Box Score ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Behind the sharp shooting and 31 points of Dom Williams, the Central Washington Wildcats took off in the closing minutes to defeat visiting Montana State University Billings 88-79 Thursday evening in the 2014-15 Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener in Nicholson Pavilion on the CWU campus.
 
Williams finished 11-for-20 shooting from the field including a mark of 5-for-7 from 3-point range. He also totaled five assists on the game and grabbed a pair of rebounds.
 
Gary Jacobs was CWU's other double-figure scorer, as he shot 5-for-12 from the floor for 14 points. Jacobs also had five rebounds and five assists. The Wildcats (4-2, 1-0 GNAC) used a balanced attack and rebounding effort, as CWU outrebounded MSUB 37-35 including 14-11 in offensive boards.
 
For MSUB, sophomore Marc Matthews led the way with 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists, and was one of four Yellowjackets to score in double figures. Antoine Hosley converted 5 of 15 shots from the field and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line for 16 points, and senior Austin Hudson contributed 15 points and three rebounds.
 
Momir Gataric finished with 10 points for the 'Jackets, and senior Tyler Nelson chipped in eight boards and five points. With the loss MSUB falls to 1-6 on the season and the team is now 0-1 in GNAC play.
 
"I was really pleased with our effort," said MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. "We gave up too many offensive rebounds and we had too many turnovers. I thought Central also hit some big-time shots and when you can do that, you win a lot of games."
 
CWU led 12-7 early on in the first half, but the five-point advantage was the largest the 'Cats held until late in the second half.
 
With the score tied at 19-19 midway through the first, the teams traded off scoring as the game remained even inside of 10 minutes until the break.
 
The margin stayed close as time wound down in the first, and a finish by Emmanuel Johnson with 3:30 left gave MSUB a narrow 32-31 edge. CWU scored six of the next eight points however, and took a 37-36 lead into halftime.
 
Emerging from the locker room on a hot streak, the Wildcats opened up a 10-point lead on another three by Williams that gave him 22 points and CWU a 59-49 advantage.
 
Trailing 65-57, MSUB worked its way back into the game with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to two points. Hudson had a pair of strong finishes underneath during the hot streak, patiently working past defenders and finishing strong layups.
 
A three-point play converted by Hudson with 7:33 remaining once again brought MSUB within two points at 69-67, but as time wound down the Wildcats began to pull away.
 
With three minutes remaining, a free-throw and a layup by Marc Rodgers made the score 82-74 in favor of the 'Cats, who never looked back in closing out the victory.
 
On the game the teams were nearly even in field goal percentage, with MSUB holding a slight 47.5-47.1 percent edge. CWU benefitted from nine 3-pointers on 23 attempts, while the 'Jackets shot just 25 percent from long distance (3-for-12).
 
Limiting its turnovers to just 12 and creating 17, CWU exposed MSUB for 18 points and a plus-five margin in points off of turnovers. The Wildcats also had a 17-13 advantage in second-chance points, but MSUB outscored CWU off the bench (32-21) and in the paint (38-34).
 
"We are looking forward to Saturday for another chance to play and to get better," Stevens said.
 
COMING UP: The Yellowjackets catch Northwest Nazarene on their way back to Billings, with another GNAC matchup against the Crusaders set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m.