Monday, February 21, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – Road wins have an added significance in the new Points Rating System (PRS) standings adopted by the GNAC for the 2021-22 season. Any week where a team banks two of those wins is going to be a strong one overall, but Western Washington men’s basketball added some extra spice to its victories by pulling out both of them in the final seconds.

Although the week opened with a loss to Montana State Billings on Monday, the Vikings refused to lose again, with a flair for the dramatic each twice. They beat MSUB in a rematch in Billings 83-80 on Thursday on a half-court buzzer-beater from D’Angelo Minnis before Lucas Holden drained a corner three with two seconds to play on Saturday to lift WWU to a 79-78 victory over Seattle Pacific. The clutch victories earned WWU selection as the GNAC Team of the Week.

The MSUB victory was a case study in resilience for the Vikings. Eager to avenge the Monday loss, Western Washington raced out to a 42-27 halftime lead, the Yellowjackets roared back in the second half, utilizing a 10-0 run to take a 68-67 lead before WWU’s Luke Lovelady made one of two free throws with 16 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

After two free throws from MSUB’s Carrington Wiggins, the Yellowjackets had an 80-75 lead with just 16 seconds to play in the extra period, but the Vikings weren’t done. Minnis sunk a three-pointer with 10 seconds to play and Daniel Hornbuckle got a steal on the ensuing inbounds play, leading to a Jalen Green contested jump shot that tied the game with just under two seconds left.

With the score tied, MSUB went for a home run pass down the court which was tipped and corralled by Green and passed up-court. Minnis set his feet a step or two inside the half-court line and let it fly as the buzzer sounded. The shot banked in and the Vikings went crazy in front of a stunned Alterowitz Gymnasium.

It was a nationally impressive moment as well. Minnis’ shot was featured as the No. 1 Top Play of the night on Thursday’s edition of SportsCenter. The game-winner was one of five threes Minnis hit on the night on his way to 19 points. Green had a team-high 23 on 11 of 16 shooting from the field.

Next up was a date against preseason conference favorite Seattle Pacific and again it came down to the wire. The Falcons scored five straight points to take a 78-76 lead, but SPU’s Divant’e Moffitt left the door open by missing the second of two free throws. Initially, the Vikings looked to Minnis again for the last shot from deep with six seconds to play. It missed, but the ball took an awkward enough bounce off the rim that Minnis was able to grab his own rebound and drive and kick to an open Holden in the corner. The junior guard buried the triple, and after a timeout, Western Washington got yet another steal off the inbound to not allow SPU a final shot.

The second win was truly a team one for the Vikings, who played eight players and saw the three who came off the bench combine to shoot 15 of 20 from the field. Kai Johnson led the way with 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting, while Holden shot 4 of 8 from the field and 3 of 6 from three for 11 points while adding two blocks.

Western Washington sits at 7-8 in GNAC play and 14-11 overall. In the PRS standings, they are tied for fifth with a rating of 3.33 and currently occupy the sixth and final spot that avoids playing a first-round game in next week’s GNAC Championships. Looking ahead, the Vikings close the season on the road at Western Oregon on Monday and at Simon Fraser on Saturday.