Western Washington University men’s basketball, playing its first home game since Jan. 20, outlasted a late push by Seattle Pacific in an 80-76 win over the Falcons on Thursday, Feb. 8.
After trailing 44-42 at halftime, Seattle Pacific held a 65-64 lead with 7:54 remaining in the game. The Vikings’ next bucket, a layup by freshman forward Louis Grante-Halliday, gave Western its lead for good.
Junior forward Kai Johnson led Western with 21 points and nine rebounds, tying his season-high in rebounds for the third time this season. Johnson scored his 1,000th career point as a Viking in the win.
Seattle Pacific senior forward Shaw Johnson finished with a game-high 32 points, adding six rebounds.
Vikings junior guard Will Wilson (16 points), redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine (14) and senior forward Jonathan Ned (10) all scored in double figures. Junior forward Nic Welp had eight points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Western (14-9, 6-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) moved up to fifth place in the conference, from sixth, and won its second straight game. The Vikings will host Montana State Billings at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Connor J. Benintendi is CDN’s sports editor; reach him at connorbenintendi@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
