CWU men’s basketball wins first NCAA Tournament game in 23 years

The CWU men’s basketball team completed its most successful season in years over the weekend, winning its first NCAA Division II Tournament game on Friday in Los Angeles before bowing out the next night.

The Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Wildcats shot the lights out in Friday’s 110-90 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills to advance to round two.

Freshman point guard Jordan Clark made all four of his 3-point attempts in the first half and finished with a team-high 18 points. Seven different players made a 3-pointer as No. 5 seed CWU made 14 of 20 long-range attempts and held a 61-36 halftime advantage over the No. 4 seed Toros.

“To come out and start the NCAA Tournament like that, it felt great,” said Wildcats guard Camron McNeil, who finished with 15 points and shot 3-for-4 from behind the arc.

Team captain Samaad Hector added 15 points, Colby Gennett had 14 and Bradley Swillie pitched in 13 as six Wildcats scored in double figures.

Coach Brandon Rinta couldn’t say enough about his team’s balanced effort.

“To get this win today means a lot not just to me but for the entire Wildcat family out there,” he said of the Wildcats’ seventh consecutive win, dating back to February 29. Their last NCAA tournament victory came in 2001 against Seattle Pacific.

The win pitted CWU against No. 8 seed Azusa Pacific the next day, but the ‘Cats ran out of steam and fell 82-74. They trailed by just two points at half and even took the lead early in the second half.

But the red-hot Cougars just kept coming and overcame a late push by the Wildcats, who finished the season 22-10 overall.

Calvin Holden led the way with 24 points and Anjaylo Lloyd had 22 as CWU had to play without Hector for most of the game due to a first-half shoulder injury he suffered in his final college game.