BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Freshman guard Aidan Rice hit a game-winning buzzer beater in his collegiate debut to lift the Western Washington University men's basketball team to a season-opening 91-89 victory over No. 12 nationally-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday night on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

Rice capped an exciting first day of the West Region Crossover tournament with his game-ending three-pointer to lift the Vikings to the two-point victory. Cal Poly Humboldt defeated Simon Fraser 88-67 in the opening game Friday of the tournament.

The Vikings had led by six points with under a minute remaining in the game at 84-78, but the Toros battled back to taking a one-point lead at 89-88 following a three-point play by David Cheatom.

With time winding down, senior guard Will Wilson dribbled to draw CSUDH defenders towards him and found Rice beyond the arc for the game-winner.

The game-winning shot put the exclamation point on a solid team performance to knock off the No. 12 Toros, who finished last season with a 22-8 record advancing to the West Regional quarterfinals. WWU featured four players scoring in double-digits, led by a team-high 23 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists from Wilson.

Sophomore guard Tijan Saine had 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting (5-for-7 3FG) before being sidelined with an injury midway through the second half. Freshman Trevor White (13 points) and redshirt freshman Grant Kepley (12 points, 6 rebounds) also chipped in double-digit scoring.

WWU combined to shoot 49.2-percent in the game (32-for-65) and was 11-for-29 (.379) from three-point range.

The Toros (0-1) were led by a game-high 28 points from Cheatom on 10-for-13 shooting. All-American Jeremy Dent-Smith was limited to eight points on 3-for-12 shooting before fouling out late in the second half.

The Vikings trailed by as many as 10 points late in the first half, but used a 10-0 run to pull even heading into halftime. The second half featured seven lead changes and seven tie scores before the Vikings prevailed with the buzzer beater by Rice.
 

The Vikings (1-0) close out the opening week of the 2024-25 season Saturday with the final game of the West Region Crossover taking on Cal Poly Humboldt (1-0) at 7:30 pm. Cal State Dominguez Hills and Simon Fraser will tip-off at 5 pm in the first game Saturday in Carver Gym. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

The Vikings have now won 15 of their last 16 season-opening games including a string of three consecutive opening-night victories. 

Senior guard Will Wilson scored a team-high 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting, with 19 of his 23 points in the second half to earn WECU Player of the Game honors. Wilson also grabbed six rebounds, set a single-game career high with seven assists and had a blocked shot.

M🏀 | What a GAME by big Will Wilson, with 19 of his 23 points coming in the second half. #44 filled up that stat sheet to earn the WECU Player of the Game...his career-high 7 assists was highlighted by finding Aidan Rice with the buzzer beater! pic.twitter.com/wqKeeodY5G
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) November 9, 2024
  

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

WWU improved to 6-2 all-time vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills with Friday's 91-89 buzzer-beater victory. The Vikings defeated CSUDH 81-58 last season in Arcata, California.

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 15 winningest Division II programs with its 1,561 all-time victories.