BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team used an explosive 56-point second half to record a 96-74 victory over Simon Fraser University Saturday afternoon on WECU Court in Carver Gym to open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
The Vikings improved to 7-3 overall with their third consecutive victory and are off to a 1-0 start in conference play.
Entering the game as the leading scoring team in the conference, Western put up another high-scoring affair with 96 points on 50-percent shooting from the field (39-for-78). WWU's strong defensive effort forced 19 SFU turnovers with 13 steals and four blocked shots.
GNAC leading scorer Kai Johnson led the Vikings with a game-high-tying 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting, recording his seventh 20-point game. Johnson also had four assists, two blocked shots and one steal to fill the stat sheet. Junior guard Will Wilson and redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine each contributed 17 points, and senior forward Jonathan Ned had 13 points and five steals. Senior Darius Gary was efficient with 10 points on 3-for-3 shooting in 14 minutes of action.
Redshirt freshman guard Louis Grante-Halliday led the Vikings with eight rebounds while also contributing six points and four assists.
SFU (2-8, 0-1 GNAC) was led by 20 points from guard David Penny (7-for-17 FG) and 17 points by Georges Lefebvre (7-for-12 FG).
The Vikings (7-3) continue their six-game homestand next Saturday hosting Langara College in a 3 pm game on WECU Court in Carver Gym. WWU returns to GNAC play in the new year hosting Western Oregon on Thursday, January 4 at 7 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 Simon Fraser:
|
COMPARISON
|
WWU
|
SFU
|
|
Points
|
96
|
74
|
|
Field Goal Pct.
|
.500 (39-78)
|
.460 (29-63)
|
|
3 Point FG Pct.
|
.400 (8-20)
|
.143 (2-14)
|
|
Free Throw Pct.
|
.833 (10-12)
|
.824 (14-17)
|
|
Rebounds
|
39
|
38
|
|
Offensive Rebounds
|
17
|
14
|
|
Assists
|
19
|
14
|
|
Turnovers
|
8
|
19
|
|
Steals
|
13
|
7
|
|
Blocked Shots
|
4
|
6
|
|
Time Led
|
33:06
|
5:56
|
|
Points off Turnovers
|
26
|
13
|
|
Points in the Paint
|
58
|
50
|
|
Bench Points
|
33
|
12
|
|
Fouls
|
17
|
11
|
|
Biggest Lead
|
26
|
6
|
|
Lead Changes: 2 Times Tied: 2
|
WWU improved to 62-28 all-time in the series vs. Simon Fraser with a 20-5 record in the 25 meetings since the Red Leafs joins the NCAA level in 2010-11. The Vikings have won the last three in the series after winning both GNAC contests last season, a 75-61 win in Burnaby and 90-79 on Senior Night in Bellingham. Two teams meet again March 2 to close out the regular season in West Gym on Burnaby Mountain.
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:
|
RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall
|
7-3
|
|
GNAC
|
1-0
|
|
Non-Conference
|
6-3
|
|
Streak
|
W3
|
|
Home
|
2-1
|
|
Away
|
1-0
|
|
Neutral
|
4-2
|
|
vs. Ranked Teams
|
0-0
|
|
Leading at Half
|
7-0
|
|
Trailing at Half
|
0-3
|
|
Tied at Half
|
0-0
|
|
Overtime
|
0-0
|
|
BY UNIFORM
|
|
White
|
6-2
|
|
Black
|
1-0
|
|
Navy
|
0-1
|
|
Light Blue
|
0-0
|
Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following Saturday's 96-74 win over Simon Fraser:
|
Record: 7-3 GNAC: 1-0 Home: 2-1 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
|
W
|
122-61
|
Johnson (24)
|
Ned/Welp/Drammeh (6)
|
|
12/2
|
Simon Fraser GNAC
|
W
|
96-74
|
Johnson (20)
|
Grante-Halliday (8)
|
|
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 1,550 all-time victories.
