By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

LACEY, Wash. – In what has become a Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championships classic, top seed Central Washington grinded out a 101-100, double-overtime win over No. 5 seed Montana State Billings in Friday’s semifinals at Marcus Pavilion.
 
CWU senior forward Mitch Brizee played the game of his life, scoring a career-high 25 points and adding 17 rebounds, six assists and turning it over just twice in 44 minutes on the floor. “I can’t say enough good things about what Mitch just did out there and what he had done for our program over the last four years,” CWU head coach Brandon Rinta said. “As he is nearing the end of his career for him to have, hands down his best performance of his college career, I couldn’t be happier for him and the role he played in helping us win that.”
 
Brizee had a pair of the Wildcats’ four offensive rebounds at the outset of the second overtime, as CWU created extra possessions in the decisive period. Overall in the game Brizee shot 9-for-13, made all seven of his free throws and nine of his boards were on the offensive end. “Senior year – it is win or go home. That was my mindset,” said Brizee, who was on last year’s GNAC Championships title team. “I just had to find a way to help us win, and rebounding at the end was how I found a way to do that. We just wanted to keep playing and to win. There’s not much else driving you than that.”
 
The Wildcats upped their record to 21-8 on the season and advance to Saturday’s GNAC Championships title game, where they will face No. 3 seed Seattle Pacific. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. (Pacific), as CWU looks to defend its 2024 crown and pick up its third overall conference tournament trophy.
 
GNAC Player of the Year Cavin Holden had a game-high seven assists, while adding 14 points and playing 47 of 50 minutes in the second double-overtime game in conference tournament history. “That was a long game,” Holden said. “All the hard work we did just shows. We were all in the timeouts telling ourselves we weren’t tired, and we stuck it through.”
 
Montana State Billings saw its season come to an end with a record of 21-12, as they fell to the Wildcats by a single point in the GNAC semifinals for the second straight season. All-GNAC first-teamer Kael Robinson led all players with 30 points on 31-for-21 shooting, and led his team with nine rebounds in the lengthy affair. Brendon Johnson and Cooper Dewitt had 20 points each, Jalen Tot added 18 and Jajuan Tot had 10 points and a team-high five assists in his final career game.
 
The Yellowjackets overcame a 17-point deficit to get back into it during a second half that started out fully in favor of CWU. Robinson drained a three in transition with 52.1 seconds left on the clock, pulling the Yellowjackets within a single possession down 87-84. He then delivered a pair of clutch, game-tying free throws with two seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. The Wildcats converted points on each of their first three possessions of the first overtime to build a 94-88 lead, but the ‘Jackets fought back and found a way to tie it on a last-ditch layup by Robinson.
 
Big offensive rebounds by Brizee and Maverick Sanders at the outset of the second overtime led to a three by Jordan Clark, and the Wildcats finally maintained control in the second OT period. Clark drew a foul with eight seconds on the clock and converted both free throws, giving the Wildcats a cushion up 101-98. The Yellowjackets had enough time to get a shot off, but after a missed game-tying three pointer the ensuing made tip-in proved meaningless as the Wildcats held on.
 
“It seems like this happens every time we play,” Rinta said on the second straight GNAC semifinal game against MSUB that was decided by a single point. “There is always drama down to the end, and it is a testament to two good programs. I give them a lot of credit for their fight, and that was an incredible GNAC basketball game.”
 
Amid his season-high scoring performance Dewitt knocked down his first three of the game at the 17-minute mark, giving the Yellowjackets an early 7-6 edge. Robinson beat a shot-clock buzzer with a bucket, and Dewitt produced a steal and a fast-break three-point play on the next possession to up the spread to 19-11 in favor of the ‘Jackets seven minutes into the game.
 
The Wildcats muscled their way back into the lead with five minutes to go before halftime, as Brizee converted a three-point play to make the score 31-28. Jalen Tot and Clark traded deep threes inside of the final minute of the first half, and the Wildcats took a 46-39 advantage into the locker room.
 
Holden drained a trey coming right out of the break, and the Wildcats slowly pushed their way to a 65-50 cushion across the first six minutes of the half. Robinson provided his team with a much-needed spark with seven minutes to go in the game, knocking down a three and then coming up with a steal and fast-break dunk on the next possession. That cut the Yellowjackets’ deficit to 77-65, and MSUB continued on the comeback path until ultimately tying it up.
 
Central Washington shot 49.3% (35-for-71) overall in the game, made 8 of 28 threes (28.6%) and took advantage of the foul line at 23-for-26 (88.5%). By comparison, the Yellowjackets shot 58.2% (39-for-67) and 11-for-24 (45.8%) from the arc, while adding 11 of 14 free throws (78.6%). CWU used a commanding 37-28 advantage on the boards in the narrow victory.
 
GAME NOTES: The only other game in GNAC Championships history to extend beyond overtime was a three-overtime semifinal in 2017, with Western Oregon defeating Alaska Anchorage 94-91…Brizee’s double-double was his third of the season…the Wildcats won the rubber match in the season series after the teams split their regular-season games…CWU is making its 10th GNAC Championships appearance and is 12-7 all-time in conference tournament games…the Wildcats are in pursuit of their second straight GNAC Championships title and third overall, after taking the crown in 2024 and 2011…Competing in the event for the 10th time, Montana State Billings is now 4-9 all-time in tournament games.
 
UP NEXT: CWU advances to Saturday’s GNAC Championships title game where it will face Seattle Pacific at 5 p.m. (Pacific). The Falcons won the other semifinal game on Friday 73-68 over Northwest Nazarene. It will be the first time CWU and SPU meet in the GNAC Championships title game.