Dalven Brushier layup
Jacob Thompson/Thompson Sports
71
Winner Western Ore. WOU 17-6,11-6 Great Northwest
61
Central Wash. CentWA 15-10,8-9 Great Northwest
Winner
Western Ore. WOU
17-6,11-6 Great Northwest
71
Final
61
Central Wash. CentWA
15-10,8-9 Great Northwest
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Western Ore. WOU 31 40 71
Central Wash. CentWA 40 21 61

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Big second half boosts Wolves over Central

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Oregon men's basketball team surged in the second half Thursday night, pulling away from the Central Washington Wildcats for an important 71-61 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win at Nicholson Pavilion.

"I'm so proud of our guys resiliency in closing out the game in a very tough place to play," head coach Wes Pifer said. "Coach Brandon Rinta had his guys ready to go and they jumped on us quickly in the first half. We now must turn our focus to Northwest Nazarene on Saturday."

Western Oregon (17-6, 11-6 GNAC) held their spot in a three-team tie for second place in the GNAC standings with the victory, fighting back from down 11 to open their final regular season road trip of the 2019-20 campaign. The Wolves also pushed closer to securing a spot in the GNAC Tournament.

Central Washington (15-10, 8-9 GNAC) was able to pull out to an 11-point lead late in the first half, leading for a majority of the opening 20 minutes of play. The Wildcats shot 46.8 percent from the field and 43.7 percent from 3-point range in the opening half to take a 40-31 advantage into the locker room.

CWU was paced by the game-high 21 points of Davon Bolton. Xavier Smith would be the only other Wildcat to finish in double figures, adding on 11 points, three rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal. Central was only able to snatch three steals in the game with Western giving up only 10 turnovers throughout the night.

"Today was another testament to our grit and desire. Coming out in the second half down nine points, we had to take each possession one at a time to achieve the win," Dalven Brushier said. "I'm very proud of the way we stuck together and finished the game."

Western wasted little time getting back to even in the second half. Trailing by nine to start the period, WOU went on a 12-4 run over the first 3:25 of the half to get within one. They took their first lead of the second half at the 9:31 mark when Emanuel Gant hit a jumper in transition to put the Wolves up, 52-50.

WOU never trailed again in the game as they held the Wildcats to just 21 points in the second half and out-scored the home team by 19 after the break. Central was held to nine made field goals in the second half and a lowly 21.4 percent 3-point shooting mark.

The Wolves were led by the 18 points from Brushier, going 6-for-13 from the field with six rebounds and a steal in a team-high 34 minutes of play. Darius Lubom was not far behind with 14 points of his own, adding on four rebounds and two assists. John Morrill-Keeler made a push at a double-double with his 12-point, seven-rebound performance.

"Today we faced some adversity, with a tough home crowd and Central Washington coming out to start the game hot," Morrill-Keeler said. "We met at the half and talked about what we needed to do to win the game and I think we executed well."

Cameron Cranston leveled three blocks against Central, matching his season-high in the category. WOU posted six team blocks in the game for their highest game total since Jan. 23.

WOU shot 45.2 percent from the field for the game and 33.3 percent from 3-point range. It was the second-lowest field goal shooting percentage the Wolves have had in a win this season. The 21 attempted 3-pointers was their second-lowest of the season and the fewest shots from deep the Wolves have taken since Dec. 5 in Fairbanks.

Next up, Western Oregon plays their final regular season road game on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Northwest Nazarene. NNU also sits in the three-team tie for second in the GNAC standings with three games left to play in the regular season. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. PST at Johnson Sports Center.
 
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