Center Chris Mitchell had a team-high 16 points, including two critical free throws with 19.3 seconds left, lifting Western Washington University to a 72-69 victory over Drury University in first-day men's basketball action between two nationally ranked teams Tuesday, Dec. 18, at the 2012 South Point Holiday Hoops Classic being held at The Arena at South Point.

The defending NCAA II national champion Vikings, ranked No. 5 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll, remained unbeaten at 8-0 and have won 14 straight over the last two seasons, which ties the fourth-longest winning streak in school history.

Drury, no. 14 nationally, tied the game at 67-67 on a fast break dunk by Cameron Adams with 2:17 to play, but Adams was assessed a technical foul for hanging on the rim, and John Allen put WWU in front to stay with two free throws.

A Richard Woodworth free throw extended the margin to three, but two Carter free throws with 1:07 remaining narrowed the gap to one, 70-69. A shot clock violation gave the ball back to Drury, which ran a pick-and-roll that got Brandon Lockhart into the lane on a drive. Lockhart's layup missed, and Mitchell grabbed the rebound and was fouled, then hit two free throws.

Drury had a pair of 3-point attempts in the final 10 seconds, but both were off line.

Allen finished with 15 points for the Vikings and moved into 11th place in WWU career scoring. Woodworth added 12 points, all in the second half.

WWU meets Central Oklahoma on at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, in final-day tourney action.

WESTERN WASHINGTON 72, DRURY 69

DRURY (7-1) Carter, Ian 8-16 4-5 20; Lockhart, Brandon 5-12 5-9 15; Hall, Alex 3-9 5-6 12; Adams, Cameron 4-11 1-2 9; Simniok, Teddy 2-5 2-2 6; Patterson, Drake 1-2 0-0 3; Buie, Josh 1-1 0-0 2; Bundy, Kameron 1-4 0-1 2; Daniels, Derek 0-1 0-0 0; Boga, Lonnie 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 17-25 69.

WESTERN WASHINGTON (8-0) Mitchell, Chris 4-9 6-10 16; Allen, John 5-15 2-2 15; Woodworth, Richard 3-8 4-6 12; Wilkins, Rico 1-8 6-6 8; Turner, Anye 2-3 2-2 6; Jones, Paul 2-6 1-2 5; Fisher, Damien 1-3 1-2 3; Bragg, Austin 0-1 3-6 3; Thorpe, Dane 0-1 2-2 2; Severson, Cameron 1-3 0-0 2; Oliver, Robert 0-0 0-0 0; Davis, Alfred 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 27-38 72.

Halftime: Drury 38, WWU 36

3-point goals--Drury 2-13 (Patterson, Drake 1-1; Hall, Alex 1-5; Simniok, Teddy 0-2; Bundy, Kameron 0-1; Boga, Lonnie 0-2; Lockhart, Brandon 0-2),Western Washington 7-23 (Allen,John 3-8; Woodworth,Richard 2-3;Mitchell,Chris 2-4; Jones,Paul 0-1; Thorpe,Dane 0-1; Wilkins,Rico 0-6).Fouled out--Drury-None, Western Washington-None. Rebounds--Drury 47 (Carter,

Ian 11), Western Washington 39 (Wilkins,Rico 10). Assists--Drury 11 (Lockhart, Brandon 4), Western Washington 11 (Woodworth,Richard 3). Total fouls--Drury 21, Western Washington 23. Technical fouls--Drury-Adams, Cameron; TEAM, Western Washington-Turner,Anye. A-223 South Point Holiday Hoops Classic