Box Score ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Central Washington had four starters record double-figure scoring and it garnered two pivotal offensive rebounds late in the game to help lift it past Alaska 74-69 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball Thursday night at Nicholson Pavilion.
“The game went back-and-forth and we hung around, but we could have shot the ball a little bit better,” head coach
Mick Durham said. “It came down to a few possessions and they pulled away at the end.”
The 'Nooks took their first lead of the game at 34-33 with 18:36 remaining in regulation and teams traded baskets for about the next seven minutes. With the Wildcats up 52-50, they used five straight to gain their largest lead of the half at 57-50 with 8:38 to go.
Alaska answered with a 10-3 run to knot it up at 60-60 with just over five to play, but CWU came right back with four in a row for a 64-60 edge with just under four minutes on the clock. Leading by just two at 71-69, Central used a
Roby Clyde layup with a minute to go and two offensive boards in the final 17 seconds to close out the game.
“Roby really stepped up,” Durham said. “They moved their power forward to center and he got under us for some baskets. Defensively we needed a stop and just couldn't get one.”
Lacy Haddock scored a team-high 18 points for the Wildcats (10-8, 4-6 GNAC) and
Jody Johnson had 17 points and eight rebounds, while
Toussaint Tyler (15) and Clyde (13) also scored in double digits. Central Washington shot just under 44-percent (28-64) for the game and converted 14 of 19 free throws, while only turning the ball over 10 times.
Sophomore
Sergej Pucar (Banja Luka, Serbia/Jacksonville) tallied a game-high 20 points on nine of 11 shooting in the loss for the Nanooks (4-16, 1-9 GNAC).
“He got off to a good start with his offense, but we had to play around his foul trouble for most of the game,” Durham said. “Offensively, he had the ball in good position and we were able to break their press and find him. He scored in a variety of different ways.”
Junior
Dominique Brinson (Juneau, Alaska/College of the Redwoods) contributed 14 points, while senior guard
Nico Matthews (Twenty Nine Palms, Calif./College of the Desert) and sophomore
Stefan Tica (Belgrade, Serbia/Panola) had 12 and 11 points, respectively. Junior
Carthal McDonald (Los Angeles, Calif./Compton CC) brought down a game and career-high 12 rebounds.
Alaska shot over 57-percent (16-28) in the second half and finished just shy of 47-percent (27-58) for the game, but struggled to get to the line and convert, making just nine of 14 from the stripe.
The Nanooks return to action Saturday at 7 p.m. Mountain with a road game at Northwest Nazarene, which fell 81-64 to Alaska Anchorage earlier Thursday.
