ELLENSBURG, Wash. – It was a tale of two halves for the Western Washington University men's basketball team in Saturday's 79-76 loss to rival Central Washington on the road inside Nicholson Pavilion.

The Vikings led the Wildcats 46-34 at halftime and grew the lead to as many as 18 points early in the second half, but Central stormed back to take the three-point victory down the stretch and out-scored Western 45-30 in the second half. WWU dropped to 6-3 overall and endured a pair of tough road losses by a combined four points to start GNAC play 0-2. CWU improved to 63 overall and 2-0 in conference play. 

WWU looked to be in control with the 12-point halftime lead and opened the second half scoring the first six points to take a 52-34 lead. The Wildcats got back into the game using a 16-2 run to pull to within four points at 54-50 took its first lead of the second half at the 1:28 mark on a three-pointer by Kobe Parlin.

Trailing 77-76 the Vikings had a good look at a potential go-ahead three-pointer by Louis Grante-Halliday with 23 seconds remaining, but the shot would not fall. CWU hit a pair of free throws to grow the lead to three points. Looking to tie the game on the final possession, sophomore guard Tijan Saine tried to draw a foul on a three-pointer attempt before the clock expired.

The Viking were led by 19 points by redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley (7-for-13 FG, 8 Reb) and 18 points by senior guard Will Wilson (8-for-14 FG). Saine added 12 points in his second game back from injury and was 7-for-8 from the free throw line. 

Cavin Holden led the Wildcats with a game-high 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting and Jordan Clark added 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting with 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.

WWU came out of the gates shooting 57.1-percent from the field in the first half, connecting on 20-of-35 shots. The second half was a much different story with the Vikings connecting on 9-for-26 (.346) from the field and just 1-for-8 from three-point range. Overall the Vikings shot 47.5-percent (29-for-61) from the field. The Vikings held the lead for 31:54 of the game compared to 5:58 by CWU.

The Vikings (6-3, 0-2 GNAC) will take a small break for finals week and return to action next Sunday (Dec. 15) hosting Langara College in a non-conference game at 3 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym. 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 Central Washington:

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

The Vikings have dropped four of the last seven games to the Wildcats over the last four seasons and split the season series in 2023-24. CWU's win Saturday improved the Wildcats to 161-107 in the series since the first rivalry meeting in 1909. The Vikings lead the series 34-20 since both teams joined the NCAA level in 1998-99.

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2024-25 season following Saturday's 79-76 loss at Central Washington:

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.