Box Score
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Kwame Alexander proved during his three seasons with the Coyotes that he ranks among the tops in school history.

On Monday night in his final collegiate game, the Moreno Valley native scored a career-high 28 points with eight rebounds in the Coyotes' 86-77 NCAA West Region semifinal loss to defending national champion Western Washington before a crowd of 1,595 at Sam Carver Gym.

The loss ends the Coyotes' season at 20-9 overall as WWU moves on to the regional final for the second straight season when the Vikings (29-2) face Seattle Pacific at 8:30 p.m.

Alexander's 28 were a game high and he completed his career as the only player in CSUSB to have 900 points, 500 rebounds and 60 blocks in a career.

He later was named to the All-Tournament upon conclusion of Tuesday night's title game. Western Washington had three players on the team including Tourney MVP Richard Woodworth.

The Coyotes and the No. 4-ranked Vikings battled to an epic draw for most of the game as there were no leads of more than six points through the first 30 minutes of the contest. And for a stretch of nearly seven minutes early in the second half, neither team led by more than two points.

WWU finally pulled away by holding the Coyotes without a field goal for more than seven minutes, turning a 61-60 edge into a 76-73 advantage with 2:48 to play.  Rico Wilkins and forward Austin Bragg each had five points in the charge.

Coyotes coach Jeff Oliver credited his team with a gutsy performance, but just fell short down the stretch. They fired an impressive 53.8 percent from the floor (28 of 52 shots).

“I thought we did a decent job,'' Oliver said. “One of our goals was to try to slow the pace down. I didn't want to deflate our guys without being aggressive, either; we enjoy getting up and down. We did a decent job of that, especially in first half. Another thing we tried was to limit their runs. We did a great job I the first half, not such a great job in the second half.''

Guard Lacy Haddock keyed the Coyotes in the opening half, scoring 15 of his 20 points. He hit his first six shots of the half and helped CSUSB remain within striking distance of the Vikings, who led 39-35 at the break.

The Coyotes also did a masterful job of controlling the offensive play of All-West Region Player of the Year John Allen in the first 20 minutes as he had just two points on 1 of 5 shooting.

But where the Vikings controlled the momentum was off the glass. They outrebounded the Coyotes 39-19 and had 21 offensive boards.

“The biggest factor was rebounding,'' Oliver said. “That was my biggest concern coming in. Sure enough, 21 offensive rebounds and a 20-rebound advantage. You're not going to win too many games doing that. The game was lost in the trenches on the boards.''
 
Alexander stepped up his game in the second half with 19 points, but it wasn't enough as the Vikings got going with about six minutes remaining in the game.

“We did a real good job getting him the ball in effective spots early in second half,'' Oliver said. “Then the combination of them pushing him off the block and Kwame getting tired, he wasn't catching it in the same spots.”

WWU reached a seven-point lead for the first time when Bragg hit a tip-in and was fouled. He hit the 3-point play and the Coyotes trailed 67-61 with 6:12 left.

The Vikings pulled away and led by as many as 13 on a layup from Wilkins with 2:47 left and WWU up 76-63.

Alexander finished his career with 919 points and became only the seventh player to score at least 900 in a career. His 562 rebounds are second behind Mark Warren on the career charts and he is the all-time leading shot blocker with 67.

“I was just able to exploit the one-on-one defense they were playing,'' he said. “Every opportunity I had, I just took it. I felt I had to come through for my teammates. I just took everything they gave me.''

Richard Woodworth led the Vikings with 18 points and Allen finished with 17.