BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team has been tough at home all season and continued its winning ways in Carver Gym Thursday with an 80-76 victory over Seattle Pacific University in front of 1,168 fans.

 

The Vikings improved to 14-9 overall and moved into the top six in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings in a tie for 5th place at 6-6. WWU is 8-2 in Carver Gym this season with a 5-1 mark in conference games.

 

Western held a 44-42 halftime lead, but SPU came out in the second half scoring the first five points to pull ahead 47-44. The game remained tight the rest of the way with 10 lead changes and three tie scores in the second half. 

 

A layup by Louis Grante-Halliday at the 6:24 mark gave the Vikings a one-point lead at 66-65 and Kai Johnson drained a three-pointer after he blocked a shot on the defensive end to give WWU a four-point lead at 69-65. Johnson converted a four-point play just over a minute later to extend the Vikings lead to five points at 75-70.

 

SPU cut the deficit to one point on back-to-back baskets by Shaw Anderson, but junior Nic Welp made a layup and converted three free throws down the stretch to help seal the four-point victory. Anderson had a chance to tie the game with 12 seconds remaining, but had his mid-range shot bounce off the rim.

 

Johnson, the GNAC's leading scorer, led the Vikings with 21 points on 8-for-19 shooting and neared a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds. Midway through the first half he crossed the 1,000-point for his career becoming the 28th Viking to reach that milestone in program history. 

 

Junior guard Will Wilson added 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting and redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine totaled 14 points.

 

Anderson, the GNAC's second-leading scorer behind Johnson, scored a game-high 32 points on 14-for-22 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. SPU dropped to 13-12 overall and is tied for 5th in the GNAC at 6-6 in league play.

 

WWU held a 35-34 advantage in rebounding and 16-10 in offensive boards over the Falcons. The Vikings defense also forced 13 turnovers leading to 18 points.
 

 

Early in the first half junior guard Kai Johnson crossed the 1,000-point mark for his collegiate career, becoming the 28th player in WWU men's basketball history to score 1,000 points as a Viking. Kai has scored in double-digits in all 23 games this season and has now crossed the 500-point mark this season for the 23rd instance of a 500-point season in modern WWU single-season history and first since Trevor Jasinsky in 2018-19 (574 points). 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by WWU Athletics (@wwuathletics)

The Vikings (14-9, 6-6 GNAC) remain at home Saturday hosting first-place Montana State Billings with tip-off set for 7 pm on WECU Court in Carver Gym. The game will serve as WWU Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night with free admission for current WWU Faculty & Staff. 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 scored a team-high 21 points on 8-for-19 shooting (2-for-4 3FG) and neared a double-double with a game-high nine rebounds. Johnson continued his string of scoring in double digits in all 23 games this season and netted his GNAC-best 16th 20-point game of the season.

M🏀| WECU Player of the Game

With 21 points, 9 rebounds and hitting a crucial 4-point play down the stretch, Kai Johnson is your WECU Player of the Game. Oh yeah, did we mention he scored his 1000th point as a Viking?? He did that tonight too. GO VIKS!🤘 pic.twitter.com/QxhFUSxw20

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) February 9, 2024

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

 

 

WWU and SPU split the regular season series in 2023-24 with each team winning on its home court…SPU defeated WWU 89-74 earlier this season in Seattle. The last two years each team recorded a road win in the season split. SPU leads the all-time series 89-59, with Western holding a 4-3 advantage in the last seven meetings.
 

 

The Vikings improved to 8-2 in Carver Gym this season and have built a 5-1 mark on WECU in conference games. Western will play three of its final six regular-season games at home in Carver Gym.

 

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 Thursday, with the Vikings moving into a tie for 5th place in the table following the win over SPU. Updated standings and conference statistics can be viewed online at GNACSports.com.

 

 

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2023-24 season following the four-point home win over SPU:

 

 

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 1,557 all-time victories.