The last game of the season for Western Washington University men’s basketball saw Will Wilson, Kai Johnson, Nic Welp and Jonathan Ned combine for 72 points in an 89-74 win on the road against Simon Fraser on Saturday, March 2.
While the win was needed to give the team a chance at making the playoffs, the cards didn’t fall in the Vikings’ favor.
Alaska Anchorage (19-9, 10-8 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) beat MSU Billings (20-8, 14-4 GNAC) later on March 2, eliminating Western from playoff contention. Saturday’s game was the final match for senior forwards Darius Gary, Isaac Morrow and Jonathan Ned’s in a Vikings jersey.
Head coach Tony Dominguez said that Western (17-12, 9-9 GNAC) needed to come into the ball game prepared to battle. Despite a 6-23 overall record and going 4-14 in the conference, Dominguez said Simon Fraser has a roster filled with talented guards.
“We’re just trying to slow down their guards and rebound,” Dominguez said. “Rebounding is a huge emphasis for us. Then offensively, we want to take advantage of our strength. So, we’ll try to spread the floor, try to drive and kick and get them off balance and take the best shot we can.”
Wilson led the Vikings with 26 points on the night. Johnson had a well-rounded performance with 18 points and team-highs in rebounds (8) and assists (5). Additionally, Ned pitched in with 16 and Welp scored 12.
For Simon Fraser, senior guard David Penney scored 24 points, sophomore forward Immanuel Oludele had 17 and junior guard Elliot Dimaculangan scored 14.
Western had a scorching night shooting 52.2% from 3-point territory and 53.4% overall. The Vikings also made 15 of 16 free throws in the game, which was the biggest factor in Western’s win.
Twenty-seven bench points for Simon Fraser compared to Western’s 10 and six more offensive rebounds was still not enough to put a stop to the Vikings’ dominant performance. Simon Fraser shot 46.3% from the field, 35% from beyond the arc and 71.4% from the free-throw line on only seven attempts.
Western will now watch the GNAC Tournament from home for the second-straight season, despite winning more than 50% of its games in both campaigns. The Vikings were excellent at Carver Gym, with a 10-3 home record, but had an abysmal 3-7 resume on the road.
The GNAC Tournament runs March 7–9 on Central Washington University’s campus in Ellensburg.
