Box Score: No. 5 Central Washington 71, Coyotes 65

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Cal State San Bernardino had difficulty maintaining possession of the ball in its game against nationally-ranked Central Washington (No. 5 -- NABC) and it proved costly in a 71-65 loss in the second and final day of the Great Western Shootout, played at the Arena at South Pointe.

The Coyotes turned the ball over a season-high 24 times that turned into 29 points for CWU. CSUSB, 3-3 overall, is off for the next 12 days until they open their CCAA home season Dec. 29 against Cal State Monterey Bay.

Senior guard Aaron Hill led the Coyotes with 11 points, but no other player reached double figures as CWU gained momentum early in the second half. The Coyotes led at halftime 25-21, but committed seven fouls in the opening four minutes of the half and CWU hit 20-of-23 free throws in the final 20 minutes for the win.

Trailing 36-31 with 13:38 left, CSUSB came back and built one-point leads on three separate occasions and as late as 9:19 left when junior Nate Roth hit a 3-pointer that put the Coyotes up 45-44.

But a pair of free throws from Drew Harris, a 3-pointer from Humberto Perez and two straight baskets by 7-foot Ted Nelson put CWU ahead 53-48 with 7:25 left. Chris Scott then hit a 3-pointer and the Wildcats completed the 12-3 run in a two-minute stretch and led 56-48 with 7:10 left.

Senior Corey Caston pulled the Coyotes into a one-possession game when he hit a layup and CSUSB trailed 65-62 with 19 seconds remaining.

But inside the final 15 seconds, the Wildcats hit six straight free throws and earned the victory.

Perez led the Wildcats with 16 points and Jamar Barry had 13 as CWU scored 50 second-half points and outscored the Coyotes 29-14 off turnovers for the game.

Senior Robbie Robinson had nine points off the bench for the Coyotes, who were 22-of-50 from the field (44 percent). Caston, Roth, senior Ryan Kinney, and sophomore Kwame Alexander all had eight points for CSUSB.

Sophomore #D.J. Shumpert# had 10 rebounds for the Coyotes, and Caston dealt eight assists with four steals.