LANGLEY, B.C. – Powered by a perfect shooting night from sophomore forward BJ Kolly and a big second-half run the Western Washington University men's basketball team opened the 2023-24 season with an 83-72 victory over Daemen University at the DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic inside the Langley Events Centre.

WWU (1-0) trailed late in the first half 39-38, but Tijan Saine was fouled on a last-second three-point attempt and his two free throws gave the Vikings a 40-39 lead at the break. Western carried that momentum into the second half going on an early 13-2 run to build a 53-41 lead and never trailed the rest of the way for the 11-point victory.

Daemen (Amhurst, NY), which entered the season receiving votes in the NABC national coaches poll, answered with a 9-2 run to pull to within five points at 68-63 with 6:49 remaining, but the Vikings would not let the Wildcats get any closer scoring eight consecutive points to pull away for the win.

Kolly was a perfect 9-for-9 shooting from the floor to lead all Vikings with 20 points and added six rebounds and three blocked shots. Junior transfer guard Will Wilson added 16 points and six rebounds, senior forward Jonathan Ned had 13 points and five boards and junior guard Kai Johnson contributed 12 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. WWU shot 50.9-percent from the floor (29-for-57) and were 20-for-26 from the free throw line.

Daemen (0-1) was led by a game-high 23 points by Joey Atkins (11-for-16 FG), 15 points and four assists from Justin Glover and 13 points and eight rebounds by Justin Hemphill. 

The back-and-forth, fast-paced game featured 13 lead changes and eight tie scores, all coming in the first half.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Daemen from Friday's season opener:

The Vikings (1-0) continue play in the DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic with the second of three games this weekend on Saturday taking on St. Edward's (1-0) at 10:15 am inside the Langley Events Center. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

The Vikings are one of six men's teams participating in the DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic co-hosted by Simon Fraser University and the Langley Events Centre in Langley, British Columbia. WWU is one of three GNAC teams in the men's bracket joining Seattle Pacific and the host Red Leafs. Below is information on how to follow the games live and in person for the three-day tournament running Friday-through-Sunday:

• Tournament Central
• Ticket Information
• Pay-Per-View Webcast 
• Live Stats
• Langley Events Centre

The Vikings have now won 14 of their last 15 season-opening games, including a 2-0 start last season defeating Cal Poly Humboldt (104-95) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (94-69) at the GNAC/CCAA Challenge in Burnaby, BC.

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 1,543 all-time victories. Head coach Tony Dominguez enters his 11th season and 12th year as the Vikings head coach (29th overall at WWU) and is listed in the top 20 amongst active NCAA Division II head coaches with a .657 winning percentage (198-103).