The Doug Lange Network 

January 16, 2019 

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BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Led by 21 points from junior guard Tucker Eenigenburg and another 20-point performance from junior forward Trevor Jasinsky, the Western Washington University men’s basketball team defeated Simon Fraser University 89-81 Tuesday night in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action on WECU Court in Carver Gym.

 

After battling through a tough shooting stretch over the last seven games, the Vikings lit up Carver Gym shooting 53.8 percent from the field (28-for-2) and were 11-for-21 (52.4%) from 3-point range.

 

The solid shooting performance and clutch defense down the stretch lifted the Vikings to their third win over the last four games, improving to 10-7 overall and 4-3 in GNAC play. Simon Fraser dropped its fifth straight to fall to 7-8 overall and 1-6 in conference play. 

 

WWU built a 21-point lead with under two minutes remaining in the first half, but SFU put together a 21-10 run at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half to cut the lead to single digits at 60-51 with 14:47 remaining in the contest. Another extended SFU run, this one being 11-1, over two minutes tied the game 62-62 at the 11:46 mark. The Vikings buckled down and out-scored the Clan 25-17 over the final 10 minutes of the game to record the victory.

 

“I am proud of the way the guys hung in there at the end and got the victory,” said head coach Tony Dominguez. “We had a really good first half, and they had a good start to the second half. We got out of our shooting funk a bit and did a good job down the stretch to get the win.”

 

Eenigenburg (Bakersfield, CA/Stockdale/Bakersfield College) scored his 21 points on 6-for-9 shooting, going 2-for-3 form 3-point range and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

 

Jasinsky (Camas, WA) recorded his GNAC-best ninth 20-point game, hitting on 6-of-14 shots and going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. The junior scored 10 points in each half, reaching double-digits in points for the 16th time in 17 games this season and his 11thconsecutive.

 

Redshirt junior guard Leif Anderson (Bellingham, WA/Sehome) also reached double-figures in scoring with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting (all from 3-point range) and sophomore forward Luke Lovelady (Tacoma, WA/Life Christian/Point Loma) nearly recorded a double-double with an 11-point, 9-rebound performance. Lovelady also had a game-high 3 blocked shots.

 

Sophomore center Julian Roche, a 6-11 transfer from Division I Santa Clara, led Simon Fraser with a game-high 25 points on 12-for-17 shooting. Freshman guard Wilfried Balata added 24 points on 8-for-20 shooting, also contributing 8 rebounds and 6 assists. 

 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

The Vikings 53.8% team shooting percentage was the second-best mark of the season and best in GNAC play…trails only a 62.7% mark vs. Langara on Nov. 24 (52-for-83)…WWU has recorded 10-or-more 3-pointers in each of the last three games (7 times this season)…both teams recorded 34 rebounds…WWU led for 37:54 and the game was tied for 2:06…WWU never trailed in the game…Trevor Jasinsky has reached double-figures in scoring in 16 of 17 games this season, including a current string of 11 consecutive…Jasinsky leads the GNAC with 9 games with 20 or more points…overall Jasinsky is averaging 19.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game…Leif Anderson has scored in double digits in each of his last three games, averaging 15.3 points per game during this stretch…Micah Winn scored all 8 of his points over the final 9 minutes of the game…Tucker Eenigenburg has scored 34 points over his last two games on 10-for-16 shooting (5-for-8 3 FG)…Eenigenburg is 31-for-60 (51.7%) from 3-point range this season.

 

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

Simon Fraser came out of the half going on a 9-3 run, with all points scored by Winfried Balata, cutting SFU’s deficit to 10 points at 53-43. A 15-2 spurt by the Clan tied the score at 62-62, with SFU going 6-for-7 from the field during the run. With the score tied 64-64, the Vikings put together a key 9-2 run to pull ahead 73-66 and led the rest of the way. Clinging to a two-point lead at 80-78 with 1:30 remaining, Luke Lovelady converted a clutch 3-point play to grow the lead to a five-point cushion.

 

WWU shot 40.0 percent in the second half (10-for-25), while SFU shot at a 51.4 percent clip (18-for-35). Trevor Jasinsky led the way for the Vikings with 10 second-half points, while Lovelady had 7 points and 7 rebounds and Micah Winn had 8 points in 9 minutes of action.

 

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

The Vikings raced out to an early 10-2 lead and never looked back in a dominating first half to lead the Clan 50-34 at the break. WWU shot 66.7% from the field, shooting 18-for-27 from the field, including 7-for-12 from 3-point range. The Vikings used an 11-3 run to take a 15-point lead at 34-19 with seven minutes remaining and extended the lead to as many as 21 points with just under two minutes left in the half. Tucker Eenigenburg led the Vikings with 17 points on 5-for-5 shooting (2-2 3FG) and was 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Trevor Jasinsky added 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting. SFU ended the half on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 16 points, and was led by 13 points from center Julian Roche.

 

ALL-TIME SERIES

WWU leads the all-time series vs. SFU 58-24, including winning 20 of the last 21 meetings…since SFU joined the GNAC in 2010-11, WWU is 16-1 vs. SFU…the Vikings have won 12 straight vs. the Clan in Bellingham.

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UP NEXT

The Vikings are back in action Thursday night hosting Montana State Billings in Carver Gym to complete a stretch of four games in eight days.

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-- @WWUHoops --