Wildcats Overcome Slow Start to Top Seawolves

CWU tops Sonoma State in first game of Phoenix Inn & Suites WOU Classic.

Salem-News.com Sports

MONMOUTH, Ore. - Central Washington overcame a frigid start with a dominant second half performance in defeating Sonoma State 78-70 in the first game of the Phoenix Inn & Suites WOU Men’s Basketball Classic at the Physical Education Building.

The Wildcats improved to 5-3 with the victory, while Sonoma State lost just its second game of the season to drop to 5-2. Western Oregon plays Concordia in the second game of the night. CWU will play Concordia on Saturday at 4:00 PM, while Sonoma State will face host Western Oregon at 6:00 PM.

The game began with a total Sonoma State flavor, as the Seawolves hit their first seven shots from the field and Central Washington missed their first eight attempts. But nine Seawolf turnovers during that same stretch kept the game close and CWU would eventually claw back to tie the game at 18-18 on a pair of Colton Monti free throws. Central would take their first lead of the game on a basket by Giovonne Woods with 5:15 (23-22) left before the half, and the teams would trade buckets right up to Monti’s three at the buzzer, giving CWU a 35-34 intermission margin.

Monti was perfect from the field in the first half, including a trio of treys for 13 points, as was SSU’s Ben Washington, who had 14 points at the break. The Seawolves shot 70 percent from the field in the first half, but also had 15 turnovers.

Both squads continued to take turns leading in the second half, totaling 17 lead changes until CWU’s Brandon Foote’s lay-in gave the Wildcats a 51-50 margin with 11:24 remaining. Central would never trail again, shooting 60 percent from the field in the second half, while the Seawolves cooled, hitting just one of 10 three-point attempts after the break.

CWU shot 50 percent from the field in the game and Sonoma State nailed 57 percent of their shots, but the Seawolves turned the ball over 26 times. Andrew Kochevar, the leading scorer in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, was held to a season-low five points. Washington led SSU with 18 points of 7-of-9 shooting, while Steve Cornett added 16 and Keith Garner 15 for the Seawolves. Cornett was also 7-of-9 from the field and also had 11 rebounds, while Garner missed just one shot on the night (6-7).

Jake Beitinger led the Wildcats with 18 points and six rebounds, while Nate Jackson added 17 on six-of-eight shooting with four steals. Monti finished with 16 and was perfect on the night (5-of-5), and Matt Penocello added 13. CWU outscored Sonoma State in the second half, 43-36.

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