Cascade Gets Road Win Over Walla Walla
BOX SCORE
COLLEGE PLACE, Wash. - The Cascade men's basketball team defeated Walla Walla University 103-88 last night in a non-conference game at College Place.
The Thunderbirds rank 1st in the nation (NAIA DII) in scoring, averaging 103.8 points per game and one of the main reasons behind that impressive stat is the play of senior shooting guard Ben Pawlak. Pawlak currently is ranked 5th in the nation in scoring, averaging 25.8 points per game.
Pawlak's game-high 33 points last night paced the T-Birds in their road victory over the Wolves of WWU. Pawlak shot 65% from the floor and was 6 for 9 (67%) from behind the arc; he also added 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Pawlak had plenty of help last night, as the T-Birds had four players in double-digits. Josh Brown had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Jared Mace went 7 for 8 from the floor and finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Ryan Barker went 2 for 3 from behind the arc and finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Kao Saelee, who is currently ranked 3rd in the nation for assists (7.3 a game) dished out 10 assists to go with his 8 points. "We average 23 assists per game, and that really is our identity," Head Coach Anthony Baugher stated. "There is a strong focus on making the extra pass and setting up our teammates to be successful. These guys really do not care how many points they score individually, they just want to win."
Walla Walla University was led by Michael Johnson with 28 points and 8 assists.
Cascade travels to Pacific Lutheran University on Tuesday December 2nd for an exhibition game. Game time is 7:00pm.