Wildcats finish first half of season with big win over Lincoln

ELLENSBURG — The Central Washington University Wildcats men’s basketball team finished the first half of their season with a solid win over Lincoln University Thursday evening, defeating the Oaklanders 102-61 on their home court.  

"We did a good job on Lincoln defensively in the first half. We have to continue to take steps on that end of the floor. The team did a great job of moving the ball all night. They played very well together with 28 assists on 63% shooting,” said Wildcats Head Coach Brandon Rinta.  

Top scorers during the game were Garrett Anderson with 22 points, Maverick Sanders with 16 points, Calvin Sisk with 14 points and Bradley Swillie with 10 points. Swillie also brought six assists to the team’s success that evening.  

The first half had CWU getting ahead quickly with a 9-2 run to start the game. Joshua Russ hit a three-pointer to bring the team ahead and the momentum continued with an eight-point run to have the Wildcats leading the Oaklanders 17-5 early on. The first half ended with the Wildcats leading 48-22. 

In the second half, Central continued their momentum with Anderson nailing a three-pointer about 15 seconds into the half and the Wildcats pushing their lead to 72-39.  

The Oaklanders had some solid play during the game with Laolu Kalejaiye finding opportunities to score throughout the second half.  

While CWU’s team saw some fouls during the game, in the long run the challenges didn’t keep them from winning the game 41 points ahead of the visiting competition.  

The next game for the Wildcats will be Jan. 4, 2025, when they travel to Nampa, Idaho to take on Northwest Nazarene University's Nighthawks to continue the season. The game is set to start at 4 p.m. MST at the Johnson Sports Center. 

BOX SCORE 

CWU: 48, 54 102
LINC: 22, 39 61