BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team exploded for 62 second-half points to complete a 2-0 week defeating the University of Alaska Fairbanks 119-92 Saturday evening in front of 845 fans on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

WWU reached the 100-point mark for the sixth time this season while tying the program record for most points in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest. WWU also scored 119 points in a 119-95 win over Concordia-Portland on January 14, 2016 in a home game played at Whatcom Community College.

 

The Vikings improved to 12-6 overall and 7-2 in home games in Carver Gym. With the sweep over the Alaska schools after beating Alaska Anchorage on Thursday 92-83, WWU moves into a four-way tie for 3rd place in the GNAC standings at 4-3 in league play. UAF dropped its sixth consecutive game to fall to 3-12 overall and 1-6 in GNAC play.

 

Western trailed by as many as 10 points midway through the first half, but used a 12-0 scoring run to get back into the game and held a 57-52 halftime lead. The Vikings poured it on in the second half scoring 62 points to pull away for the 27-point victory. WWU entered the week ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II in scoring average and increased the season mark to 94.9 points per game with the 211-point output in the games vs. UAA and UAF.

 

Junior guard Kai Johnson recorded his 12th 20-point game of the season scoring 29 points for the second consecutive games going 11-for-15 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point range and 4-for-6 from the free throw line.

 

Junior guard Will Wilson added 23 points on 5-for-10 shooting and 12-for-13 from the free throw line and redshirt freshman Tijan Saine scored 20 second-half points with the help of going 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. 

 

Six Vikings scored in double-digits in the 119-point effort, with Jonathan Ned (16 pts), Nic Welp (11 pts) and Darius Gary (11 pts) reaching double figures. Welp neared another double-double tying Ned for the team lead with nine rebounds. 

 

WWU shot at least 50-percent from the field as a team for the 11th time, going 37-for-71 from the field (52.1%) and was 11-for-24 (45.8%) from three-point range. The Vikings were also efficient from the free throw line connecting on 34-of-39 free throws (87.2%). 

 

Alaska received 57 of its 92 points from two players, with Jaycson Bereal, Jr. tying Johnson for the game high with 29 points (10-for-17 FG) and Abdullahi Mohamed adding 28 points on (15-for-17 FT). The Nanooks shot 45.9-percent from the field (28-for-61), were 5-for-9 from three-point range and 31-for-36 from the free throw line.

 

The game featured 75 combined free throw attempts, 54 personal fouls (27 on each team) and six combined technical fouls (UAF – 5, WWU – 1). UAF acting head coach Drew Hedman and senior forward Abdullahi Mohamed were both ejected from the game when five technical fouls were called at the 5:38 mark in the second half.

A high-scoring first half featured six lead changes and three ties, with WWU taking a 57-52 lead into the break. UAF controlled the early part of the half building a 10-point lead at 34-24 with just under 10 minutes remaining. Western used a 12-0 run to take a 47-42 lead at the four-minute mark, but the Nanooks answered with a 10-4 spurt to grab a one-point lead at 52-51 with 48-seconds left on the clock. The Vikings finished the half on a 6-0 run which included a pair of steals and layups in the final seconds to take the five-point lead. Western was led by 19 points each from Kai Johnson and Will Wilson, and 10 points by Nic Welp. UAF got a bulk of its 52 points from Abdullahi Mohamed (21 points) and Jaycson Bereal, Jr. (20 points).

 

The Vikings scored six of the first eight points to open the second half and used a 20-6 run to pull away from the Nanooks to build an 86-65 lead at the 8:42 mark. WWU led by as many as 29 points on the way to the 27-point victory. Tijan Saine scored all 20 of his points in the second half on 4-for-5 shooting and going 10-for-10 from the free throw line. 
 

 

The Vikings (12-6, 4-3 GNAC) return to the road next week for a pair of GNAC games, crossing the state to face rival Central Washington on Thursday in Ellensburg (7 pm) and takes on Northwest Nazarene on Saturday in Nampa, Idaho (3:30 pm MT). The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

 

Junior guard Will Wilson scored 23 points for his fifth 20-point game of the season, going 5-for-10 from the field and was 12-for-13 from the free throw line. Wilson also grabbed four rebounds and tied for the team high with three assists. For the season Wilson is averaging 16.1 points per game to rank second on the team.

M🏀| WECU Player of the Game

Tonight's WECU Player of the Game is Will Wilson! Will finished with 23 points, going 12-13 from the free throw line and added 4 rebounds and 3 assists to help lead the Vikings to a 119-92 win over Alaska Fairbanks. pic.twitter.com/ZUUkj7rsg4

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) January 21, 2024

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Alaska Fairbanks:

 

 

The Vikings improved to 39-17 all-time vs. Alaska Fairbanks with a 9-3 record in the last 12 meetings. WWU improved to 21-6 all-time vs. UAF in home games.

 

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

 

 

Here is an updated look at the 2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball standings following play on Saturday. Updated standings and conference statistics can be viewed online at GNACSports.com.

 

 

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following the 119-92 win over Alaska Fairbanks:

 

 

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 1,555 all-time victories.