BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team opens the 18-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule this weekend hosting Simon Fraser University on Saturday with a 3 pm game on WECU Court in Carver Gymnasium.

 

The Vikings carry a 6-3 overall record and a two-game winning streak into the conference opener vs. the Red Leafs. WWU is listed No. 10 in the West Region poll and was picked to finish 4th in the Preseason GNAC Coaches Poll.

 

WWU is among the top scoring teams in the nation with a high-powered offense that features five players averaging double-digits in scoring and ranking in the top 20 in the nation averaging 90.3 points per game as a team.

 

Saturday's border battle against Simon Fraser (2-7) is the second game of a six-game homestand in Carver Gym for the Vikings. From November 25 through January 20, 2024, the Vikings will play eight of 10 games at home.

 

Junior guard Kai Johnson leads the GNAC and ranks in the top 35 in the nation averaging 21.2 points per game, followed by junior guard Will Wilson at 15.4 points per game. Senior forward Jonathan Ned is averaging 12.2 points per game and ranks second in the conference averaging 2.0 steals per game. Sophomore forward BJ Kolly is one of the top field goal percentage leader in the GNAC and is averaging 11.9 points and 1.0 blocked shots per game.

 

Following the GNAC opener vs. SFU, Western will host a pair of games to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule against Langara College (Dec. 9) and George Fox (Dec. 17). The complete 2023-24 WWU men's basketball schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/23-24_MBB.

 

 

The Vikings lead the GNAC and rank 18th in the nation averaging 90.3 points per game. WWU has reached the 100-point mark in back-to-back games defeating Azusa Pacific 100-90 on November 18 and against Douglas College in a 122-61 victory on November 25. 

 

Western features a high-powered offense with five players averaging double-digits in scoring, led by GNAC scoring leader Kai Johnson averaging 21.2 points per game. Junior guard Will Wilson (15.4), senior forward Jonathan Ned (12.2), sophomore forward BJ Kolly (11.9) and redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine (11.2) are also in double-digits scoring for the season.

 

The Vikings enter the week ranked No. 10 in the D2CSC (College Sports Communicators) West Region poll with six votes. WWU moved up to No. 10 after receiving votes last week. 

 

Through the first nine games of the season junior guard Kai Johnson has scored 191 points, a mark that led all of NCAA Division II entering the week. Johnson leads the GNAC and ranks 32nd nationally averaging 21.2 points per game, scoring in double-digits in all nine games this season, with six 20-point performances. Johnson is filling up the stat sheet also averaging 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocked shots per game, while shooting 56.4-percent from the field (66-for-117).

 

Senior forward Jonathan Ned has reached the 1,000 point milestone for his collegiate career spanning three different schools. Ned began his collegiate journey in the junior college ranks scoring 612 points in 63 games for East Florida State College. After two seasons at the University of Georgia (23 points in 14 games), Ned landed in Bellingham where he has scored 387 points in 37 games (10.5 points/game).

M🏀| We want to congratulate Jonathan Ned of @WWUHoops on passing the 1,000-point milestone for his career spanning East Florida State College, University of Georgia and 37 games with the Vikings. Spanning 114 career collegiate games, Ned has scored 1,022 points! Congrats JNed! pic.twitter.com/DIBLaVLYua
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) November 29, 2023
  

The Vikings are one game into a stretch of six consecutive home games on WECU Court in Carver Gym. From November 25-January 20, WWU will play eight of 10 games inside Carver Gym. WWU is 1-1 in home games so far this season.

 

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:

 

 

WWU leads the all-time series vs. Simon Fraser 61-28 with a 19-5 record in the 24 meetings since the Red Leafs joins the NCAA level in 2010-11. SFU has won four of the last seven meetings dating back to the end of the 2018-19 season, with Western winning the eight games from 2015-19. WWU swept the season series a year ago defeating SFU 75-61 on Burnaby Mountain and 90-79 at home on Senior Night in Carver Gym.

 

The Vikings will have a trio of team captains for the 2023-24 season, with junior guard Kai Johnson, sophomore forward BJ Kolly and senior guard Darius Gary serving as the team leadership.

 

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season heading into Saturday's GNAC opener vs. Simon Fraser:

 

 

Head coach Tony Dominguez is in his 12th season at the helm of the program, and 29th overall at WWU. Dominguez has led the Vikings to a 203-106 record (.657) and was the 2016-17 GNAC Coach of the Year. He is assisted by AJ Albritton (3rd season), Bob Hofstetter (11th season) and Atiavo Jude (11th season).

 

WWU head coach Tony Dominguez recorded his 200th career head coaching victory at the helm of the Vikings with the 81-58 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills on November 10 in Arcata, California. Dominguez is 203-106 in his 11 seasons (12 years) since taking over in 2012-13, a .657 winning percentage. He has been associated with WWU Basketball for nearly the last 30 seasons.

 

Here is a look at the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll leading into the 2023-24 season with the Vikings listed 4th in a vote of the conference's 10 head coaches:

 

 

Fans wishing to purchase season tickets for the 2023-24 season can call the WWU Box Office at (360) 650-BLUE (2583) to reserve their seats for the upcoming season. The complete season schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

 

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 1,549 all-time victories.