An inspired Central Washington men’s basketball team captured the 2024 GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships crown in front of a fully-packed crowd at Nicholson Pavilion on Saturday night, with a 78-69 triumph over No. 6 seed Alaska Anchorage.
GNAC Championships MVP Samaad Hector (6'6''-F) had 22 points and a season-high 14 rebounds to spur his team to its second-ever GNAC trophy, and senior Camron McNeil (6'5''-G) chipped in 14 points and four boards off the bench. CWU shot 47.3% (26-for-55, and overcame 16 turnovers to secure the victory. CWU finished the 2023-24 season with a remarkable 16-1 record on its home floor, marking the best home record since the 2017-18 Western Oregon team went 17-1 in games played in Monmouth, Ore.
The Wildcats earned the conference’s automatic berth into next week’s NCAA West Region Championships, with the field set to be announced on Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. Pacific time. CWU improved to 21-9 with the win, while the Seawolves ended their campaign with a record of 22-10.
McNeil drained back-to-back threes midway through the first half, giving the Wildcats their first separation of the night up 15-9 at the 11:55 mark. Later in the first, Anjaylo Lloyd (6'2''-G) connected on deep threes on consecutive possessions as CWU began to pull away at 31-17.
UAA’s Dillon Barrientos (6'1''-G) drained a three after an offensive rebound at the 12:23 mark in the second half, pulling the score even at 46-46. It was the first tie since the game was knotted at 9-9 early in the first half, as the Wildcats had led for the entirety of the game up to that point.
CWU responded with a 9-3 run however, and its lead never wavered the rest of the game. UAA’s Tyson Gilbert led his team with 24 points, while Sloan Lentfer (6'7''-F) added 14 points and Sawyer Storms (6'7''-F) chipped in 10.
The teams split their regular-season meetings, with UAA winning 75-61 in Anchorage on Jan. 11 and the Wildcats returning the favor with a 75-66 triumph at home on Feb. 10.

GNAC Final: Central Washington - Alaska Anchorage 78-69

GNAC Semifinals:
Montana State Billings - Central Washington 80-81
Northwest Nazarene - Alaska Anchorage 63-64

GNAC Quarterfinals:
Saint Martin's - Alaska Anchorage 76-81
Central Washington - Seattle Pacific 90-76

Courtesy of gnacsports.com

All-Tournament MVP: Samaad Hector (6'6''-F) of CWU
Player of the Year: Jalen Tot (6'0''-PG) of MSUB
Defensive Player of the Year: Steven Richardson (6'7''-G) of MSUB
Freshman of the Year: Tijan Saine (5'11''-PG) of WWU
Newcomer of the Year: Daniel Moody (6'7''-G) of MSUB
Coach of the Year: Luke Fennelly of MSUB

All-GNAC First Team 2024

Tot

Anderson

Greeley

Johnson

Gilbert

Moody

First Team
Jalen Tot (6'0''-PG) of MSUB
Shaw Anderson (6'7''-F) of Seattle Pacific
Kyle Greeley (6'5''-G) of St.Martin's
Kai Johnson (6'4''-G) of WWU
Tyson Gilbert (6'2''-G) of Alaska-Anch.
Daniel Moody (6'7''-G) of MSUB

All-GNAC Second Team 2024

Hector

Murphy

Mohamed

Bergersen

Thompson

Allen

Second Team
Samaad Hector (6'6''-F) of CWU
Gabriel Murphy (6'9''-F) of NW Nazarene
Abdullahi Mohamed (6'10''-F-2000) of Alaska
Ryzin Bergersen (6'4''-G) of NW Nazarene
Tyke Thompson (6'8''-G) of St.Martin's
Tru Allen (6'0''-PG) of NW Nazarene

All-GNAC Honorable Mention 2024

BeReal

Storms

Lloyd

Richardson

Richmond

Nielsen-Skinner

Honorable Mention
Jaycson BeReal (6'7''-SF) of Alaska
Sawyer Storms (6'7''-F) of Alaska-Anch.
Anjaylo Lloyd (6'2''-G) of CWU
Steven Richardson (6'7''-G) of MSUB
Zharon Richmond (6'7''-F) of MSUB
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner (5'10''-PG) of St.Martin's
David Penney (6'1''-G) of Simon Fraser
Cameron Benzel (6'7''-F) of WOU
Kris Cook (6'6''-G/F) of WOU
Jason Gallant (6'3''-G) of WOU
Will Wilson (6'4''-G) of WWU