Men's Basketball | 1/11/2014 9:25:00 PM

Box Score

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University men's basketball team held off Western Oregon University, 106-103, in double overtime for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference win Saturday.

The Wildcats (7-6, 3-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) won their third straight game behind a game-high 39 points by Mark McLaughlin. His fifth career 30-point total was an individual season-high for a Western Oregon opponent. The senior connected on 10 of his 22 attempts from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. McLaughlin also made all 16 of his free throws. That free throw output matches the third best in conference history, and breaks the CWU school record. He had his second career double-double grabbing 11 rebounds as well.

As a team, the Wildcats made 32 of their 34 free throws. That is the second best free throw output in GNAC history since Western Washington made 46-of-48 against Alaska-Anchorage in 2005. CWU made 49 percent of its shots from the field, including 6-of-15 from behind-the-arc.

Western Oregon made 44 percent of its shots from the field. The Wolves' 83 field goal attempts were the most since they shot 91 times against Central Washington in a 118-113 triple overtime win last season in Monmouth. WOU is 8-0 this season when finishing with a better field goal percentage than its opponent, but is now 2-5 when it is lower.

Kevin Davis added 25 points for Central Washington, making all 10 of his free throws. JB Pillard and Jordan Russell had 15 and 14 points respectively. Davis and Pillard both had double-doubles. Pillard pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, while Davis had 11. Davis also had five blocks. Marc Rodgers threw three assists.

The 50-minute game featured 19 ties and 16 lead changes. There were six ties in the first eight minutes of the game. CWU broke a 16-16 tie with a 9-2 run, but the Wolves countered with a 9-0 run to retake the lead. Western Oregon's largest lead of the first half was 45-38 with 1:57 remaining. The visitors had a 47-42 advantage at halftime.

The Wolves built their lead to nine points just into the second half. Central Washington scored 17 of the game's next 27 points over a five minute span to take a 59-58 lead. WOU regained the lead and went ahead 67-61 with 11:16 left in the second half. It also had a six-point advantage, 71-65, with 5:40 remaining in regulation. The Wildcats then scored eight of the next 10 points over the next three minutes.

Western Oregon had its last lead, 75-74, after a pair of Marwan Sarhan free throws with two minutes left in regulation. CWU led four times over the final two minutes, but by never more than two points. After Devon Alexander tied the game at 79 with a pair of free throws, Pillard rebounded a McLaughlin miss with two seconds left, when his made put-back was deemed just after the buzzer sounded.

The first overtime had four ties and three lead changes, with lead never larger than three points. The Wildcats had two three-point leads and WOU led 91-88 with 30 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, McLaughlin responded with a deep three-pointer to send the game into the second overtime.

The second extra period also remained within one possession for its entirety. The second overtime had four lead changes and three ties. McLaughlin's 15th and 16th free throws put the Wildcats ahead 106-103 with five seconds left in the game. The final Western Oregon three-pointer hit the front of the rim and fell short.

The Wolves are now 4-4 in overtime games under Brady Bergeson and 12-10 while in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Central Washington is

Western Oregon, which shot 57 percent from the field in the first half, outscored CWU 56-32 in the paint. The Wolves turned 18 Wildcat turnovers into a 27-17 points off of turnover advantage. WOU committed 10 turnovers. Western Oregon made four of its 23 three-point shots and 25-of-32 from the free throw line.

Rodney Webster had a career-high 28 points for the Wolves (10-6, 3-3 GNAC). The senior was 9-of-20 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line.  Sarhan scored 22 points, while Andy Avgi and Alexander had 17 and 12. Alexander dished out a game-high four assists and made four steals. Lewis Thomas grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

The Wildcats have won 43 of the 53 all-time meetings in a series that dates to 1932. Western Oregon has won only once in its last nine games at CWU. The teams have combined for 634 points in the past three meetings.

The Wolves welcome their travel partner, Saint Martin's, in their lone game of the week Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., following the WOU women's meeting with Simon Fraser. The games will be televised throughout the Willamette Valley on KWVT television. The games will also be covered with live video and stats on WOUWolves.com.

Western Oregon vs Central Washington
01/11/14 7:00pm at Ellensburg, WA
At Ellensburg, WA
CENTRAL WASHINGTON 106, WESTERN OREGON 103
WESTERN OREGON (10-6, 3-3 GNAC)
Webster,Rodney 9-20 9-10 28; Sarhan,Marwan 9-13 4-6 22; Avgi,Andy 6-11 4-4
17; Alexander,Devon 5-16 2-2 12; Sabic,Mirza 2-5 2-2 7; Hastings,Adam 2-5
2-4 6; Thomas,Lewis 2-6 1-2 5; Wiley,Jordan 2-7 0-0 5; Schriber,Jordan 0-0
1-2 1; DupreeTurner,Dezmond 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-83 25-32 103.
CENTRAL WASHINGTON (7-6, 3-2 GNAC)
McLaughlin,Mark 10-22 16-16 39; Davis,Kevin 7-12 10-10 25; Pillard,JB 6-10
3-4 15; Russell,Jordan 6-11 1-2 14; Rodgers,Marc 1-4 2-2 4; Budinich,Jeff
1-2 0-0 3; Peake,Jalen 1-3 0-0 2; Vaughn,Julian 1-2 0-0 2; Roppo,Joey 1-3
0-0 2; Dawn,Terry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-69 32-34 106.
Western Oregon................   47   32   12   12  -  103
Central Washington............   42   37   12   15  -  106
3-point goals--Western Oregon 4-23 (Wiley,Jordan 1-5; Sabic,Mirza 1-4;
Webster,Rodney 1-4; Avgi,Andy 1-1; Thomas,Lewis 0-3; Hastings,Adam 0-1;
Alexander,Devon 0-5), Central Washington 6-15 (McLaughlin,Mark 3-5;
Russell,Jordan 1-3; Budinich,Jeff 1-2; Davis,Kevin 1-1; Roppo,Joey 0-1;
Peake,Jalen 0-2; Rodgers,Marc 0-1). Fouled out--Western
Oregon-Hastings,Adam, Central Washington-Russell,Jordan. Rebounds--Western
Oregon 40 (Thomas,Lewis 7), Central Washington 44 (Pillard,JB 13).
Assists--Western Oregon 12 (Alexander,Devon 4), Central Washington 9
(Rodgers,Marc 3). Total fouls--Western Oregon 22, Central Washington 20.
Technical fouls--Western Oregon-None, Central Washington-None. A-627