By: Jamal Smith Sports Editor
Coming off a tough loss to the University of Oregon just two days earlier, the men’s basketball team fell to Central Washington University (CWU) on New Year’s Eve in Ellensburg, Wash. The final score was 77-81.
Western Oregon was led by senior Julian Nichols (G) who had a game-high 29 points and also added 3 assists and 1 steal. Redshirt-senior Andy Avgi (F), the second leading scorer in the GNAC, added 16 points. Redshirt-sophomore Alex Roth (G), was the third player in double figures with 12 points.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 10-5 lead but the Wolves would go on a 6-0 run thanks to multiple hustle plays from Avgi. The first half continued in this back-and-forth trend and there was eight lead changes in the first half alone.
The Wolves would hold a 40-39 advantage going into half time.
Western looked to put the pressure on CWU early in the second half. With stingy defense and cohesive play, the Wolves went on a 14-6 run to take a 9 point advantage with 14:47 remaining for the game.
CWU responded with an 11-2 run which included three shots from beyond the arch. The Wildcats went 6-10 from deep in the second half.
Western wouldn’t back down and, with 2:08 left for the game, the Wolves took their final lead on a step-back 3-pointer from Nichols. The Wolves, however, couldn’t get stops in the final minutes of the game and CWU scored 8 points from the free-throw line in their final four possessions.
The Wolves shot .455 from the floor and .364 from beyond the arch.
The tough loss marks the Wolves’ first GNAC conference loss and brought their record to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in GNAC conference play.
