Friday, March 28, 2014

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Central Washington guard Mark McLaughlin had game-highs for points and assists  and Western Washington center Austin Bragg had 10 rebounds as the West defeated the East 121-109 Friday in the Reese's Division II Men's Basketball All-Star game at the Ford Center.

McLaughlin, who led Division II in scoring this season with a 27.1 average, tied for scoring honors with 20 points as he connected on 8-of-12 field goal attempts, including 3-of-4 three-pointers.  His four assists were also a game-high.

The 6-9 Bragg, who played just 19 minutes, added six points on 3-of-5 shooting to go along with his rebound total which tied him for high-game honors.

The West, which led 59-52 at halftime, had a 48-37 rebound advantage and shot 58.3 percent (49-0f-84) including 50 percent (16-of-32) from the three-point line.

The 6-6 McLaughlin will continue his post-season career next month as he has been selected to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Portsmouth, Va., that takes place April 16-19 at the Churchland High School Sports Complex.

The PIT tournament has invited 64 of the best college basketball seniors from across the nation since 1953, and this season McLaughlin is the only NCAA Division II senior to earn a selection into the tournament.

McLaughlin will showcase his abilities in front of scouts, general managers and team representatives of all 30 NBA teams as well as a wide variety of scouts from international leagues at the Portsmouth Invitational.

McLaughlin  was a Daktronics third team All-American selection this past season.  The Daktronics team is selected by the nation's sports information directors.

Bragg was named a first-team National Association of Basketball Coaches DII West Region all-star. He averaged 17.3 points on 58.7 percent (178-of-303) field-goal shooting and 8.8 rebounds, and blocked 49 shots for the Vikings, all team-leading figures.