BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Needing a victory to stay alive in the postseason hunt, the Western Washington University men's basketball team came up clutch with a come-from-behind 74-64 victory over Northwest Nazarene University Thursday evening on WECU Court in Carver Gymnasium.
The Vikings snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 15-12 overall and moved to within percentage points of the sixth and final playoff spot at 7-9 in GNAC play. The 10-point victory over NNU sets up Saturday's big rivalry game vs. Central Washington in Carver Gym with tip-off set for 7 pm.
WWU trailed by nine points at 54-45 with 9:28 remaining, but the Vikings stormed back going on a 12-3 run to pull even at 57-57 with 3:19 remaining. A three-pointer from the top of the key by junior forward Nic Welp with 2:41 remaining gave the Vikings the lead at 60-57 and Western would lead the remainder of the way.
Junior guard Will Wilson hit a three-pointer with just under a minute remaining in the game to cushion the Vikings lead to 67-61 and redshirt freshman Louis Grante-Halliday hit two big free throws down the stretch to help WWU to the double-digit victory.
GNAC leading scorer Kai Johnson led all players with 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting (3-for-6 3FG) and also contributed four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Johnson has scored in double-digits in all 27 games this season and leads the GNAC with 18 games with 20-or-more points.
Wilson finished with 19 points on perfect 7-for-7 shooting from the field and senior Jonathan Ned added 16 points and a pair of steals. Welp recorded his team-leading seventh double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds to move into a tie for the conference lead in double-doubles.
NNU (14-9, 10-5 GNAC) was led by 18 points by Ryzin Bergersen (6-for-13 FG, 4-for-8 3FG) and 14 points each by Tru Allen and Aaron Murphy.
The Vikings (15-12, 7-9 GNAC) closes out the home schedule Saturday hosting Central Washington in a 7 pm game on WECU Court in Carver Gym. The rivalry game vs. the Wildcats will be Senior Night with Darius Gary, Isaac Morrow and Jonathan Ned celebrated prior to the start of the game. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.
Senior Jonathan Ned was selected as the WECU Player of the Game with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, adding three rebounds and two steals. With the Vikings leading 67-61 with just under a minute remaining, Ned recorded a big steal to seal any chance of a NNU comeback.
Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and NNU:
|
COMPARISON
|
WWU
|
NNU
|
|
Points
|
74
|
64
|
|
Field Goal Pct.
|
.500 (26-52)
|
.433 (26-60)
|
|
3 Point FG Pct.
|
.412 (7-17)
|
.333 (6-18)
|
|
Free Throw Pct.
|
.682 (15-22)
|
.750 (6-8)
|
|
Rebounds
|
28
|
30
|
|
Offensive Rebounds
|
9
|
12
|
|
Assists
|
14
|
12
|
|
Turnovers
|
11
|
15
|
|
Steals
|
8
|
6
|
|
Blocked Shots
|
3
|
2
|
|
Time Led
|
2:41
|
34:26
|
|
Points off Turnovers
|
14
|
12
|
|
Points in the Paint
|
24
|
34
|
|
Bench Points
|
2
|
19
|
|
Fouls
|
10
|
19
|
|
Biggest Lead
|
10
|
9
|
|
Lead Changes: 1 Times Tied: 2
|
SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTHWEST NAZARENE
WWU and NNU split the season series with each team winning on its home floor. The Vikings fell 75-72 on January 27 in Nampa, Idaho. Western swept last season's series with a 78-60 win in Carver Gym (1/21/23) and prevailed in overtime 96-91 in Nampa (2/16/23). The Vikings improved to 37-13 all-time vs. the Nighthawks, including a 12-4 record in the last 16 games, and is 23-4 in home games against NNU (won 10 of last 11 vs. NNU at home).
Gallery: (2-22-2024) MBB | WWU 74, NNU 64
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:
|
RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall
|
15-12
|
|
GNAC
|
7-9
|
|
Non-Conference
|
8-3
|
|
Streak
|
W1
|
|
Home
|
9-3
|
|
Away
|
2-7
|
|
Neutral
|
4-2
|
|
vs. Ranked Teams
|
0-2
|
|
Leading at Half
|
15-4
|
|
Trailing at Half
|
0-7
|
|
Tied at Half
|
0-1
|
|
Overtime
|
0-0
|
|
BY UNIFORM
|
|
White
|
12-4
|
|
Black
|
3-3
|
|
Navy
|
0-6
|
|
Light Blue
|
0-0
|
Here is an updated look at the 2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball standings following play on Thursday, with the Vikings remaining in the 7th-place spot in the table just percentage points from the final playoff spot. Updated standings and conference statistics can be viewed online at GNACSports.com. The top six teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the GNAC Championships held March 7-9 in Ellensburg:
|
MEN'S BASKETBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Montana State Billings*
|
13-2
|
.867
|
19-6
|
.760
|
11-3
|
5-3
|
3-0
|
W5
|
|
2.
|
Saint Martin's*
|
10-5
|
.667
|
20-5
|
.800
|
8-3
|
10-2
|
2-0
|
L2
|
|
|
Northwest Nazarene*
|
10-5
|
.667
|
14-9
|
.609
|
9-3
|
5-4
|
0-2
|
L1
|
|
4.
|
Central Washington
|
9-6
|
.600
|
16-8
|
.667
|
11-1
|
3-6
|
2-1
|
W1
|
|
5.
|
Alaska Anchorage
|
8-7
|
.533
|
18-8
|
.692
|
11-2
|
4-5
|
3-1
|
W3
|
|
6.
|
Seattle Pacific
|
7-8
|
.467
|
14-14
|
.500
|
11-3
|
1-9
|
2-2
|
W1
|
|
7.
|
Western Washington
|
7-9
|
.438
|
15-12
|
.556
|
9-3
|
2-7
|
4-2
|
W1
|
|
8.
|
Alaska Fairbanks
|
6-9
|
.400
|
8-15
|
.348
|
4-5
|
4-9
|
0-1
|
W3
|
|
9.
|
Simon Fraser
|
4-12
|
.250
|
6-21
|
.222
|
3-9
|
3-9
|
0-3
|
L3
|
|
10.
|
Western Oregon
|
2-13
|
.133
|
5-18
|
.217
|
2-9
|
3-7
|
0-2
|
L7
|
|
* Qualified for GNAC Championships held March 7-9 in Ellensburg
|
|
This Week's GNAC Schedule & Results
|
|
Thursday, February 22:
Central Washington 71, at Simon Fraser 67
at Western Washington 74, Northwest Nazarene 64
Alaska Fairbanks 89, at Western Oregon 84 (OT)
Alaska Anchorage 80, at Saint Martin's 79
Saturday, February 24:
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific, 2 pm
Alaska Anchorage at Western Oregon, 4:15 pm
Central Washington at Western Washington, 7 pm
Northwest Nazarene at Simon Fraser, 7 pm
Alaska Fairbanks at Saint Martin's, 7:30 pm
|
Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following the 10-point home win over NNU:
|
Record: 15-12 GNAC: 7-9 Home: 9-3 Away: 2-7 Neutral: 4-2
|
|
Date
|
Opponent
|
|
Score
|
Top Scorer
|
Top Rebounder
|
|
11/3
|
vs. Daemen (RV) (Langley, BC)
|
W
|
83-72
|
Kolly (20)
|
Kolly/Wilson (6)
|
|
11/4
|
vs. St. Edward's (Langley, BC)
|
W
|
97-93
|
Johnson (22)
|
Welp (12)
|
|
11/5
|
vs. Hawai'i Hilo (Langley, BC)
|
L
|
93-82
|
Wilson (23)
|
Welp/Morrow (7)
|
|
11/10
|
vs. Cal St. Dom. Hills (Arcata, CA)
|
W
|
81-58
|
Johnson (22)
|
Johnson (9)
|
|
11/11
|
@Cal Poly Humboldt (Arcata, CA)
|
W
|
95-69
|
Johnson (27)
|
Welp (6)
|
|
11/14
|
Hawai'i Pacific
|
L
|
83-67
|
Johnson (23)
|
Ned/Wilson (6)
|
|
11/17
|
vs. Concordia Irvine (Seattle, WA)
|
L
|
92-86
|
Johnson (23
|
Ned/Kolly (5)
|
|
11/18
|
vs. Azusa Pacific (Seattle, WA)
|
W
|
100-90
|
Ned (20)
|
Tate (9)
|
|
11/25
|
Douglas College
|
W
|
122-61
|
Johnson (24)
|
Ned/Welp/Drammeh (6)
|
|
12/2
|
Simon Fraser GNAC
|
W
|
96-74
|
Johnson (20)
|
Grante-Halliday (8)
|
|
12/9
|
Langara College
|
W
|
124-70
|
Wilson (21)
|
Welp (15)
|
|
12/17
|
George Fox
|
W
|
119-105
|
Johnson (36)
|
Welp (11)
|
|
1/4
|
Western Oregon GNAC
|
W
|
82-68
|
Wilson (18)
|
Welp/Morrow (10)
|
|
1/6
|
Saint Martin's (#5) GNAC
|
L
|
112-105
|
Johnson (31)
|
Kolly/Morrow (6)
|
|
1/11
|
@MSU Billings GNAC
|
L
|
97-84
|
Johnson (26)
|
Welp (9)
|
|
1/13
|
@Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
L
|
89-74
|
Wilson (15)
|
Wilson/Welp (6)
|
|
1/18
|
Alaska Anchorage GNAC
|
W
|
92-83
|
Johnson (29)
|
Welp (8)
|
|
1/20
|
Alaska Fairbanks GNAC
|
W
|
119-92
|
Johnson (29)
|
Welp/Ned (9)
|
|
1/25
|
@Central Washington GNAC
|
L
|
97-75
|
Johnson (23)
|
Welp (8)
|
|
1/27
|
@Norrthwest Nazarene GNAC
|
L
|
75-72
|
Johnson (25)
|
Morrow (7)
|
|
2/1
|
@Saint Martin's (#7) GNAC
|
L
|
77-75
|
Ned (22)
|
Wilson (11)
|
|
2/3
|
@Western Oregon GNAC
|
W
|
78-62
|
Johnson (23)
|
Welp (12)
|
|
2/8
|
Seattle Pacific GNAC
|
W
|
80-76
|
Johnson (21)
|
Johnson (9)
|
|
2/10
|
MSU Billings GNAC
|
L
|
88-83
|
Wilson (22)
|
Ned (7)
|
|
2/15
|
@Alaska Fairbanks GNAC
|
L
|
94-82
|
Johnson (26)
|
Welp (11)
|
|
2/17
|
@Alaska Anchorage GNAC
|
L
|
71-69
|
Welp (22)
|
Wilson (10)
|
|
2/22
|
Northwest Nazarene GNAC
|
W
|
74-64
|
Johnson (22)
|
Welp (12)
|
|
2/24
|
Central Washington GNAC
|
|
|
7:00 pm
|
|
|
3/2
|
@Simon Fraser GNAC
|
|
|
7:30 pm
|
|
|
GNAC Basketball Championships – March 7-9 in Ellensburg, WA (Nicholson Pavilion)
|
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 1,558 all-time victories.
