NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The calendar may show late December, but Saturday's game between Western Washington and Missouri S&T looked like a March Madness contest.

The Vikings and No. 10 nationally-ranked Miners battled back-and-forth with 12 lead changes and 11 tie scores in the 40-minute collegiate basketball match-up, with WWU prevailing 83-76 at The Great Western Shootout at the College of Southern Nevada.

WWU improved to 7-6 overall recording its fourth consecutive victory and finishing the tournament weekend in Las Vegas 2-0 also defeating Colorado Mesa 83-73 Friday afternoon. Missouri S&T – out of Rolla, Missouri – endured its second loss of the season moving to 8-2.

True freshman guard Dennis Johnson III arrived on the big stage in a big way, scoring a career-high 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Johnson had his biggest contribution in the final moments of the game scoring five points in the final 1:08, with his steal and three-point play proving the be the turning point late in the contest.

The Vikings featured a balanced offense with four players scoring in double-digits, with guards Aidan Rice and Malachi Miller both scoring 17 points and Trevor White adding 16 points with four three-pointers.

Western won the rebounding battle 40-36 with a 12-8 advantage in offensive boards. WWU also recorded seven blocked shots with two each by seniors Garrett Levesque and Janko Drammeh, and White.

Missouri S&T, the defending Great Lakes Valley Conference champions, was led by 17 points each by guard Cameron Stovall and forward Andrew Young. The Miners shot 47.6-percent for the game (30-for-63).

The 2025 edition of The Great Western Shootout feature six schools competing in the two-day, eight-game tournament held at the Coyote Event Center on the College of Southern Nevada campus. WWU and Simon Fraser both fielded a men's and women's team, with Missouri S&T and Colorado Mesa rounding out the men's field and Eastern New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands comprising the women's field. The competitive field featured five games decided by five games decided by four-or-fewer points.

The Vikings (7-6, 1-1 GNAC) will take the next week off for the holiday break, re-starting GNAC play in 2026 traveling to Alaska to face Alaska Fairbanks on New Year's Day (7:30 pm AKT) and Alaska Anchorage on January 3 (7:30 pm AKT). The complete 2025-26 WWU men's basketball schedule is available online at WWUVikings.com, complete with links to follow the team on the road, updated statistics and team information.

Trailing 76-75 with just over one minute remaining in the game, Dennis Johnson III took over like a seasoned veteran. The true freshman made a layup at the 1:08 mark to put the Vikings ahead 77-76 and then single-handedly put Western ahead for good with a steal and a three-point play with 43-seconds remaining to turn the one-point lead into a four-point advantage. Johnson finished with a career-high 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting, going 5-for-5 from the free throw line and recording a pair of steals.

Here is a look at the statistical comparison between WWU and No. 10 Missouri S&T:

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