Tournament Co-MVP John Allen scored 22 points on 9-of-13 field-goal shooting and added six assists as nationally ranked Western Washington University defeated Southwest Baptist University, 88-68, in the championship game late Saturday, Nov. 24, of the 12th Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Men's Basketball Classic held at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.
The defending NCAA Division II national champion Vikings, ranked No. 6 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll, remain unbeaten at 5-0 and have won 11 straight games over the last two seasons.
WWU shot 61.1 percent (33-of-54) from the field, including 75.0 percent (18-of-24) in the second half.
Southwest Baptist, which fell to 2-5, was led by Damion Hooks, who came off the bench to score 24 points on 10-of-12 field-goal shooting. Preston Guiot added 14 points and six assists.
The Bearcats jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first 90 seconds, and led through much of the first 10 minutes. But the Vikings took the lead for good, 23-22, on an Allen layin with 9:27 left in the first half, and used a 9-2 burst late in the period to grab a 42-34 lead at halftime.
SBU never got closer than eight in the second half, and the margin remained in double digits throughout the final 12 minutes, although it never exceeded 15 until the last 4:16.
Co-MVP Richard Woodworth had 16 points and six assists for WWU, which had five players reach double figures. Chris Mitchell had 15 points, Paul Jones added 13, and Rico Wilkins had 10.
WESTERN WASHINGTON 88, SOUTHWEST BAPTIST 68
SOUTHWEST BAPTIST (2-5): Hooks,Damion 24; Guiot,Preston 14; Brown-Peterson,Rasha 9; Hill,Jaywuan 6; Sloan,Kyle 5; Loving,Jalen 5; Troutman,Jayon'e 4; Owoseni,Yusuf 1; Odige,Ricky 0; Gyamfi,Gilbert 0; Obukwelu,Afamefuna 0. Totals 27-56 9-14 68.
WESTERN WASHINGTON (5-0): Allen,John 22; Woodworth,Richard 16; Mitchell,Chris 15; Jones,Paul 13; Wilkins,Rico 10; Severson,Cameron 4; Turner,Anye 2; Oliver,Robert 2; Bragg,Austin 2; Fisher,Damien 2; Thorpe,Dane 0; Davis,Alfred 0. Totals 33-54 14-18 88.
Halftime: WWU 42, SB 34
3-point goals--Southwest Baptist 5-16 (Guiot,Preston 2-5; Hooks,Damion 1-1; Brown-Peterson,Rasha 1-1; Sloan,Kyle 1-5; Gyamfi,Gilbert 0-2; Loving,Jalen 0-1; Hill,Jaywuan 0-1), Western Washington 8-17 (Mitchell,Chris 2-4; Allen,John 2-4; Wilkins,Rico 2-3; Jones,Paul 1-2; Woodworth,Richard 1-2; Bragg,Austin 0-2). Fouled out--Southwest Baptist-None, Western Washington-None. Rebounds--Southwest Baptist 22 (Sloan,Kyle 6), Western Washington 32 (Bragg,Austin 8). Assists--Southwest Baptist 14 (Guiot,Preston 6), Western Washington 20 (Woodworth,Richard 6; Allen,John 6). Total fouls--Southwest Baptist 16, Western Washington 19. Technical fouls--Southwest Baptist-TEAM, Western Washington-None. A-522
