BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team used a powerful second half to record an 11-point 87-76 victory over rival Central Washington University Saturday evening on Senior Night in front of 1,812 fans on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

The Vikings kept their postseason hopes alive with a second consecutive comeback win, out-scoring the Wildcats 55-38 in the second half for the 11-point win. WWU completed the home slate with a 10-3 record in Carver Gym and improved to 16-12 overall and 8-9 in GNAC play. The Vikings are percentage points behind the sixth and final playoff spot for the GNAC Championships.

WWU trailed 38-32 at the half, but had another strong finish to pick up the first win of the season after trailing at the halftime break. The Vikings used a crucial 8-2 run to build a lead they would not relinquish over a 2:31 stretch late in the second half.

Junior guard Kai Johnson recorded another team-leading scoring performance with 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting, adding in a stat-sheet-filling six rebounds, five assists, and three blocked shots in 37 minutes of action. Johnson has scored in double-digits in all 28 games this season and leads the GNAC with 19 games of 20-or-more points and a conference-best 21.8 points per game.

Juniors Nic Welp and Will Wilson each scored 13 points, with Welp adding six rebounds. Senior Jonathan Ned contributed 12 points and redshirt freshman Tijan Saine had 10 points, including a stretch of five consecutive points in the second half that catapulted the comeback effort. Senior Isaac Morrow had six points and six rebounds in 20 minutes on his senior night. Redshirt freshman Louis Grante-Halliday was also a big part of the second-half effort with eight points, four rebounds and three assists.

The Wildcats (15-10, 9-7) were led by 19 points from forward Mitch Brizee (8-for-13 FG) and 13 points each by Bradley Swillie and Anjaylo Lloyd. 

Western's defensive effort resulted in 17 CWU turnovers, leading to 20 points off turnovers. CWU held a 42-33 advantage in rebounding. The back-and-forth game featured 11 lead changes and seven tie scores, with CWU leading for 18:09 of the game and WWU for 17:11.

The Vikings (16-12, 8-9 GNAC) close out the regular season next Saturday crossing the border to face Simon Fraser University with tip-off set for 7:30 pm in West Gym. The field for the six-team GNAC Championships held March 7-9 in Ellensburg will be announced following the completion of next Saturday's games. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

Junior guard Kai Johnson was selected as the WECU Player of the Game after scoring a game-high 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Johnson added in six rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots while playing 37 of the 40 minutes.

M🏀| WECU Player of the Game 

With 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks, Kai Johnson is your WECU Player of the Game! pic.twitter.com/TqXKJ6JbS1
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) February 25, 2024
 

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

WWU and CWU split the season series with each team winning on its home court. The Wildcats defeated the Vikings 97-75 on January 25 in Ellensburg and the Vikings snapped a three-game losing streak in the series Saturday night with the 11-point home victory. Saturday marked the 267th meeting in the rivalry series dating back to 1908. CWU leads the all-time series 160-107, but WWU is 27-13 over the last 40 games in the series since the 2004-05 season.

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023-24 season:

Here is an updated look at the 2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball standings following play on Saturday, 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:

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following the 11-point win over CWU:

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 1,559 all-time victories.