Arcata, CA)
|
W
|
95-69
|
Johnson (27)
|
Welp (6)
|
|
11/14
|
Hawai'i Pacific
|
L
|
83-67
|
Johnson (23)
|
Ned/Wilson (6)
|
|
11/17
|
vs. Concordia Irvine (Seattle, WA)
|
L
|
92-86
|
Johnson (23
|
Ned/Kolly (5)
|
|
11/18
|
vs. Azusa Pacific (Seattle, WA)
|
W
|
100-90
|
Ned (20)
|
Tate (9)
|
|
11/25
|
Douglas College
|
|
|
1:00 pm
|
|
|
12/2
|
Simon Fraser GNAC
|
|
|
3:00 pm
|
|
|
12/9
|
Langara College
|
|
|
3:00 pm
|
|
|
12/17
|
George Fox
|
|
|
3:00 pm
|
|
|
1/4
|
Western Oregon GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
1/6
|
Saint Martin's GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
1/11
|
@MSU Billings GNAC
|
|
|
5:15 pm MT
|
|
|
1/13
|
@Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
|
|
4:15 pm
|
|
|
1/18
|
Alaska Anchorage GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
1/20
|
Alaska Fairbanks GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
1/25
|
@Central Washington GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
1/27
|
@Norrthwest Nazarene GNAC
|
|
|
3:30 pm MT
|
|
|
2/1
|
@Saint Martin's GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
2/3
|
@Western Oregon GNAC
|
|
|
2:00 pm
|
|
|
2/8
|
Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
2/10
|
MSU Billings GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
2/15
|
@Alaska Fairbanks GNAC
|
|
|
7:30 pm AKT
|
|
|
2/17
|
@Alaska Anchorage GNAC
|
|
|
5:15 pm AKT
|
|
|
2/22
|
Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
2/24
|
Central Washington GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
3/2
|
@Simon Fraser GNAC
|
|
|
7:30 pm
|
|
|
GNAC Basketball Championships – March 7-9 in Ellensburg, WA (Nicholson Pavilion)
|
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 1,548 all-time victories.
