LANGLEY, B.C. – Playing its third game in as many days, the Western Washington University men's basketball had its perfect start to the season spoiled in a hard-fought 93-82 loss against the University of Hawai'i Hilo Sunday morning to complete play in the DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic.
The Vikings trailed by as many as 32 points late in the first half and were down 58-32 at the half before staging a great second-half comeback. Western outscored the Vulcans 50-35 in the second half and used an extended 26-11 to run to pull to within single-digits before falling by 11 points.
Western opened the season 2-1 at the DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic with wins over Daemen (83-72) and St. Edward's (97-93) with all three games played at the Langley Events Centre.
In Sunday's loss to Hilo, junior guard Will Wilson led the Vikings with 23 points on 6-for-14 shooting, including 4-for-7 from beyond the three-point arc. Redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine poured in a career-high 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting and junior guard Kai Johnson completed a solid opening weekend with 19 points. Junior Nic Welp and senior Isaac Morrow tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.
The Vulcans completed a perfect weekend in Langley going 3-0 and were led Sunday by a game-high 27 points by Carlos Ramsey Jr. and 17 points by Charles Elzie III. UHH combined to shoot 51.6-percent from the floor (32-for-62), while holding WWU to 39.7-percent (27-for-68).
Redshirt freshman guard Jordan Tate and redshirt junior forward Liam Clark made their WWU debuts Sunday in reserve roles.
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Hawai'i Hilo
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COMPARISON
|
WWU
|
UHH
|
|
Points
|
82
|
93
|
|
Field Goal Pct.
|
.397 (27-68)
|
.516 (32-62)
|
|
3 Point FG Pct.
|
.333 (7-21)
|
.333 (6-16)
|
|
Free Throw Pct.
|
.778 (21-27)
|
.767 (23-30)
|
|
Rebounds
|
36
|
41
|
|
Offensive Rebounds
|
16
|
12
|
|
Assists
|
10
|
9
|
|
Turnovers
|
12
|
14
|
|
Steals
|
7
|
6
|
|
Blocked Shots
|
4
|
5
|
|
Time Led
|
0:00
|
39:16
|
|
Points off Turnovers
|
14
|
16
|
|
Points in the Paint
|
32
|
38
|
|
Bench Points
|
28
|
14
|
|
Fouls
|
24
|
22
|
|
Biggest Lead
|
'--
|
32
|
|
Lead Changes: 0 Times Tied: 0
|
The Vikings (2-1) are back on the road next week traveling to Arcata, California to play in the West Region Crossover taking on Cal State Dominguez Hills (11/10, 5:30 pm) and tournament host Cal Poly Humboldt (11/11, 7:30 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 Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:
|
RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall
|
2-1
|
|
GNAC
|
0-0
|
|
Non-Conference
|
2-1
|
|
Streak
|
L1
|
|
Home
|
0-0
|
|
Away
|
0-0
|
|
Neutral
|
2-1
|
|
vs. Ranked Teams
|
0-0
|
|
Leading at Half
|
2-0
|
|
Trailing at Half
|
0-1
|
|
Tied at Half
|
0-0
|
|
Overtime
|
0-0
|
|
BY UNIFORM
|
|
White
|
2-0
|
|
Black
|
0-0
|
|
Navy
|
0-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
0-0
|
ABOUT THE DII CANADIAN TIP-OFF CLASSIC
The Vikings were 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 was also one of three GNAC teams in the men's bracket joining Seattle Pacific and the host Red Leafs.
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 1,545 all-time victories.
