Sunday, February 23, 2014
by Evan O'Kelly, Media Relations Assistant

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For a brief moment Saturday night, the buzz of the crowd inside Sam Carver Gym turned to a lull, to a murmur, to a hush. Silence bestowed the Western Washington home crowd as all eyes were trained to the trajectory of Richard Woodworth’s heave from half-court as time expired.

The Vikings were deadlocked with arch-rival Central Washington at 91-91, and everyone from the players and coaches to the fans and ROOT SPORTS broadcasters Brad Adam and Dave Harshman were suiting up for an overtime to remember.

But as Woodworth’s shot began its descent into the heavy WWU home court atmosphere, that hush slowly turned back into a murmur, then a buzz, then absolute chaos. The senior found nothing but net, prompting the fans to rush the court and parade their champion around the floor on their shoulders.

As a senior in one of the most successful Division II programs in the NCAA, Woodworth has essentially seen it all. He was a member of WWU’s 2012 NCAA title team, and helped the Vikings reach the Final Four a season ago.

Now, he could launch a campaign for president and have the votes of WWU’s student body of nearly 15,000. For now, Woodworth will settle for the title of King of WWU. 

Saturday’s game will re-air on ROOT SPORTS at 5 p.m. Pacific time Sunday evening, and again Monday at 3 p.m. PT.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

While WWU was guaranteed a playoff berth heading into Saturday’s game, it also kept the Vikings in contention for the GNAC regular season title.

In another high stakes game on Saturday, Montana State Billings elbowed its way back into postseason contention with a 72-70 overtime win over home standing Seattle Pacific. The victory for the Yellowjackets snapped SPU’s 11-game winning streak, and with CWU’s loss MSUB (8-8) is now in a tie for fifth place in the GNAC standings with Western Oregon.

With two games to play, CWU (7-9) sits one game back of MSUB, and the two teams meet on the final day of the regular season, March 1 in a game in Ellensburg that could decide the final postseason berth. 

Elsewhere, Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage each wrapped up GNAC tournament berths Saturday night with victories over Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon, respectively.