Holding the lead for most of the game, the men’s basketball team could not prevent Central Washington from going on a 16-4 run late in the second half as the Wildcats came away with a 77-72 victory Saturday night in a key GNAC and West Region contest at the .
Down 50-42 with 12:47 remaining in the second half, (19-6, 13-3 GNAC) hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to two. kept pulling ahead, going up by four at 62-58 with 4:37 left, but a three-pointer by Jake Beitinger gave the Wildcats the lead, and back-to-back layups by Bryce Daub and Nate Jackson put the visitors up for good.
Central Washington scored the first five points of the game, but SeattleU came back, as two three-pointers by Chris Gweth (, ) and three long distance baskets from Ryan Coldren () gave the Redhawks a 19-10 lead. Later in the first half, Jackson hit a three-pointer to put the Wildcats on top, 30-29, but Ricky Berry (Phoenix, Ariz.) answered with a layup, and SeattleU expanded its lead to six points at halftime with another Coldren three-pointer.
Coldren was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, including 5-of-5 from the three-point line, in scoring 21 points. Gweth was 5-of-10 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line as he scored 19 points, plus he grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots. finished with 11 points, Michael Wright (, ) earned nine points and six rebounds, and Shaun Burl () contributed seven points and five assists.
Beitinger and Daub led the Wildcats with 18 points each, with Daub also pulling down nine rebounds and dishing out four assists. scored 11 points, and Johnny Spevak has a solid all-around game with seven points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. won the rebounding battle, 34-30, and shot 48.1 percent from the field, including 41.2 percent from the three-point line.
Seattle University shot 46.9 percent from the field, including 45 percent from the three-point line, and 81 percent from the free throw line, but the Redhawks gave up 12 Wildcat offensive rebounds and committed 19 turnovers. A victory over , ranked fifth in this week’s regional rankings, would have helped SeattleU, presently ranked eighth in the region, but now the Redhawks will have to wait to see this week’s rankings as well as the results of the CCAA Tournament being held next week.
Seattle University (17-9, 10-7 GNAC) will end the regular season by hosting Montana State Billings next Saturday, March 8, beginning at approximately 7 p.m. at the Connolly Center. Senior Night ceremonies will take place shortly before the start of the game, which will follow the women’s basketball season finale.