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Nov. 24, 2012

Box Score

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Tournament Co-MVP John Allen (Sr., Brier/Mountlake Terrace) scored 22 points on 9-of-13 field-goal shooting and added six assists as nationally ranked Western Washington University defeated Southwest Baptist University, 88-68, in the championship game Saturday of the 12th Chuck Randall Thanksgiving Men's Basketball Classic held at Sam Carver Gymnasium on the WWU campus.

The defending NCAA Division II national champion Vikings, ranked No.6 in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll, remain unbeaten at 5-0 and have won 11 straight games over the last two seasons.

WWU shot 61.1 percent (33-of-54) from the field, including 75.0 percent (18-of-24) in the second half.

Southwest Baptist, which fell to 2-5, was led by Damion Hooks, who came off the bench to score 24 points on 10-of-12 field-goal shooting. Preston Guiot added 14 points and six assists.

The Bearcats jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first 90 seconds, and led through much of the first 10 minutes. But the Vikings took the lead for good, 23-22, on an Allen layin with 9:27 left in the first half, and used a 9-2 burst late in the period to grab a 42-34 lead at halftime.

SBU never got closer than eight in the second half, and the margin remained in double digits throughout the final 12 minutes, although it never exceeded 15 until the last 4:16.

Co-MVP Richard Woodworth (Jr., Bellevue/Newport) had 16 points and six assists for WWU, which had five players reach double figures. Chris Mitchell (Sr., Everson/Nooksack Valley) had 15 points, Paul Jones (Sr., Kent/Kent-Meridian) added 13, and Rico Wilkins (Sr., Dallas, TX/DeSoto) had 10.

Hooks and Guiot joined Allen and Woodworth on the all-tournament team, which also included Terez Van Pelt and Isaiah Thomas of Concordia-St. Paul, which defeated Alaska Fairbanks, 65-60, in Saturday's other tournament game.

It is the 16th straight win for the Vikings in the Randall Classic, which last took place in 2009, and they have won 21 of 24 tourney games overall, winning at least a share of the last eight championships and 10 of 12 overall.

WWU next begins Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, traveling to Simon Fraser University on Saturday (7:30 p.m.), Dec. 1.