BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team opens the conference schedule this week hosting a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference games on the road.

 

WWU takes its 6-1 overall record into road games at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday in Nampa, Idaho (7 pm MT) and Saturday against rival Central Washington in Ellensburg (4 pm). The 18-game GNAC schedule kicks off this week for all 10 conference member schools, prior to taking a few weeks off for the holiday break, and restarting in full force on January 2.

 

The Vikings enter GNAC play ranking 2nd the conference in scoring averaging 87.3 points per game and ranks in the top 10 in the nation and first in the conference shooting 52.1 percent from the field.

 

Senior guard Will Wilson leads four Vikings averaging double-digits in scoring with 16.1 points per game and is tied for the GNAC lead averaging 5.7 assists per game.

 

 

WWU is tied for 6th in the D2CSC West Region rankings and has received votes during the season in the D2CSC national media poll.

 

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

 

 

The Vikings offense has been led by a balanced effort with four players averaging double-digits in scoring and seven players averaging at least 6.0 points per game. Senior guard Will Wilson leads the team and ranks 7th in the GNAC averaging 16.1 points per game, followed by redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley (14.7), sophomore guard Louis Grante-Halliday (14.4) and freshman forward Trevor White (13.0). Sophomore guard Tijan Saine is expected back soon from injury after scoring 18 points in his lone game of action.

 

Following the GNAC road trip to play Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington, the Vikings will take a short break for final exams wrapping up the fall quarter. WWU hosts Langara College in a non-conference game on Sunday December 15 in Carver Gym and closes out the calendar year with a pair of games in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic on December 19-20.

 

Senior guard Will Wilson has gotten off to an impressive start for the Vikings averaging 16.1 points, 5.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game while playing an average of 35.3 minutes per game. Wilson was an honorable mention All-GNAC selection during his first WWU season averaging 15.8 points per game in 2023-24. Including junior college stops at State Fair CC and Mt. Hood CC, Wilson is making a run at 2,000 career points scoring 1,565 points in 89 career games (17.6 points per game).

 

All home games will stream live on YouTube via Vikings TV. Additionally, every away GNAC game will feature a webcast on YouTube produced by the visiting team. To watch WWU home games on your Smart TV, navigate to the YouTube application and search for WWU Athletics, or for away games search for the opposing school's YouTube channel (example: NNU Athletics). All WWU links to follow the Vikings online can be found online, but be sure to bookmark the following links for easy access:

 

·         Vikings TV

·         GNAC Live Streams

·         Direct Link to watch games – wwuvikings.com/MBB_Watch

·         Direct Link to follow live stats – wwuvikings.com/MBB_Stats

 

Here is a look at the series history between WWU and its upcoming opponents:

 

·         Northwest Nazarene: WWU and NNU split the season series in 2024-25 with each team winning on its home court…the Vikings have won four of the last five and 12 of the last 16 in the series…WWU leads the all-time series 37-13 with a 34-11 record in GNAC play and 14-9 in games played in Nampa.

·         Central Washington: The Vikings and Wildcats split the season series in 2024-25 with each team earning a home victory…WWU lost 97-75 in Ellenburg and rebounded with an 87-76 victory in Bellingham…series is tied 3-3 over the last three seasons…CWU leads the all-time series 160-107 dating back to the first meeting in 190, with WWU holding a 34-19 leads in the series since both teams joined the NCAA level in 1998-99.

 

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2024-25 season heading into the opening weekend of GNAC play:

 

 

Sophomore guard Louis Grante-Halliday and senior guard Will Wilson both were selected as the GNAC Player of the Week awards to open the 2024-25 season. Wilson earned the first award after the opening week earning MVP honors at the West Region Crossover Classic in Bellingham and Grante-Halliday is the reigning player of the week after his 20.0 points per game performance last week in wins over Cal State San Marcos and Azusa Pacific.

 

The Vikings were predicted to finish in a postseason spot in the 2024-25 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. WWU received 52 points in the survey of the conference's 10 head coaches. The Vikings are coming off a 17-12 overall season and just missed qualifying for the GNAC Championships finishing 9-9 in the conference for 7th place.

 

 

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.

 

Head coach Tony Dominguez is in his 13th year and 12th season at the helm of the program, and 30th overall at WWU. Dominguez has led the Vikings to a 220-116 record (.655) and was the 2016-17 GNAC Coach of the Year. He is assisted by AJ Albritton (3rd season), Bob Hofstetter (12th season) and Atiavo Jude (12th season).

 

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 1,566 all-time victories.