By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Overcoming a slow start on Thursday night at Sam Carver Gym, No. 4 seed Central Washington fought its way past No. 5 seed Seattle Pacific 58-53 in the opening round of the 2026 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championships.
 
The victory sent the Wildcats to Friday’s semifinals, where they’ll meet top-seeded No. 21 Saint Martin’s (23-5) with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. Central Washington kept its season alive, improving to 16-14 and taking the season series against the Falcons 2-1 after the teams split their regular-season encounters.
 
Calvin Sisk, who leads the GNAC in field-goal percentage at 70.1 this season, made 7 of 8 field goals on Thursday to finish with 14 points and five rebounds in an efficient 18 minutes on the floor. Jordan Clark led all players with 18 points, knocking down 4 of 8 threes and adding four boards, three assists, a steal and a block. Chae Haynes also reached double figures for CWU, narrowly missing a double-double with 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Seattle Pacific’s season came to an end with a record of 14-12, as the defending conference tournament champions came up just short in their comeback bid. Trace Evans and Brant Heppner led the team with 11 points apiece on the low-scoring night, while Grant Coleman made 3 of 5 threes and finished with 10 points.
 
The Falcons got off to a hot start, making seven of their first 16 shots and building a 17-8 advantage. Sisk scored the Wildcats’ next six points however, helping turn the momentum into his team’s favor. Jalen Childs followed with a bucket, and Clark drained a long three with 6:55 to go in the first half, pulling the score even at 19-19. The trend continued for the rest of the first, with the Wildcats out-running the Falcons 15-7 to build a 34-26 halftime advantage.
 
Coleman, the GNAC leader in long-range shooting at 49.2% on the season, helped keep the Falcons in the game as the second half progressed hitting a pair of smooth threes to cut the spread to 44-36 with 12:21 to go. The buckets came during a simultaneous cold stretch by the Wildcats, who went nearly five full minutes of game play without scoring. CWU went 0-for-6 during that period but played good enough defense to weather the storm and keep the lead in its hands. Clark finally broke the dry spell, connecting on a much-needed three with 8:10 to go in the second half to up his team’s lead to 47-40. Another triple by the first-team all-GNAC guard three minutes later pushed his team’s spread to a game-high 12 points, to help solidify the win.
 
The Falcons refused to surrender, keeping things interesting into the closing minutes. Julian Mora knocked down a jumper and after a Coleman free throw, it was a one-possession game at 56-53 with 10 seconds to go. Clark iced the contest with a pair of free throws however, and SPU ran out of time.
 
CWU shot 40.4% (23-for-57) in the game including a mark of 6-for-20 (30.0%) from long distance. The Wildcats took care of the basketball better than they have all year, committing a season-low six turnovers, and they out-scored the Falcons in the paint for the first time in the three meetings between the teams, 32-26. Bradley Swillie led the team with four assists and added five rebounds, while Childs had seven points and a pair of blocks in 15 solid minutes off the bench.
 
SPU shot just 33.3% (21-for-63) overall and 33.3% (7-for-21) from long range in the defeat. The Falcons managed to out-rebound the Wildcats 43-38 and, like CWU, limited their turnovers to just nine in the contest. Theo McMillan had a game-high seven assists to go along with seven points and four rebounds, while Henry Sandberg collected six boards, six points and a pair of blocks in 33 minutes.
 
GAME NOTES: It was the sixth all-time meeting between the teams at the GNAC Championships, with CWU evening that series at 3-3…the Wildcats are in the conference tournament for the 10th time and have an all-time record of 13-8…CWU’s two conference tournament trophies came in 2024 and 2011…SPU made its record 15th appearance at the GNAC Championships…its record moved to 14-9 with the defeat…SPU’s Coleman finished the season hitting three or more 3-pointers in three consecutive games and six of his final eight…Coleman ranked second in the conference with an average of 2.7 made 3-pointers per game…Clark extended his streak of games with multiple made 3-pointers to 11…he ranks fourth in the GNAC with 2.6 made threes per game…Sisk’s shooting percentage this season ranks him fourth-highest in GNAC single-season history (minimum 2.8 FG attempts/game).
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS: Neither CWU nor SPU was ranked in the top-10 in the latest NCAA regional rankings released on Wednesday. A tournament title and an ensuing automatic bid would be CWU’s lone path to the NCAA playoffs. The top-eight teams in the final rankings, which are announced on Sunday, will earn spots in next week’s NCAA West Region Championships hosted by the No. 1 overall seed.