SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team played its best basketball Friday in the minutes that counted, finishing the game on a 20-4 run to earn an 83-71 victory over Cal Poly Humboldt.

Sparked by a stat-sheet-filled performance by sophomore guard Aidan Rice, the Vikings improved to 2-2 on the season with the 12-point victory over the Lumberjacks to open the West Region Tipoff Challenge hosted by Dominican University.

WWU trailed by four points at 67-63 with just over five minutes remaining in the contest, when Rice and freshman guard Dennis Johnson III connected on a trio of three-pointers to jumpstart the 20-4 run to close out the game.

Rice finished with 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting – going 5-for-7 from beyond the three-point arc – and totaled five rebounds, five assists and five steals in 38 minutes.

Johnson and junior guard Nehemiah Pollard finished with 13 points each, and sophomore forward Trevor White completed the Vikings double-figure scorers with 11 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Senior forward Garrett Levesque led the Vikings with eight rebounds also contributing nine points.

Western shot 46.6-percent for the game (27-for-58), with 16-for-31 (.516) accuracy in the second half. 

Cal Poly Humboldt (0-1) had four players score in double digits, led by 19 from center Shakir Odunewu (8-for-11 FG), who also had nine rebounds. Rob Jenkins added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists and Brandon Bento-Jackson contributed 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

The Vikings (2-2) are back in action Saturday evening playing San Francisco State to close out play in the West Region Tipoff Challenge with a start time of 5 pm inside the Conlan Center. The complete 2025-26 WWU men's basketball schedule is available online at WWUVikings.com.

Trailing by four points at 67-63 with just over five minutes remaining in the game, the Vikings hit three consecutive three pointers by Aidan Rice (two) and Dennis Johnson III to jump start the 20-4 run to end the game.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and Cal Poly Humboldt:

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2025-26 season: