AZUSA, Calif. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team continued its undefeated start to the season defeating West Region opponent Cal State San Marcos 76-61 Friday evening inside the Felix Event Center.

WWU controlled the second half, pulling away from a 32-27 halftime lead by out-scoring the Cougars 44-34 in the second half. The Vikings are now 3-0 on the season with all three victories coming against CCAA programs.

The Vikings were efficient from the field shooting 54.2-percent as a team (26-for-48) while playing solid defense limiting CSUSM to 20-for-54 from the field (37.0%). In addition to the great defensive effort, Western featured a balanced offensive effort with three players scoring in double digits and seven players with at least seven points.

"It was a great team effort tonight to gain the win. The box score shows that, but it was a total team effort on what we have been working on in practice," said head coach Tony Dominguez. "Everyone contributed and we were full of great energy from the start of the game."

Sophomore guard Louis Grante-Halliday led all players with career-high 17 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including hitting a pair of three-pointers. He was perfect from the free throw line in his seven attempts and also had four rebounds, two assists and a block and steal.

"Louis brings a lot of energy and positivity to the floor," said Dominguez. "His defensive energy is contagious and that's a big part of his game, and he was effective on both ends of the floor."

Senior guard Will Wilson added 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting while leading the team with four assists, continuing an early-season trend that shows him leading the team with 6.3 assists per game and 18.0 points per game.

Redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley added 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, freshman guard Aidan Rice had nine points, junior forward Dajon Lott contributed eight points and eight rebounds, freshman forward Trevor White had eight points in 21 minutes and junior forward Garrett Levesque tied for the team high with eight rebound and scored seven points in 23 minutes.

Western's defense limited Cal State San Marcos to 61 points by way of seven steals, three blocked shots and several contested shots.

Cal State San Marcos (0-3) was led by 12 points each from Micah Boone (4-for-11 FG) and Dexter Stratton (5-for-8 FG).

The Vikings opened the second half on a 9-2 run to extend the lead to 41-29 and pulled away on an 11-4 scoring spurt to take a 56-42 lead with 7:38 remaining in the half. WWU remained in control scoring eight consecutive points to take its biggest lead of the game at 20 points with a 64-44 lead. Louis Grante-Halliday scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the second half. WWU combined to shoot 64.0-percent (16-for-25) over the final 20 minutes of the game to record the victory.

The Vikings held a 32-27 lead at the half fueled by a quick start. WWU built a 10-point lead at 27-17 with 6:54 remaining in the first half, but San Marcos used a 10-1 run to pull to within one point at 28-27 with a minute remaining. A pair of free throws by Will Wilson and a jump shot by Garrett Levesque extended the lead to five points heading into the half. 

Louis Grante-Halliday hit a 3-pointer at the 9:40 mark to extend the Vikings lead to 14 points at 52-38. While the box score shows an assist to freshman Trevor White, the extra pass has been a big part of the early-season success leading to a 3-0 start. White had a chance to take a shot from beyond the arc himself, but found Grante-Halliday who drained the shot to help extend the lead.

"That's been a big emphasis of our team…make the extra pass, find your teammate, put the team in the best position. Great decision by Trevor on that pass and great shot by Louis. We had a lot of those extra passes and great moments tonight," said head coach Tony Dominguez.

The Vikings (3-0) are back in action Saturday evening taking on tournament host Azusa Pacific with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 pm inside the Felix Event Center. 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 Cal State San Marcos:

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2024-25 season:

Fans wishing to purchase season tickets for the 2024-25 season purchase their season tickets online via WWUVikings.com/Tickets or call the WWU Box Office at (360) 650-6146 to catch all the action during the season in Carver Gym.

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 13 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 six years (and seven of 11) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is amongst the top 20 winningest Division II programs with its 1,563 all-time victories.