BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's basketball team recorded a wire-to-wire 90-70 home victory over Simon Fraser University Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play in front of 1,104 fans on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

The Vikings never trailed in the game improving to 18-8 overall and inched closer to clinching a spot in the GNAC Tournament at 10-6 in conference play. After opening GNAC play 0-5 with several close games, the Vikings have won 10 of their last 11 games. 

WWU led 45-38 at the half and continued to expand its lead throughout the second half before settling with the 20-point victory to secure the season sweep over the Red Leafs.

Sophomore guard Tijan Saine had another big game with 27 points and 8 assists, going 7-for-12 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point range and perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Over his last three games Saine has scored 93 points and has scored in double-digits in each of his last eight games.

Redshirt freshman guard Grant Kepley flirted with a triple double totaling 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists and junior forward Garrett Levesque neared a double-double with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Aidan Rice (14 points) and freshman forward Trevor White (13 points) also scored in double-digits.

The Vikings combined to shoot 50.8-percent for the game (30-for-59) and dished out 23 assists.

SFU (9-17, 5-11 GNAC) was led by 19 points by Luke Howard on 8-for-15 shooting and 12 points by Zach Stone. WWU's defense limited the Red Leafs to 39.7-percent shooting and 9-for-31 from beyond the arc.

WWU was without leading scorer Will Wilson (16.3 points/game) who was sidelined with a shoulder injury…Garrett Levesque has led the Vikings in rebounding in the last four and five of the last six games…after opening the GNAC schedule with five consecutive losses, WWU has won 10 of its last 11 games to move up into a playoff-contending position with one week remaining in the regular season…Tijan Saine took over the team lead averaging 16.6 points per game…Saine has made 43 of his last 44 free throw attempts over the last five games.

SFU cut WWU's lead to six points at 64-58 at the 8:01 mark but the Vikings answered with a 15-7 spurt to grow the lead back to double-digits while securing the 20-point victory.

The Vikings (18-8, 10-6 GNAC) continues its three-game homestand to complete the regular season next week hosting Central Washington on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday in 7 pm games on WECU Court in Carver Gym. The complete season schedule, complete with links on how to watch the games, can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/MBB.

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

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2024-25 season:

WWU swept the season series against Simon Fraser adding a 79-77 victory in Burnaby on January 25. The Vikings have now won six consecutive games against the Red Leafs, sweeping each of the last three seasons. WWU leads the all-time series 65-28 with a 23-5 mark in the last 28 meetings.

Here is a game-by-game look at the 2024-25 season following the 20-point victory over Simon Fraser:

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 13 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 six years (and seven of 11) and won the 2020 GNAC Championships Tournament. WWU is amongst the top 20 winningest Division II programs with its 1,578 all-time victories.