Vikings host Central Washington tonight in FSN Northwest regionally televised contest
Having matched a season-best with a five-game winning streak, the Western Washington University men's basketball team plays host to arch-rival and No.10 nationally ranked Central Washington University on Wednesday (7 p.m.) in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest that will be telecast live regionally on FSN Northwest from Sam Carver Gymnasium on the 草榴社区 campus.
The Vikings, who are undefeated in 10 home games this season, entertain Northwest Nazarene University on Saturday (7 p.m.) and Seattle Pacific University the following Tuesday, Feb. 22 (7 p.m.) before completing their regular season on the road at Montana State University Billings on Thursday, Feb. 24 (7:30 p.m. MST).
The Central, Seattle Pacific and Northwest Nazarene contests will be carried live on KBAI Radio (930 AM - Bellingham).
Western is 15-7 overall and tied for second in the GNAC standings at 10-4. A win over Central would clinch a top four seed and home court for at least the first round of the GNAC Tournament, which begins on Monday, Feb. 28. The winner of that tournament gains an automatic berth in the NCAA II West Regional as the GNAC champion.
The Vikings shot 54.2 percent (26-of-48) from beyond the arc as they swept a pair of road games in Alaska last week, winning 106-102 at Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 10 and 96-83 at Alaska Fairbanks on Feb. 12. It is just the 10th time in 10 years that a GNAC team has won both games of an Alaska road trip, with Western doing it a conference-high three times.
The Vikings opened the season with wins in six of their first seven games. Then they dropped six of 10 before their current string of five victories.
Western, which is averaging 98.0 points in its last three games, ranks eighth nationally in scoring average at 86.5 points per game, 11th in 3-point accuracy at 40.3 percent (190-of-471), 13th in field-goal shooting at 49.8 percent (675-of-1356) and 16th in 3-point makes per game (8.6).
The Vikings lead the GNAC in scoring average, 3-point makes and 3-point percentage. They are second in free-throw percentage (75.0, 363-484), field-goal accuracy, 3-point percentage defense (33.8, 144-426) and blocked shots (3.6, 80).
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