College basketball: Anchorage ends Wildcats’ season
March 3, 2012 by YH-R Sports
LACEY, Wash. — All five Central Washington starters scored in double figures in the Wildcats’ GNAC Tournament semifinal Friday with Alaska Anchorage.
But the second-seeded Seawolves also had five scorers reach double digits, shooting 54 percent from the field and making 29 of 41 free throws en route to a 93-81 victory.
The defeat ended sixth-seeded CWU’s season at 15-13. Anchorage (22-5) will meet Montana State Billings for the title tonight after the fifth-seeded Yellowjackets upset top-seeded Western Washington 81-78 on Friday.
CWU won four of its last six regular-season games to reach the tournament, then knocked off third-seeded Seattle Pacific in the opener.
Jordan Coby led the Wildcats with 15 points while Jody Johnson, Toussaint Tyler and Lacy Haddock had 12 each and Roby Clyde added 11. Jordan Starr, a junior from Davis, added nine points, two assists and a steal.
But Starr, Coby and Clyde all fouled out as Anchorage shot 65 percent (15 of 23) during the second half.
CWU did a reasonably good job on Taylor Rohde, UAA’s 6-foot-9 senior who was voted the conference’s player of the year. Rohde finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, both below his season average, but Travis Thompson scored 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting including 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
Western, Anchorage and SPU, ranked 1-2-3 in last week’s NCAA Division II regional poll, are virtually assured playoff berths with the Vikings the likely host. MSU Billings will get an automatic bid if it wins today.
Central had reached the playoffs in each of the last four years and this year posted its seventh straight winning season.
CENTRAL WASHINGTON — Jody Johnson 3-10 5-8 12, Toussaint Tyler 3-6 5-6 12, Roby Clyde 3-5 5-6 11, Lacy Haddock 5-10 1-1 12, Jordan Coby 6-15 0-0 15, Gross 1-3 0-0 2, Starr 4-8 1-1 9, Lieser 0-0 0-2 0, Magee 0-2 3-5 3, Davis 2-5 1-2 5, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 21-31 81.
ALASKA ANCHORAGE — Travis Thompson 8-12 3-5 24, Lauwers 0-3 0-0 0, Taylor Rohde 6-8 7-8 19, Steve White 4-6 9-11 17, Kyle Fossman 5-8 0-0 12, Lonnie Ridgeway 4-10 3-7 12, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Demissie 0-3 3-4 3, Hearn 1-1 2-4 4, Gibcus 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 28-52 29-41 93.
Halftime — UAA 41-31. 3-point goals — CWU 6-16 (Johnson 1-4, Tyler 1-2, Haddock 1-2, Coby 3-5, Starr 0-1, Magee 0-2); UAA 8-16 (Thompson 5-7, Lauwers 0-1, Fossman 2-4, Ridgeway 1-2, Demissie 0-2). Fouled out — Clyde, Coby, Starr. Rebounds — CWU 36 (Johnson 7); UAA 37 (Demissie 9, Rohde 8). Assists — CWU 8 (Haddock 3); UAA 18 (White 7). Turnovers — CWU 15, UAA 16.
Filed under All, CWU Basketball (M)
