BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Senior forward Deandre Dickson scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds but a comeback effort came up just short as the Western Washington University men’s basketball team fell 80-76 to visiting Cal State East Bay on WECU Court at Carver Gym Tuesday night.
The Vikings (5-3) trailed by 13 points early in the second half before cutting the deficit to a single point on two occasions, the second occasion with 2:11 to play in the game, but the Pioneers (5-5) re-extended their lead and held off WWU for the victory.
“It wasn’t a good flow tonight, seemed really disjoined like we did earlier in the season and we didn’t play like we did last week,” head coach Tony Dominguez said. “We need to get up for every game. Regardless of the layoff, our guys mentally need to focus on every possession and move the ball.”
WWU trailed 44-42 at the half before the Pioneers began the second period with an 11-0 run to lead 55-42 with 17:14 remaining. The Vikings battled back to come within 59-58 at the 12:57 mark, using a 10-0 run after they trailed 59-48 with 14:53 to go. A pair of 3-pointers from senior guards Blake Fernandez (Mountlake Terrace, WA/Edmonds) and Brett Kingma (Mill Creek, WA/Jackson) helped fuel the run, with Kingma’s basket bringing the Vikings within a single point.
Cal State East Bay answered the Vikings and re-extended their lead out to 71-62 with 7:24 to play before the Vikings battled back again. Trailing 75-68 with 5:09 left, a 6-0 spurt brought the Vikings within 75-74 after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Trey Drechsel (Woodinville, WA/Cedar Park Christian) with 2:11 left.
Cal State East Bay forward Patrick Marr ended the WWU run with a 3-pointer at the 1:07 mark to give the Pioneers a 78-74 lead and the Vikings missed their next five shots from the field until a layup in the waning seconds from redshirt junior guard Siaan Rojas (Concord, CA/Santa Rosa) for the final margin. The Pioneers made 2-of-5 free throws over the last minute to help secure the win.
During the first half, Dickson and sophomore guard Trevor Jasinsky (Camas, WA) each scored 8 points for the Vikings. The back-and-forth first half featured five ties and three lead changes. The Pioneers had led 37-29 with 4:14 to play in the first half before WWU closed the half with a 13-7 run to come within two points at halftime.
“We need to play basketball and not get overly frustrated,” Dominguez said. “We are a good team and need to trust the process.”
Dickson (Easton, CA/Washington Union/Bakersfield), who came within a rebound of tying his career high, was joined in double figures scoring by Rojas with 12 points and Kingma with 11 points. Junior center Logan Schilder (Bellingham, WA) added 8 points and 9 rebounds, as well as 3 blocks, while Jasinsky had 8 points and sophomore forward Daulton Hommes (Lynden, WA/Lynden Christian) finished with 7 points. Drechsel had team-high totals of 5 assists and 3 steals.
The Vikings were held to season-low shooting percentages from the floor, making 24-of-65 (36.9%) from the field and 8-of-31 (25.8%) 3-pointers. The Vikings made 20-of-24 (83.3%) free throws.
The Pioneers finished 29-for-65 (44.6%) from the field and made 11-of-21 (52.4%) of their 3-point attempts. Cal State East Bay was 11-for-17 (64.7%) at the free throw line.
Cal State East Bay was led by guard Drew Bender with a game-high 18 points. Guard Druce Asah added 17 points and 7 rebounds while Marr finished with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Forward Deiondre Bird added 10 points to give the Pioneers four players in double figures scoring.
The Vikings hit the road for the first time this season with two games in the Hoops in Hawai’i Holiday Classic this weekend, playing Harding University (0-7) on Saturday (3:30 pm HT/5:30 pm PT) and the University of Tampa (4-5) on Saturday (5:45 pm HT/7:45 pm PT). Both games in Hawai’i can be followed via Live Stats and a subscription-based webcast on Hawai’i Pacific’s StretchInternet portal.