ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Cal State San Marcos men’s basketball team (3-6) fell 81-78 in overtime to Central Washington (7-3) on Sunday at Nicholson Pavilion.
TOP PERFORMERS
Charlie Henderson – 24 points | 6 rebounds | 2 assists
Edwyn Collins – 18 points | 7 rebounds | 7 assists | 3 steals
Camren Pierce – 13 points | 6 assists | 2 steals
Mike Pope – 12 points | 4 3FG | 2 rebounds
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUSM scored the first points of the game with a 3-pointer by Pope at the 18:01 mark.
Tied at 11-11 after a Pierce jumper with 12:30 to go in the period, CWU went on an 11-2 run to take their largest of the game at 22-13 on an Anjaylo Llyod 3-pointer with 9:59 remaining.
The Cougars used an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 24-21 as Chris Howard got a layup to go with 6:05 left in the half.
The Wildcats once again took a nine-point lead at 30-21 on a layup by Bradley Swillie with 4:30 to go in the period.
After Pope made a 3-point shot with 14 seconds remaining and cut the Wildcats’ lead to 32-21, Lloyd banked in a half-court shot at the buzzer to give CWU a 35-31 lead at halftime.
The Cougars shot 46.4% (13-of-28) in the first period while the Wildcats clocked in at 48.3% (14-of-29).
The Cougars retook the lead at 44-42 on a 6-0 run that was capped by a 3-pointer by Henderson with 17:14 remaining.
The Wildcats earned the lead back at 45-44 on a 3-pointer by Lloyd with 15:47 with go.
Down 47-44, CSUSM went on a 5-0 run thanks to a game-tying 3-pointer by Pope and a Henderson layup to take a 49-47 lead with 13:34 to go.
The Cougars took their largest lead of the game on a turnaround jumper by Henderson to make it 64-57 with 6:43 to play.
Over the next four minutes, the Wildcats went on an 11-3 run and retook the lead at 68-67 with a hook shot by Samaad Hector with 2:38 remaining.
CSUSM took the lead once again on the next possession with a driving layup by Pierce and then went up 71-68 on a Collins layup with 1:35 to play.
Lloyd tied the game at 71-all with a 3-pointer with 1:20 to go.
With time winding down and the game still tied at 71, the Cougars tried to get a last-second jumper to go, but a miss sent the game to overtime.
The Wildcats controlled the lead for the duration of the extra five minutes and came away with the win.
FAST BREAKS
Both teams ended the game shooting exactly 47.1% from the field.
CSUSM tied its season high with 22 assists while CWU had 13.
Both teams tallied eight steals, but the Cougars committed seven fewer turnovers (21-14).
CWU won the rebound battle at 48-29.
Fifty-four of CWU’s 81 points came off the bench.
CSUSM’s 34.6 3-point field-goal percentage (9-of-26) was its second best of the season.
Henderson’s career-high 24 points were the most by a Cougar this season.
Collins’ career-high seven assists were a season high by a CSUSM player while his 18 points were also a career high.
CWU’s Llyod led the game with 35 points.
The Wildcats controlled the lead for 21:21 while the Cougars had it for 14:02.
UP NEXT
CSUSM will head to Seattle Pacific for its final non-conference game on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
